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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Senior Mask Design Engineer - **Company:** SMART Photonics - **Location:** Eindhoven, Netherlands - **Experience:** Expert - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Code Review, Electronic Design Automation, Python (Programming Language), Ruby, PIC Microcontroller, Git, Ansys - **Published:** September 26, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.adzuna.nl/details/5896403214 ## About the Role * MSc or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Photonics, or a related field * 7 + years (post-master's) OR 5 + years (post-PhD) of experience in a photonics foundry, PIC design house, EDA provider or customer-facing design enablement role. * Strong communicator, confident, and able to influence, build trust, and support leadership when needed. * Proactive learner who embraces new methods, tools, and industry best practices. * Leadership potential: able to own projects independently, drive departmental initiatives, and mentor colleagues. * High quality mindset with attention to details. * Proficiency in Python and/or Ruby * Working knowledge of Git and version control workflows * Familiarity with GDS-II file format and layout tools (KLayout, Nazca, or similar) * A natural tendency to automate repetitive work, the kind of person who runs a manual process twice and then scripts it Preferred Qualifications * Experience in a semiconductor or photonic foundry environment * Understanding of DRC concepts and layer-based processing * Exposure to EDA tools (Synopsys OptoDesigner, Ansys Lumerical, or similar) * Experience with CI/CD pipelines Tools & Technologies Python, KLayout, Gitea/Git, GDS-II, CI/CD pipelines, Nazca ## Description We are looking for a Senior Mask Design Engineer with deep technical expertise to operate at the interface of technology and customer needs. Meet the Team Our Design Enablement team bridges process development, device design, and PIC circuit designers. We provide the tools, methodologies, and services that enable our customers to translate their concepts into manufacturable PICs. You will work in a team of 10 motivated and eager Engineers, and report to the Cluster Lead and Principal Scientist. Purpose of the Role Execute and improve the end-to-end tape-out flow for SMART Photonics' photonic integrated circuit platforms. Your main role is to run tape-outs, understand the full post-processing chain, and own your deliverables. But there s a special task that differentiates the one of a Mask Design Engineer! You will be responsible to automate, modularize, and harden the scripts and workflows you and your colleagues use every day. You don't build infrastructure for the team, you build it with the team, raising the automation capability of the entire mask engineering group while keeping your own hands in the tape-out work., Tape-Out Execution * Perform full tape-outs: super-cell creation, PCM cell generation, layer post-processing, GDS validation, and mask ordering * Prepare and validate GDS files for mask production * Conduct Design Rule Checks (DRC) and ensure compliance with manufacturing rules. Post-Processing Script Development * Develop, refactor, and maintain the Python and ruby based scripts * Make scripts that are modular, reusable, and platform-independent * Build supporting tooling for the tape out flow or users of our mask sets Automation & Infrastructure Improvement * Identify repetitive, error-prone, or manual steps in the tape-out flow and automate them * Set up and maintain CI validation for post-processing outputs (regression against platform reference files) * Establish reproducible development environments for tape-out scripting * Introduce automated checks for steps that currently rely on manual verification * Contribute to repository structure, naming conventions, and Git workflow standards * Ensure every automated solution is understood, documented, and maintainable by the team, not just by you Collaboration & Reporting * Review code from colleagues (quality, correctness, maintainability) * Collaborate with process integration, R&D, metrology, and procurement different projects * Coordinate with EDA, PDK and IT engineers on environment, tooling, and access topics ## Related Videos - [Strange New Worlds: shaping the future of the digital age](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/677-strange-new-worlds-shaping-the-future-of-the-digital-age) - [Cloud Vendor Lock-In - Is it just a new version of the Database Abstraction Layers?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1185-cloud-vendor-lock-in-is-it-just-a-new-version-of-the-database-abstraction-layers) - [Coffee with Developers: David Heinemeier Hansson](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/875-coffee-with-developers-david-heinemeier-hansson) - [How a Small Team Shrank a Microsoft Monorepo by 94%](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1236-how-a-small-team-shrank-a-microsoft-monorepo-by-94) - [How to Domain Model – An example from manufacturing](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/742-how-to-domain-model-an-example-from-manufacturing) - [Colorful quantum randomness](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100257-colorful-quantum-randomness) ## Related Articles - [How We Built a Worry-Free System That Runs for 10+ Years – And What We’d Do Again](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/751-how-we-built-a-worry-free-system-that-runs-for-10-years-and-what-we-d-do-again) - [Dev Digest 121 - AI goes offline](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/456-dev-digest-121-ai-goes-offline) - [Résumé-Driven Development: How IT trends affect the job market for software developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/59-resume-driven-development-how-it-trends-affect-the-job-market-for-software-developers) - [Best Companies in the Netherlands: Top 25 Companies in 2023 ](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/193-best-companies-in-the-netherlands-top-25-companies-in-2023) - [Dev Digest 120 - Apple and peers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/455-dev-digest-120-apple-and-peers) - [Dev Digest 129 - Now that's what I call private data!](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/468-dev-digest-129-now-that-s-what-i-call-private-data)