Principal Engineer (Silicon Photonics)

Location: San Jose, United States

Company

hirify.global is a well-funded startup developing photonics infrastructure for AI supercomputing, including optical interconnects and photonic engines.

What you will do

• Own product requirements for next-generation optical interconnects, balancing performance, manufacturability, cost, power, and time to market.
• Act as the primary technical interface with customers, foundry partners, suppliers, and contract manufacturers.
• Align hardware, firmware, software, validation, manufacturing, and external partners around product priorities and deliverables.
• Perform optical link budget analysis using simulation and modeling to assess noise, distortion, and system performance.
• Guide packaged silicon photonics, co-packaged optics, and optical I/O development, including fiber attach, thermal constraints, assembly tolerances, reliability, and scale-up readiness.
• Define testing strategies and methodologies for engineering verification, product validation, and system integration, including hands-on laboratory work.

Requirements

• Principal-level technical leadership experience developing and delivering photonics-based products.
• Deep expertise in silicon photonics design, performance characteristics, and trade-offs.
• Direct experience with packaged silicon photonics or optical engine development, packaging integration, and manufacturing considerations.
• Experience with optical link budget analysis, simulation, and modeling.
• Experience defining product requirements and coordinating execution across hardware, firmware, software, validation, and manufacturing teams.
• Experience defining EVT, DVT, and SVT test plans and methodologies; must be hands-on in a laboratory environment.

Nice to have

• Experience with test automation frameworks and scripting, including Python.
• Experience working with hyperscale data center customers or suppliers on packaged optics, co-packaged optics, or optical I/O.
• Experience with fiber attach technologies, optical assembly processes, and package-level integration challenges.

Culture & Benefits

• Autonomy and significant ownership in a ground-floor startup opportunity.
• Competitive salary based on experience.
• Comprehensive benefits package including health insurance.
• Professional development opportunities and certification support.
• Access to cutting-edge technology and cloud platforms.
• Collaborative work with cross-functional teams.