Principal Engineer, Photonics System Engineering (Silicon Photonics)

Location: Santa Clara, California, United States

Expected base pay: $150,680–$225,700 per year. The role is also eligible for bonus and equity plans.

Company

hirify.global develops semiconductor solutions and infrastructure technologies for enterprise, cloud, AI, carrier, wired and wireless communications, and critical infrastructure markets.

What you will do

• Develop, optimize, and validate optical system platforms spanning boards, switches, modules, and rack-scale solutions.
• Integrate silicon photonics light engines and co-packaged or on-board optics into platform-level designs.
• Partner with analog, digital, DSP, firmware, management, customer, and outsourced development teams.
• Debug optical, analog, and signal-processing issues during board-to-module and module-to-switch integration.
• Define and execute photonic IC and module-level test plans, including process qualification for new photonics technologies.
• Perform hands-on optical characterization and develop automated test solutions and scripts for component and module validation.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field with 10–15 years of professional experience, or a Master's degree and/or PhD with 5–10 years of experience.
• Deep knowledge of optical modules, components, systems, and devices, including lasers, detectors, modulators, and transceivers.
• Experience with optical system validation, testing, component characterization, and optical test equipment.
• Working knowledge of optical module firmware control algorithms, DSP communication theory, and data networking physical-layer specifications.
• Experience with Optical Spectrum Analyzers, Optical Modulation Analyzers, and laboratory measurement techniques.
• Programming skills in Python and C for test automation and data analysis, plus strong analytical, debugging, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Nice to have

• Experience developing automated test solutions for optical components or transceivers.
• Familiarity with silicon photonics platforms, light engines, co-packaged optics, on-board optics, and photonic integrated circuit test methodologies.

Culture & Benefits

• Work in a highly visible, multidisciplinary technical environment focused on complex platform engineering programs.
• Benefits support financial well-being, family support, mental and physical health, and recognition.
• Benefits include an employee stock purchase plan, family support programs, mental health resources, recognition awards, bonus eligibility, and equity plans.
• Access to export-controlled technology may require an export license review under U.S. regulations.

Hiring process

• Interviews assess individual experience, technical reasoning, and communication skills in real time.
• AI tools, transcription applications, automated note-taking bots, and real-time answer generators are not permitted during interviews.