Spring/Summer 2027 Masters Photonics Design Engineering Co-Op - CA, San Jose, United States
Originally posted 2 October 2026 by the employer.
About the role
What you'll do
- Assist in the design, simulation, and evaluation of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and optical subsystems.
- Perform photonic device and circuit simulations, analyze measurement data, and compare results against simulation predictions.
- Develop automated workflows for photonic design, testing, and data analysis using Python and other engineering tools.
- Characterize photonic devices and collaborate with photonics, packaging, systems, and test engineers to solve technical challenges.
What you'll need
- Currently pursuing a Master's in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Photonics, Applied Physics, or a related technical field.
- Familiarity with photonics, optics, semiconductor devices, or optical communication systems.
- Experience with engineering simulation, modeling, or data analysis techniques.
- Experience with Python, MATLAB, or similar programming languages for technical computing and automation.
- Knowledge of photonic device characterization, optical measurements, or related experimental methods.
Nice to have
- Research or coursework in silicon photonics, photonic integrated circuits, integrated optics, or optical communications.
- Experience with photonic design and simulation tools such as Ansys Lumerical, Luceda IPKISS, COMSOL Multiphysics, Synopsys OptSim/OptoCompiler, or Cadence Virtuoso.
- Familiarity with optical test equipment including optical spectrum analyzers (OSA), vector network analyzers (VNA), tunable lasers, optical power meters, and high-speed oscilloscopes.
- Exposure to semiconductor fabrication processes or device characterization methodologies.
Skills: photonic integrated circuits, optical subsystems, silicon photonics, photonic device characterization, optical measurements, Lumerical
This role has been open 1 day — well below the 66-day median for Optical/Photonics IC Design roles.
Optical/Photonics IC Design · Photonics
|
Open roles in category
133
|
Median days open
66 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 (133 roles · 33 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 4 | 133 |
| Median days open | 19 d | 66 d (−47 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $195k |
Skills observed across this category: photonic integrated circuits, optical subsystems, silicon photonics, photonic device characterization, optical measurements, Lumerical
Who's hiring in this category
- Lightmatter · 18 open roles · median 80 d
- GlobalFoundries · 16 open roles · median 66 d
- Coherent Corp · 15 open roles · median 74 d
- Lumentum · 9 open roles · median 61 d
- Keysight Technologies · 7 open roles · median 30 d
- Marvell Technology · 7 open roles · median 150 d
How we counted: 133 open Optical/Photonics IC Design (Photonics) roles from 33 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 4 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.