Lead Photonics Scientist — Laser Systems & Hardware

Piris Labs; San Francisco, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Benefits

Job summary

Piris Labs is seeking a hands-on technical leader to guide photonic system development from early experiments to system-level validation. The successful candidate will own design decisions, analyze receiver noise, and drive performance improvements across laser, RF, electronics, and packaging interfaces.

The role requires a PhD and 5+ years in laser or photonics research, with a track record of technical ownership and collaboration in a fast-moving hardware environment.

Qualifications

• PhD in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Photonics, Optics, or a closely related field.
• 5+ years of relevant industry or postdoctoral research experience.
• Deep knowledge of laser physics, semiconductor lasers, electro-optics, and photodetectors.
• Hands-on experience developing or characterizing mode-locked lasers, electro-optic frequency combs, comb lasers, or related photonic systems.
• Strong understanding of laser noise and frequency- and time-domain noise characterization.
• Ability to independently design experiments, analyze results, and translate findings into engineering decisions.
• Technical ownership of a complex hardware system or product, with understanding of fabrication, packaging, RF design, electronics, and optical architecture.
• Strong experimental troubleshooting, technical communication, and documentation skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-moving, multidisciplinary product-development environment.

Responsibilities

• Define photonic system requirements and lead development from early experimentation through system-level validation.
• Design and execute experiments to characterize lasers, receivers, noise, and overall system performance.
• Identify device- and system-level limitations and work with RF, electronics, fabrication, and packaging engineers to resolve them.
• Make engineering tradeoffs involving architecture, integration, manufacturability, reliability, testability, and product performance.

Skills

Laser physics

Semiconductor lasers

Electro-optics

Photodetectors

Mode-locked lasers

Electro-optic frequency combs

Noise characterization

Experiment design

Hardware system ownership

Documentation

Multidisciplinary collaboration

Education

PhD in Electrical Engineering / Applied Physics / Photonics / Optics

Tools

Ansys Lumerical

Tidy3D

Job description

Piris Labs is seeking a hands-on technical leader to guide photonic system development from early experiments to system-level validation. The successful candidate will own design decisions, analyze receiver noise, and drive performance improvements across laser, RF, electronics, and packaging interfaces.

The role requires a PhD and 5+ years in laser or photonics research, with a track record of technical ownership and collaboration in a fast-moving hardware environment.