Integrated Photonics Engineer: PIC Design for Space

Azora; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous equity

Healthcare (vision and dental)

401(k)

Unlimited PTO

Job summary

Azora is seeking a highly skilled photonic IC designer to advance PIC technology used in high-sensitivity optical transceivers. You will design, simulate, and characterize devices and modules, shepherding them from foundry tape-out through packaging and system integration.

The role blends hands-on lab work with cross‑disciplinary collaboration in a dynamic hardware environment. Requirements include an MS/PhD in Photonics or related field, 3+ years PIC experience, and proficiency with photonic

Qualifications

• MS/PhD in Photonics, Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, or related field (or equivalent industry experience).
• 3+ years of hands‑on PIC design and characterization experience.
• Proficiency with photonic simulation and layout tools (Lumerical, Synopsys, KLayout, IPKISS, or similar).
• Experience with at least one commercial foundry PDK and tape‑out cycle.
• Strong lab skills: fiber alignment, RF probing, optical test instrumentation (OSA, LCA, tunable lasers).

Responsibilities

• Design and simulate integrated photonic components and circuits: waveguides, couplers, 90° hybrids, MZI modulators, phase shifters, photodetector interfaces, and on‑chip filters.
• Own foundry tape-outs on silicon photonics, SiN, or InP platforms, including DRC, layout, and process design kit (PDK) workflows.
• Develop test plans and carry out wafer‑and chip‑level characterization: insertion loss, polarization behavior, bandwidth, responsivity, and phase noise.
• Work with packaging partners on fiber attach, hermetic packaging, and co‑packaging with electronics for space environments.
• Integrate PICs into coherent and photon‑counting receiver chains and validate end‑to‑end sensitivity against quantum‑limit targets.
• Assess radiation tolerance and thermal behavior of photonic devices for flight applications.
• Collaborate with mixed‑signal and FPGA engineers on driver/TIA interfaces and DSP requirements.

Skills

PIC design

Photonic simulation

Laboratory skills

Team collaboration

Fiber alignment

Education

MS/PhD in Photonics or EE

Tools

Lumerical

Synopsys

KLayout

IPKISS

Job description

Azora is seeking a highly skilled photonic IC designer to advance PIC technology used in high-sensitivity optical transceivers. You will design, simulate, and characterize devices and modules, shepherding them from foundry tape-out through packaging and system integration.

The role blends hands-on lab work with cross‑disciplinary collaboration in a dynamic hardware environment. Requirements include an MS/PhD in Photonics or related field, 3+ years PIC experience, and proficiency with photonic