Staff / Sr Staff Photonics Design Engineer, Interfaces & Components

HyperLight; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 187,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

New hire equity

Health coverage

401(k) with match

Parental leave

Life and disability insurance

Commuter benefits

Professional growth

Job summary

HyperLight is seeking a Staff or Senior Staff Photonics Design Engineer to lead the design of high-performance device components on our TFLN photonics platform. You will own design flows end to end, from requirements through production handoff, and apply rigorous optimization to ensure robustness at high volumes.

Ideal candidates hold a Ph.D. in EE/Physics/Optics or related field with 3+ years of industry experience, or 9+ years with a BS/MS.

Qualifications

• Design of photonic components for high-performance interfaces.
• Experience with layout and tapeout processes in foundries.
• Strong background in high-index-contrast platforms like SOI or TFLN.
• Ability to simulate PIC components using multiple tools and in-house Python tooling.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design of device components including grating and edge couplers, splitters, taps, crossings, and thermo-optic phase shifters.
• Own end-to-end component design flows from requirements to production handoff.
• Apply optimization and statistics to ensure fabrication robustness at scale.
• Simulate designs with Tidy3D, Lumerical, COMSOL, HFSS, and custom Python tools.
• Develop measurement methods and analyze data to evaluate performance and robustness.
• Collaborate with process engineering to optimize fabrication.
• Serve as a technical expert and guide roadmap for engineering teams.
• PhD with 3+ years or 9+ years with BS/MS; experience with photonic tapeout.
• Ownership of photonic design flows in foundries and successful tapeouts.

Skills

Photonic design

Optical interfaces

Simulation

Python

Education

PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Optics, or related

9+ years with BS/MS

Experience with photonic component design flows

Tools

Tidy3D

Lumerical

COMSOL

Synopsys OptoDesigner

Cadence Virtuoso

gdsfactory

Python

Job description

HyperLight is at the forefront of the commercialization of thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) integrated photonics — a material and process technology that is enabling high-performance, scalable optical components across AI/datacom infrastructure, hyperscale computing, quantum computing, sensing, and beyond. Founded in 2018 and backed by leading venture capital, we’ve built a team and a platform focused on real-world mass deployment of TFLN photonics technology.

At the core of our work is the TFLN Chiplet™ platform: a modular architecture designed for scalability, manufacturability, and integration into complex systems. We partner with our customers and suppliers from concept and prototyping through mass production. We believe in integrity, innovation, collaboration, and pragmatic solutions, and we take pride in tackling hard problems with curiosity, humility, and a deep sense of care for one another.

TFLN photonic circuits are built on the same design principles as silicon and other platforms, but the material's anisotropic and EO behavior opens up a largely unexplored design space. Our growing team is looking for a Staff or Senior Staff Photonics Design Engineer to lead the design of device components on our platform, with a particular focus on optical interfaces. We welcome strong designers from SOI, III-V, and other platforms. Technical depth matters more to us than prior experience with any one material.

The work spans passive and active devices, simulation and measurement, and close collaboration with process, test, and product teams. People who do well here enjoy that range: they pick up unfamiliar topics quickly, bring ideas over from adjacent fields, and like seeing a design through every stage rather than handing it off.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• 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

• 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

• Competitive market‑based compensation (Salary range $160,000–$250,000 per year)
• New hire equity/option grant
• Comprehensive health coverage, including medical, vision, and dental plans for individuals and families
• 401(k) retirement plans with employee matching
• Paid parental leave
• Life and disability insurance
• Commuter benefits and subsidies
• Professional growth and mentorship opportunities

This position is onsite at our office in Cambridge, MA. Authorization to work in the United States is required.

HyperLight is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. HyperLight is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities during our hiring process. If you need assistance or an accommodation, please contact us at [e-mail].