Systems Engineer (Silicon Photonics)

Location: Austin, Texas — full-time onsite

Salary: $185,000–$215,000 per year, plus equity

Company

hirify.global is a startup developing silicon photonics and programmable metasurface technology for energy-efficient AI inference hardware.

What you will do

• Own and maintain the optical vector-matrix multiplication signal-path architecture.
• Decompose product and system requirements into subsystem, interface, and work-package specifications.
• Define interfaces across optics, analog, digital, and software disciplines and resolve conflicts before integration.
• Lead architecture trade studies covering channel count, TX/RX configuration, aspect ratio, performance, power, and complexity.
• Manage product configurations and variants while maintaining requirements traceability.
• Lead requirements reviews, negotiate scope with Responsible Engineers, and mentor engineers in specification and trade-study methodology.

Requirements

• MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related field, with emphasis on systems engineering or mixed-signal/optical architecture.
• 5+ years of experience in systems engineering, requirements management, or architecture definition for complex electro-optic, mixed-signal, or communications hardware.
• Experience developing leveled requirements, interface control documents, verification matrices, and subsystem allocations.
• Ability to quantify performance, power, complexity, and cost trade-offs and defend architecture decisions across disciplines.
• Working fluency with signal-path and link-budget models using Python or MATLAB.
• Experience with requirements tools such as DOORS or Jira, version-controlled specification repositories, and strong written and verbal communication.

Nice to have

• Familiarity with optical or RF communication systems and high-speed mixed-signal architecture.
• Experience with product configuration and variant management for complex hardware.
• Exposure to PDR/CDR-style gate reviews.
• Familiarity with Cadence Virtuoso and Spectre for reviewing analog implementations.

Culture & Benefits

• Collaborative work on photonics and AI hardware in an innovative startup environment.
• 100% coverage of base health plan premiums for employees and dependents, plus HSA contributions.
• Unlimited paid time off.
• 401(k) matching and stock option opportunities.
• Dental, vision, life, hospital, critical illness, and accident insurance options.