Intern, Laser Control & Validation Engineering

Ayar Labs; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 69,000 - 83,000; Full time

Job summary

Ayar Labs is seeking a graduate-level intern to support development, characterization, and laboratory validation of advanced laser and optical control systems. You will collaborate with a cross-functional engineering team to evaluate control algorithms and validate system performance through measurements.

The role emphasizes hands-on work with laser hardware, electrical instrumentation, temperature-control systems, and automated test equipment, linking theory to real-world lab results.

Qualifications

• Strong foundation in control systems including feedback, PID, dynamics, stability, transient response.
• Laboratory testing and characterization experience with oscilloscopes, power supplies, DAQs, temperature controllers, instrumentation.
• Proficiency in Python and/or MATLAB for data acquisition, analysis, visualization, modeling, and test automation.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute characterization experiments for laser and optical control systems.
• Collect and analyze measurement data to evaluate system performance.
• Validate control algorithms against system requirements.
• Develop Python-based tools for test automation, data analysis, and visualization.

Skills

Control systems

Lab instrumentation

Python

MATLAB

Data analysis

Lasers/optics

Thermal management

Troubleshooting

Documentation

Education

Master's or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Applied Physics

Tools

Oscilloscopes

DAQs

Temperature controllers

Python

MATLAB

Job description

• Position location is on-site in San Jose Office
• There is no immigration (except F1) or relocation support for this position
• Posting expires upon application threshold

Term: May to August 2027

Please Note

• Position location is on-site in San Jose Office
• There is no immigration (except F1) or relocation support for this position
• Posting expires upon application threshold

Position Description

Ayar Labs, the global leader in optical I/O chiplets, is harnessing silicon photonics to revolutionize the scaling of AI compute hardware. Ayar Labs is shattering AI data bottlenecks by moving data at the speed of light. As pioneers of co-packaged optics (CPO), we are using light instead of electricity to move data faster, further, and with a fraction of the energy needed to fuel the explosive growth of AI models.

Backed by industry giants like NVIDIA, AMD and Intel and manufactured in partnership with the world’s leading semiconductor ecosystem, Ayar Labs’ co-packaged optics solution is key to unleashing next-generation AI scale-up architectures.

We are seeking a graduate-level intern to support the development, characterization, and laboratory validation of advanced laser and optical control systems. The intern will work closely with a cross-functional engineering team to evaluate control algorithms, characterize electro-optical and thermal system behavior, and validate system performance through laboratory measurements. The role will involve hands-on experimental work with laser and optical hardware, electronic instrumentation, temperature-control systems, and automated test equipment. Responsibilities may include designing and executing characterization experiments, collecting and analyzing measurement data, evaluating static and dynamic system response, validating control algorithms against system requirements, and developing Python-based tools for test automation, data analysis, and visualization.

The ideal candidate has a strong foundation in control systems, electrical engineering, optics/photonics, or experimental physics and is comfortable connecting theoretical models with real-world laboratory measurements.

Intern Skillset Needed

• Strong fundamentals in control systems, including feedback control, PID controllers, system dynamics, stability, and transient response.
• Hands-on experience with laboratory testing and characterization, including oscilloscopes, power supplies, DAQs, temperature controllers, and other electronic/optical instrumentation.
• Experience with Python and/or MATLAB for data acquisition, analysis, visualization, modeling, and test automation.
• Ability to analyze experimental data, identify trends and anomalies, and compare measured performance against models and requirements.
• Understanding of lasers, optics/photonics, electro-optical systems, or semiconductor devices is highly desirable.
• Familiarity with thermal control/TEC systems, sensors, actuator characterization, noise measurements, and dynamic response measurements is a plus.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills with the ability to independently execute laboratory experiments.
• Good technical documentation and communication skills and ability to collaborate with cross-functional engineering teams.

Education Requirements

• Candidate should be actively pursuing or completing a Master's or PhD degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Applied Physics, or a closely related technical field.

Pay Range: $50 - 60/hourly, depending on education level

Ayar Labs is an Affir…