Principal Test & Characterization Engineer - Advanced Photonic and Semiconductor Systems

Westerndigital; Ulm; On-site; EUR 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Western Digital in Ulm is seeking a Senior Test & Characterization Engineer to develop and operate advanced experimental platforms for next-generation device technologies. This role blends hands-on lab work, automated measurement infrastructure, large-scale data analysis, and AI-assisted characterization workflows.

You will build the systems that turn experimental devices into actionable engineering insight, collaborating with process, device, packaging, and modeling teams to close the loop

Qualifications

• BS/MS/PhD in physics, EE, photonics or related field.
• 5+ years in hands-on experimental characterization.
• Strong Python and data-analysis skills.
• Experience with optics, instrumentation, and test automation.

Responsibilities

• Develop and operate advanced electrical, optical, and electro-optical characterization platforms.
• Design and build experimental setups including optics, motion systems, thermal control, RF instrumentation, imaging systems, and automated data acquisition.
• Automate complex measurement flows using Python and modern software infrastructure.
• Perform detailed device characterization, analysis, and correlation across wafer-level and packaged-device measurements.
• Develop scalable data-analysis pipelines and visualization frameworks.
• Apply AI/ML techniques to large experimental datasets for anomaly detection, trend analysis, classification, and predictive insights.
• Collaborate with process, device, packaging, and modeling teams to connect design, fabrication, and characterization.
• Drive measurement reproducibility, calibration, reliability, and lab infrastructure improvements.
• Build internal tools and frameworks that improve engineering productivity and experimental throughput.

Skills

Python

Data analysis

Automation

Instrumentation

Optics

Education

BS/MS/PhD in Physics/EE/Photonics or related

Tools

Automated test systems

Instrument control

Job description

Modern intelligent systems increasingly depend on advanced semiconductor and photonic technologies that require entirely new approaches to characterization, measurement automation, and experimental analysis.

We are looking for a Senior Test & Characterization Engineer to develop and operate advanced experimental platforms for next-generation device technologies. This role combines hands‑on laboratory work, automated measurement infrastructure, large-scale data analysis, and AI‑assisted characterization workflows.

You will build the systems that transform experimental devices into actionable engineering insight.

What you’ll be doing:

• Develop and operate advanced electrical, optical, and electro-optical characterization platforms.
• Design and build experimental setups including optics, motion systems, thermal control, RF instrumentation, imaging systems, and automated data acquisition.
• Automate complex measurement flows using Python and modern software infrastructure.
• Perform detailed device characterization, analysis, and correlation across wafer‑level and packaged‑device measurements.
• Develop scalable data‑analysis pipelines and visualization frameworks.
• Apply AI/ML techniques to large experimental datasets for anomaly detection, trend analysis, classification, and predictive insights.
• Collaborate closely with process, device, packaging, and modeling teams to close the loop between design, fabrication, and characterization.
• Drive measurement reproducibility, calibration, reliability, and lab infrastructure improvements.
• Build internal tools and frameworks that improve engineering productivity and experimental throughput.

What we need to see:

• BS, MS, or PhD in Physics, Electrical Engineering, Photonics, Applied Physics, or related field.
• 5+ years of hands‑on experimental characterization experience.
• Strong laboratory skills with optics, instrumentation, automation, and measurement systems.
• Strong Python programming and data‑analysis capability.
• Experience with automated test systems and instrument control.
• Strong debugging mindset and experimental rigor.
• Ability to work across hardware, software, and data‑driven engineering environments.

Ways to stand out from the crowd:

• Experience with advanced optical or semiconductor device characterization.
• AI/ML experience applied to experimental datasets.
• High‑speed measurement or RF instrumentation experience.
• Experience building custom laboratory infrastructure from the ground up.
• Strong data visualization and analytics capabilities.
• Experience scaling automated measurement platforms in R&D environments.

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