Optical - Director Optical Engineering

Eliyan; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Eliyan in San Francisco is seeking a Director Optical Engineering to lead the optical engineering execution for NuLink, focusing on integration of optical components with silicon die.

The ideal candidate will have over 10 years of experience in optical engineering within semiconductor packaging, with a solid understanding of fabrication processes and hands-on lab skills. This role is crucial for ensuring effective optical integration in AI infrastructure at hyperscale.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in optical engineering within semiconductor packaging.
• Solid knowledge of semiconductor fabrication and assembly processes.
• Hands-on experience with short-reach optical components and their assembly.

Responsibilities

• Lead evaluation and qualification of external optical components for integration.
• Own optical implementation within the package with defined integration schemes.
• Engage with process engineers on fabrication feasibility and yield-impacting choices.

Skills

Optical engineering

Semiconductor packaging

Optical integration

Lab skills (optical probing, characterization)

Collaboration with silicon teams

Education

MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Photonics, or related field

Job description

Eliyan is building NuLink, a proprietary die-to-die chiplet interconnect fabric purpose-built for AI infrastructure at hyperscale. As we extend NuLink into optical domains, we are seeking a Director Optical Engineering (DOE) to lead optical engineering execution at Eliyan, owning the hands‑on integration of external optical components with Eliyan's silicon die. This is not a component design role — it is an optical integration and implementation role within a semiconductor packaging context. The DOE must be fluent in semiconductor fabrication and assembly processes in order to engage credibly with silicon and process engineering teams and to make sound integration decisions at the intersection of optics and semiconductor manufacturing.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead evaluation, characterization, and qualification of external optical components (VCSELs, PDs, lenses, fiber interfaces) for integration with Eliyan's silicon die.
• Own optical implementation within the package — defining integration schemes, alignment tolerances, and coupling strategies in coordination with packaging and silicon teams.
• Engage directly with process engineers and silicon designers on fabrication feasibility, stack‑up decisions, and yield‑impacting integration choices.
• Define and execute system demonstrations, including lab bring‑up of optically co‑packaged silicon and customer‑facing demo builds.
• Develop and maintain optical test infrastructure: on‑wafer and packaged‑device optical probing, E-to-O/O-to-E characterization, link budget validation, BER testing.
• Coordinate closely with OPD on information flow, ensuring engineering execution aligns with product‑level requirements.
• Report engineering milestones and integration status to the COA.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 10+ years in optical engineering with direct experience in optical integration within semiconductor packaging environments.
• Solid working knowledge of semiconductor fabrication and assembly processes — including FEOL/BEOL fundamentals, wafer‑level packaging, and die‑attach methods — sufficient to identify process‑driven constraints on optical integration.
• Comfortable engaging directly with process engineers and silicon designers on fabrication feasibility, stack‑up decisions, and yield‑impacting integration choices.
• Experience with process‑aware optical design: understanding how fab tolerances, surface topography, and material properties affect optical coupling and alignment.
• Hands‑on experience with short‑reach optical components (VCSEL arrays, PD arrays, lens assemblies, fiber coupling) and their assembly constraints.
• Strong lab skills: optical probing, frequency‑domain characterization, jitter/BER analysis, link budget validation.
• Familiarity with co‑packaging assembly processes — alignment tolerances, solder reflow effects on optical coupling, underfill impact on optical paths.
• Experience working with silicon analog/digital teams on joint bring‑up and debug.
• MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Photonics, or related field preferred.