Innovative Photonics Design Engineer, III-V Devices

Salience Labs Ltd; Abingdon; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Salience Labs Ltd is developing optical circuit switching technology for AI infrastructure. You will join a multi-disciplinary UK team to advance III‑V devices with silicon photonics, from epitaxy and design through to test and qualification.

You will contribute to mask design, external fabrication partnerships, and robust characterisation strategies across wafer, chip, and integrated PIC levels, while collaborating with packaging and reliability engineers to ensure long-term performance.

Qualifications

• PhD or MSc with strong hands-on experience in III-V devices, epitaxy, and optical amplification.
• Experience taking III-V devices from concept to design, fabrication and test, including qualification exposure.
• Strong understanding of semiconductor laser and amplifier physics including gain, dynamics, and thermal effects.
• Hands-on epitaxy and fabrication processes (e.g. MOCVD/MBE growth, lithography, etching, passivation, metallisation).
• Experience characterising amplifiers or lasers and performing test automation.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the design and modelling of III‑V active devices, including epitaxial layer structure, gain and power modelling, optical mode design, and electrical and thermal design
• Help define device specifications for your area, translating system requirements into device design and integration targets
• Contribute to mask design and tape-outs, including GDS layouts, test structures and DOE splits
• Support fabrication runs with external epitaxy and foundry partners: follow process flows, review data, and resolve yield issues as technology scales
• Contribute to the characterisation strategy at wafer, chip and integrated-PIC level, including building and automating test setups
• Analyse test data, correlate with design/process variations, and support design iterations to close performance gaps
• Work with packaging and reliability engineers on burn-in, accelerated ageing, failure analysis and qualification
• Share knowledge with colleagues and onboard new team members as the team grows

Skills

III-V device design

Epitaxy & fabrication

Device testing & reliability

Photonics simulation tools

Cross-functional collaboration

Excellent communication

Education

PhD in physics/photonomics/optical engineering or related, 2+ years experience

MSc with 4+ years hands-on experience

Tools

Lumerical

Photon Design

Crosslight

RSoft

COMSOL

KLayout

L-Edit

Cadence Virtuoso

Job description

Salience Labs Ltd is developing optical circuit switching technology for AI infrastructure. You will join a multi-disciplinary UK team to advance III‑V devices with silicon photonics, from epitaxy and design through to test and qualification.

You will contribute to mask design, external fabrication partnerships, and robust characterisation strategies across wafer, chip, and integrated PIC levels, while collaborating with packaging and reliability engineers to ensure long-term performance.