Senior Photonics Design Engineer (Actives Design)

TL;DR

Senior Photonics Design Engineer (Actives Design): Designing and optimizing photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for high-speed optical communication in AI datacenters with an accent on active components like modulators and detectors. Focus on developing next-generation PIC architectures, performing tolerance analysis, and driving end-to-end test chip execution.

Location: On-site in Santa Clara, California, US

Salary: $190,610 – $269,100 USD

Company

hirify.global is a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing, focusing on driving data center and AI bandwidth growth through silicon photonics integration.

What you will do

• Design, simulate, and develop photonic components including modulators, high-speed detectors, and phase control devices.
• Optimize components for performance, power, area, and reliability using advanced modeling techniques.
• Lead end-to-end test chip execution, encompassing design, layout coordination, tape-out, and validation.
• Analyze characterization data to identify performance gaps and implement data-driven improvements.
• Develop photonic modeling methodologies and research novel technologies to accelerate development cycles.

Requirements

• PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a similar discipline with 4+ years of industry experience.
• 6+ years of experience in designing, simulating, and testing silicon photonics in industry or research.
• Expertise in high-speed optical modulators/detectors for 50+ Gbaud applications.
• Proficiency with simulation tools: Lumerical (DEVICE, FDTD/MODE, Interconnect), HFSS, ADS, Sentaurus, or Silvaco.
• Hands-on experience with photonic test equipment (OSAs, tunable lasers, OVAs) and data analysis using JMP, MATLAB, or Python.
• Must be based in or able to work on-site in Santa Clara, California.

Nice to have

• Experience with microring modulator design or advanced materials (BTO, TFLN, III-V).
• Understanding of high-speed electronic ICs (drivers, TIAs, DSPs).
• Experience with 100G+ high-speed photonic components.
• Familiarity with foundry processes such as TSMC, GlobalFoundries, or AIM Photonics.

Culture & Benefits

• Competitive total compensation package including pay and stock bonuses.
• Comprehensive health, retirement, and vacation benefit programs.
• Opportunity to work within the Data Center Group (DCG) on AI-accelerated systems.