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# Staff Photonics Design Engineer

- **Company:** HyperLight Corporation
- **Location:** Cambridge, MA, United States
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Salary:** $160,000.0 - $250,000.0
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Comsol Multiphysics, Python (Programming Language), Cadence Virtuoso, Scripting, PIC Microcontroller, Hfss, Git, Software Version Control
- **Published:** October 27, 2026
- **Apply:** https://startup.jobs/staff-sr-staff-photonics-design-engineer-interfaces-components-hyperlight-10622455

## About the Role

* Either a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Optics, or a related field with 3+ years of relevant industry experience, or 9+ years of relevant industry experience with a B.S. or M.S.

 * Prior ownership of photonic component design flows in foundry processes, with multiple designs taken through tapeout and characterization

 * Strong background in advanced design techniques such as optimization-driven design and statistical modeling, including design of experiments

 * Strong expertise in simulation of PIC components using tools like Tidy3D, Lumerical, COMSOL, Synopsys OptoDesigner, etc

 * Hands-on experience characterizing photonic integrated circuits using instruments like swept lasers, fiber alignment stages, VNAs, BERTs, oscilloscopes, etc

 * Experience writing software using scripting languages like Python or Julia

 * Demonstrated record of innovation and achievement, e.g. product designs, publications, or patents

 * Excellent organizational and communication skills, and comfort working with cross-disciplinary teams

Exceptional candidates finishing a Ph.D. with directly relevant design and tapeout experience will also be considered.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

 * Design experience with grating couplers, grating emitters, or other fiber and free-space optical interfaces, including apodized, chirped, or dual-polarization designs

 * Familiarity with fabrication processes such as lithography, etch, and deposition, and how they shape device performance

 * Experience with photonic layout tools such as Cadence Virtuoso or gdsfactory

 * Comfortable with git-based version control

 * Experience with active photonic devices such as thermo-optic phase shifters

 * Deep design expertise on high-index-contrast platforms such as silicon-on-insulator (SOI), or on TFLN

## Description

* Lead the design of high-performance, robust device components, including fiber and free-space optical interfaces such as grating couplers and edge couplers, along with splitters, optical taps, crossings, and thermo-optic phase shifters

 * Own component design flows end to end: defining requirements with product teams and customers, selecting architectures, simulation, layout, tapeout, measurement, and handoff to production

 * Apply optimization-driven and statistical design methods so that components are robust to fabrication variation and hold up at production volumes

 * Simulate component designs using tools like Tidy3D, Lumerical, COMSOL, and HFSS, as well as homegrown tools in Python that you will help write

 * Develop and perform rigorous measurement techniques to characterize component performance, and analyze measurement and simulation data for performance and robustness

 * Collaborate with process engineering to improve our fabrication processes for optimal device performance

 * Serve as a technical expert within HyperLight, mentoring other engineers and helping guide our engineering decisions and technical roadmap