Silicon Photonics Design Engineer - CA, San Jose, United States
Originally posted 16 October 2026 by the employer.
This role focuses on end-to-end delivery of PIC solutions for optical IO.
About the role
This role drives end-to-end delivery of PIC solutions for optical IO deployed in AI and HPC applications, interfacing with hardware engineering teams and AMD partners to plan, develop and optimize PIC solutions.
What you'll do
- Develop OE systems in advanced Si photonics process technologies for DWDM and CWDM applications.
- Innovate, define, and specify PIC architectures, TX chains, RX chains, components, and test methodologies for Optical IO applications.
- Devise, maintain, simulate, and optimize Optical IO link budgets.
- Collaborate on design-for-test best practices for high-volume manufacturing.
- Participate in design reviews as a subject matter expert in silicon photonic component design.
- Work cross functionally to architect appropriate design and test automation solutions.
What you'll need
- Significant success driving photonic PDK, device, and circuit design.
- Subject matter expertise in PIC theory, design, layout, simulation, packaging, debug, test, manufacturing, reliability, qualification, and support.
- Masters or PhD degree in Applied Physics/Electrical Engineering/or related discipline.
Nice to have
- Experience developing PICs that have reached HVM, from concept to field failure analysis.
- Subject matter expertise in silicon photonics foundry technology, device design, and circuit layout, including FDTD/MODE/other related design tools.
- Proficient in software architecture and development for photonic design automation, test automation, and data analysis; Python and Cadence development experience.
- Experience in photonic wafer-, die-, and package-level testing and related test instrumentation.
Skills: Silicon Photonics, PIC solutions, optical IO, photonic PDK, device design
This role has been open 0 days — well below the 73-day median for Optical/Photonics IC Design roles.
Optical/Photonics IC Design · Photonics
|
Open roles in category
131
|
Median days open
73 d
|
Median salary
$195k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | AMD | All employers we track in this specialty (131 roles · 29 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 5 | 131 |
| Median days open | 19 d | 73 d (−54 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $195k |
Skills observed across this category: Silicon Photonics, PIC solutions, optical IO, photonic PDK, device design
Who's hiring in this category
- Coherent Corp · 17 open roles · median 87 d
- GlobalFoundries · 16 open roles · median 73 d
- Lightmatter · 13 open roles · median 92 d
- Lumentum · 9 open roles · median 74 d
- Marvell Technology · 9 open roles · median 42 d
- Intel Corporation · 7 open roles · median 57 d
How we counted: 131 open Optical/Photonics IC Design (Photonics) roles from 29 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 17 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there. Figures refresh nightly.