Staff Photonics Design & PDK Modeling Engineer (Photonics)

Location: Boston, MA, United States; flexible hybrid workplace model

Salary: $179,000–$219,000 USD per year, plus equity and other rewards.

Company

hirify.global develops photonic computing and data center infrastructure for advanced AI and HPC workloads.

What you will do

• Lead development and maintenance of the internal photonic Process Design Kit and component library.
• Develop Python-based pcells and synchronize physical layouts, logical netlists, and behavioral models.
• Create and verify compact models for active and passive photonic devices.
• Build automated workflows to extract parameters from FDTD/FEM electromagnetic solvers for circuit-level simulation.
• Validate models against laboratory measurements through data fitting and statistical analysis.
• Implement netlist extraction, regression testing, and CI pipelines to protect legacy designs and connectivity logic.

Requirements

• Master’s degree with 5+ years of experience or PhD with 3+ years of experience in electrical engineering, photonics, physics, or a related field.
• Deep understanding of photonic device physics and experience with device simulation.
• Experience building behavioral models for circuit simulators such as Lumerical INTERCONNECT, Cadence, Synopsys OptSim, or custom Python solvers.
• Strong Python experience for modeling, automation, and data analysis, including object-oriented programming, NumPy, and SciPy.
• Experience with Python-based physical layout.
• Capacity to comply with federally mandated U.S. export control requirements.

Nice to have

• Experience with GDSFactory, OptoCompiler, or KLayout Python scripting.
• Familiarity with Python-native circuit simulation ecosystems such as SAX, Photontorch, or Simphony.
• Experience with Git, pytest, CI/CD, foundry PDKs, and design-rule constraints.
• Experience taping out and testing large-scale photonic integrated circuits, inverse design, and relevant testing methodologies.
• Strong project execution skills and the ability to manage multiple design priorities and milestones.

Culture & Benefits

• Flexible hybrid work environment.
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Retirement savings matching, life insurance, and disability coverage.
• Vacation, sick leave, public holidays, and paid family leave.
• Training and development, commuter benefits, and equity grants for full-time employees.