Integrated Photonics Design Engineer, CPO PDK

HyperLight Corporation; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health coverage

401(k) retirement plans

Paid Parental Leave

Life and disability insurance

Commuter benefits

Professional growth opportunities

Job summary

HyperLight Corporation in Cambridge, MA seeks an experienced Integrated Photonics Design Engineer at Senior or Staff level. This role is responsible for leading PDK development for co-packaged optics, requiring strong expertise in photonic component design and extensive hands-on experience with PIC characterization. Competitive compensation is offered, alongside comprehensive health coverage and professional growth opportunities. This is an in-person position requiring authorization to work in the US.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience or advanced degree in a related field.
• Strong expertise in photonic device design and validation.
• Extensive hands-on experience with PIC measurements.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with product team to define performance requirements.
• Lead the design and validation of device components.
• Own and maintain the process design kit for the optics platform.

Skills

Photonic device component design

Finite element analysis

Data analysis

Excellent organizational skills

Cross-disciplinary teamwork

Education

M.S. or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering or Physics

Tools

Lumerical

COMSOL

Cadence Virtuoso

JMP

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, integrated architecture designed for scalability, manufacturability, and seamless integration into complex systems. It offers a rare combination of extraordinary performance and industrial readiness, enabling system developers across applications to deploy the technology fast and ready. We partner with our customers and suppliers from conceptualization, design, and prototyping phases, all the way through mass production to ensure smooth and rapid deployment of TFLN photonic technology.

We believe our platform is the key, in the golden age of integrated photonics, to empower humanity to the next level. We assembled a world class team covering engineering, business, and operations. We believe in the power of integrity, innovation, collaboration, and pragmatic solutions. Our diverse team thrives on challenges and is united by a shared commitment to excellence. We take pride in tackling complex challenges with curiosity, humility, and a deep sense of care for one another.

Our growing team is looking for an IntegratedPhotonics Design Engineer at Senior or Staff levelto lead process design kit (PDK) development for HyperLight’s co-packaged optics product line. This hands‑on role, based at HyperLight's headquarters, collaborates very closely with our internal component design, process engineering, and test teams to drive PDK development and ensure fast time‑to‑market. In this role you will be involved in all product‑related discussions and decisions that have direct impact on HyperLight's business. As part of your responsibilities, you will:

• Collaborate with our product team, foundries, and customers to define device component and fabrication process performance requirements for co‑packaged optics applications
• Lead the end‑to‑end design and validation of high performance device components, in collaboration with other component designers and process engineers
• Own and maintain the process design kit (PDK) for our co‑packaged optics platform
• Contribute to the development of design, layout and verification enablement toolsets in open source and commercial tools including GDSFactory, Cadence Virtuoso, Synopsys Optocompiler and ICV, and Siemens Calibre.

• Either 5+ years of relevant work experience or equivalent experience through an advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field.
• Strong expertise with passive and/or active photonic device component design, including hands‑on development of multiple successful designs.
• Strong expertise in finite element analysis of PIC components using tools like Lumerical, Tidy3D, COMSOL, Synopsys OptoDesigner, etc.
• Extensive hands‑on experience performing measurements to characterize photonic integrated circuits using instruments like swept lasers, fiber alignment stages, VNAs, BERTs, oscilloscopes, etc.
• Extensive experience with data analysis and statistical methods such as design of experiments using tools like JMP or Python.
• Demonstrated record of innovation and achievement, e.g. product designs, publications, or patents.
• Familiarity with the entire PIC engineering process, including simulation, layout, fabrication, test, and device operation.
• Excellent organizational and communication skills
• Comfortable working with cross‑disciplinary teams

• Competitive market‑based compensation (Salary range $150,000 - $225,000)
• 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 role is in‑person at HyperLight's office in Cambridge, MA. Authorization to work in the US 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].