Senior PIC Design

Darwin Recruitment; Ottawa; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Darwin Recruitment is seeking a Senior Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) Designer to lead the design and development of next-generation silicon photonic devices for high-speed optical communication systems. You will own PIC designs from architecture through simulation, tape-out and experimental validation, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams across layout, packaging, ASIC, systems and test.

The role focuses on industry-leading optical technologies for AI infrastructure, hyperscale data

Qualifications

• Design and optimise high-performance silicon photonic ICs for optical communications.
• Develop and simulate photonic components including modulators, waveguides, couplers, multiplexers, filters and photodetectors.
• Perform optical and electromagnetic simulations to optimise device performance, power efficiency and manufacturing yield.
• Support PIC development from concept through layout, fabrication, testing and product qualification.
• Collaborate closely with layout, packaging, ASIC, systems and test engineers throughout the product development cycle.
• Analyse measurement data and refine designs to meet performance, reliability and manufacturability targets.
• Contribute to the development of photonic design methodologies, reusable IP and PDK libraries.

Responsibilities

• Design and optimise high-performance silicon photonic ICs for optical communication applications.
• Develop and simulate photonic components including modulators, waveguides, couplers, multiplexers, filters and photodetectors.
• Perform optical and electromagnetic simulations to optimise device performance, power efficiency and manufacturing yield.
• Support PIC development from concept through layout, fabrication, testing and product qualification.
• Collaborate closely with layout, packaging, ASIC, systems and test engineers throughout the product development cycle.
• Analyse measurement data and refine designs to meet performance, reliability and manufacturability targets.
• Contribute to the development of photonic design methodologies, reusable IP and PDK libraries.

Skills

Silicon photonics

Photonic IC design

Optical communications

Coherent optics / high-speed transceiv

Problem solving

Multidisciplinary collaboration

Education

MSc or PhD in Photonics, EE, or Physics

Tools

Ansys Lumerical

Synopsys OptSim

Photon Design

Cadence Virtuoso

KLayout

Synopsys OptoCompiler

Job description

Senior PIC Design

The Role

We're looking for a Senior Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) Designer to lead the design and development of next-generation silicon photonic devices for high-speed optical communication systems. Working as part of a multidisciplinary engineering team, you'll take ownership of complex PIC designs from architecture through simulation, tape-out and experimental validation.

This is an opportunity to work on industry-leading optical technologies that are enabling the next generation of AI infrastructure, hyperscale data centres and high-capacity networking.

What You’ll Do

• Design and optimise high-performance silicon photonic integrated circuits for optical communication applications.
• Develop and simulate photonic components including modulators, waveguides, couplers, multiplexers, filters and photodetectors.
• Perform optical and electromagnetic simulations to optimise device performance, power efficiency and manufacturing yield.
• Support PIC development from concept through layout, fabrication, testing and product qualification.
• Collaborate closely with layout, packaging, ASIC, systems and test engineers throughout the product development cycle.
• Analyse measurement data and refine designs to meet performance, reliability and manufacturability targets.
• Contribute to the development of photonic design methodologies, reusable IP and PDK libraries.

What We’re Looking For

• MSc or PhD in Photonics, Electrical Engineering, Physics or a related discipline.
• 5+ years of experience designing photonic integrated circuits in an industrial environment.
• Strong background in silicon photonics and optical communication systems.
• Experience designing devices for coherent optics, optical interconnects or high-speed transceivers.
• Hands-on experience with photonic simulation tools such as Ansys Lumerical, Synopsys OptSim, Photon Design or equivalent.
• Familiarity with PIC layout environments including Cadence Virtuoso, KLayout or Synopsys OptoCompiler.
• Experience supporting fabrication, wafer evaluation and experimental characterisation of photonic devices.
• Strong understanding of semiconductor fabrication processes and photonic device physics.
• Excellent problem-solving skills with the ability to work across multidisciplinary engineering teams.

Nice to Have

• Experience developing photonic devices for 400G, 800G or 1.6T optical interconnects.
• Knowledge of coherent transmission systems, WDM technologies or integrated lasers.
• Python, MATLAB or scripting experience for simulation automation and data analysis.
• Experience contributing to photonic PDK development or scalable PIC design flows.
• Familiarity with CMOS manufacturing processes and foundry-based silicon photonics platforms.