Researcher: Photonic integrated circuit design

Eindhoven-University-of-Technolog; Eindhoven; On-site; EUR 42,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Photonic integrated circuits research position at Eindhoven University of Technology invites a candidate with doctoral background to design and validate workflows for PICs, including specification, simulation, modeling, layout and verification, and to integrate design kits and IP blocks into automated processes.

You will work within the Photonic Integration group across Europe, interfacing with open‑source tools, defining data flows between them, and collaborating with tool developers and IP

Qualifications

• Doctoral education in electrical engineering or physical sciences, or equivalent.
• Minimum three years of experience in photonic integrated circuit design.
• Experience with GUI- and script-based design software and automation with Python.

Responsibilities

• Develop a formalised design flow for photonic integrated circuits.
• Interface with open-source tools to implement the PIC design flow.
• Integrate photonic PDKs and IP blocks into design tools.
• Define data flows and standardized data exchange between tools.
• Collaborate with designers and tool developers across Europe.
• Help establish relations with stakeholders and engage in standards activities.

Skills

PIC design

Python scripting

Open source software

Teamwork

Communication skills

Education

Doctoral education in EE or physical sciences

Tools

Design software (GUI & scripting)

Job description

Departments, Department of Electrical Engineering

Introduction

The research position requires design experience for photonic integrated circuits, either through PhD study or equivalent industrial design. The ambition is to develop and validate standard workflows for circuit specification, simulation, modeling, layout and verification. The candidate should have an affinity for software engineering, an awareness of software package interoperability issues, and an ability to work with both commercial and open source tools and methods. The role is expected to enable the integration of design kits, intellectual property and compact models into automated design processes for photonic circuits.

Tasks

• Develop a formalised design flow for photonic integrated circuits for commonly used software tools
• Interface and potentially contribute to open‑source tools to implement the PIC design flow
• Integrate and adapt photonic PDKs to software tools
• Apply standardized data exchange methods between software tools
• Derive seamless design flows to enable the integration of photonic technologies into other semicon systems
• Cooperate with and enable a team of designers and design tool developers across Europe
• Break down requirements into tangible deliverables
• More experienced candidates may be expected to establish strong relationships with key stakeholders and engage directly in standards activities.

Job Description

Photonic integrated circuits enable cutting‑edge technology that is shaping the future of our digital society – ultrahigh bandwidth telecommunication, quantum computing, AI datacenters, non‑intrusive sensing, LiDAR, and intelligent manufacturing. This fast‑moving field has abundant opportunities for innovation and valorization, yet market visibility into photonics skills requirements remains fragmented and incomplete. You will have the opportunity to work on highly complex and high capability platforms and workflows for designing and validating photonic and electronic integrated circuits. You will be part of a team bringing the latest design methods and fabrication processes together for prototypes and production in various market segments including wireless sensing, new forms of computation, communications, biomedical sensing, quantum technologies and more.

The role is funded by the European Chips Design Platform (EuroCDP) – an EU‑wide initiative targeted at integrating chip design resources to offer a one‑stop shop to designers. By streamlining access, the platform aims to help reduce the economic and technical barriers of chip design, facilitating fast prototyping and upscaling, and thus stimulating the EU semiconductor industry.

Within the project you will develop a full cloud‑based photonic integrated circuit design flow using open‑source methods and tools. The work includes the necessary improvements and identification of missing open‑source EDA tool features, as well as requirements in terms of quality acceptance and documentation. One of the tasks is interfacing open‑source tools and defining data flows between them. Integration of the (existing) PDKs and IP blocks into design tools is another activity to be performed in the project. In this role you will interface with various engineering teams from open‑source tool developers, cloud service providers, IP block developers, EDA tool developers to integrated circuit designers.

This position will be in the Photonic Integration group, which has played an important role in open standards such as openEPDA.org and within the open access community jeppix.eu.
JePPIX: http://www.jeppix.eu/
EU chip design platform: https://eurocdp.eu/

Job Requirements

• Doctoral education in electrical engineering or physical sciences or equivalent
• Minimum three years of experience in photonic integrated circuit design
• Experience with various design software, both graphical user interface‑and script‑based
• Experience with automation and data analysis using python
• Ability to convert high‑level requirements to design workflows
• Hands‑on experience and contribution to open source software tools is an advantage
• Good verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to work in teams and collaborate effectively with people in different functions

If you are concerned that you don’t meet all the requirements sufficiently, but the job does excite you, then be sure to respond, we would love to look at your profile.

Conditions of Employment

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station.

• In addition to your base salary, you will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year‑end bonus, both calculated based on your annual gross base salary.
• Generous leave options: a standard 29 days (based on a 38 hour working week) per year that you can increase to 41 days by working two hours more per week (flexible working hours). This is prorated if you work part‑time.
• As a TU/e employee, you participate in the ABP pension scheme, providing retirement pension and pension benefits for surviving dependents and occupational disability. TU/e pays 70% of the pension premium, while employees contribute the remaining 30%.
• A favourable arrangement for more holidays or a sabbatical.
• Working hours in consultation for an optimal work‑life balance.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, and on‑campus children’s day care.
• We support your wellbeing with free 24/7 access to OpenUp, providing you and your family with mental health support, expert guidance, and online training.
• Scope for your talent with advancement prospects and excellent development opportunities such as mentoring, workshops and coaching.
• Partially paid parental leave and reimbursement for commuting expenses, working from home and the internet.

We are a leading international university where scientific curiosity meets a hands‑on mindset. We work in an open and collaborative way with high‑tech industries to tackle complex societal challenges. Our responsible and respectful approach ensures impact — today and in the future. TU/e is home to over 13,000 students and more than 7,000 staff, forming a diverse and vibrant academic community.

Our university is located in Brainport Eindhoven — a world‑leading tech region with more than 7,000 high‑tech companies and strong R&D activity. Known for breakthroughs in AI, photonics, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing, Brainport is a place where technology serves people and society. Learn more about the Brainport region here .

Information

Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more?
Please contact hiring manager Dima Pustakhod or group chair Kevin Williams.

Are you inspired and would like to know more about working at TU/e? Please visit our career page .

#EUfunded This is an EU funded project, named HE, with project number RT203649, within program DECIDE.

Please note

• A pre‑employment screening (e.g. knowledge security check) can be part of the selection procedure. For more information on the knowledge security check, please consult the National Knowledge Security Guidelines .
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.