Photonics Design Engineer

Great Sky, Inc.; Boulder (CO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

401(k)

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

Flexible PTO

Learning budget

Job summary

Great Sky, Inc. is a technology startup seeking a PIC Design Engineer to design detector-integrated photonic networks for our cryogenic platform. You will own passive and active photonic components from simulation through tapeout, working with foundry teams to ensure manufacturability.

You will build and maintain internal PDKs and libraries, collaborate with test and systems teams to compare cryogenic performance with simulations, and contribute to fast design-build-test-learn cycles.

Qualifications

• BS, MS or PhD in physics, electrical engineering, optics, or a related field; or equivalent practical experience.

Responsibilities

• Design, simulate, and optimize passive photonic components on silicon nitride (SiN) and silicon platforms such as waveguides, grating and edge couplers, splitters, mode converters, resonators, and optical I/O.
• Design active components for cryogenic operation, including waveguide-integrated SNSPDs and phase shifters or modulators.
• Design and lay out detector-integrated photonic circuits with passive routing and integrated detectors/readout.
• Prepare tapeouts for MPW and dedicated runs, including layout verification and test structures for performance/variation.
• Build and maintain internal PDK, component libraries, and script-based flows (GDSFactory, KLayout), coordinating with foundry teams.

Skills

Photonics design

EM simulation (FDTD/EME)

Silicon nitride/silicon photonics

Photonic layout & DRC

PDK development

Foundry MPW experience

Education

BS/MS/PhD in physics, EE, optics or related

Tools

Ansys Lumerical

Tidy3D

KLayout

Luceda

Cadence

Job description

About Us

Great Sky is a technology startup based with a mission to rebuild AI from first principles. We are pursuing neuroscience-inspired hardware and algorithms that overcome the greatest challenges in scaling AI systems.

We are seeking a highly motivated PIC Design Engineer to design the detector-integrated photonic networks central to our cryogenic technology platform.

You will own the design of our active and passive photonic components and circuits, from simulation and layout through tapeout at major semiconductor foundries. You will also work with foundry process teams to make sure the designs are manufacturable.

This is a high-ownership position with substantial influence on the pace and direction of our hardware development.

How You’ll Make An Impact:

• Design, simulate, and optimize passive photonic components on silicon nitride (SiN) and silicon platforms. Examples include waveguides, grating and edge couplers, splitters, mode converters, resonators, and optical I/O.

• Design active components for cryogenic operation, including waveguide-integrated superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) and phase shifters or modulators.

• Design and lay out detector-integrated photonic circuits that combine passive optical routing with integrated detectors and their electrical readout.

• Prepare tapeouts for foundry multi-project wafer (MPW) and dedicated runs, including layout, verification, design reviews against foundry PDKs, and test structures to measure component performance and process variation.

• Build and maintain our internal PDK, component libraries, and script-based layout and DRC flows (e.g., GDSFactory, KLayout), working with foundry process teams to keep them in line with process capabilities and design rules.

• Work closely with test, packaging, and systems integration teams to compare measured cryogenic performance with simulation, speeding up our design-build-test-learn cycles.

What You Bring:

Required:

• BS, MS or PhD in physics, electrical engineering, optics, or a related field; or equivalent practical experience.

• Strong proficiency in industry-standard electromagnetic simulation methods (FDTD/ EME) and softwares (e.g., Ansys Lumerical, Tidy3D).

• Experience designing devices on silicon nitride and/or silicon photonics platforms, such as grating couplers, edge couplers, splitters, and waveguide transitions.

• Solid understanding of photonic layout concepts, Design Rule Checking (DRC), and familiarity with standard layout tools (e.g., KLayout, Luceda, Cadence).

• Experience developing or extending a PDK, including PCells, component libraries, design rules, or compact models.

Preferred:

• Experience taping out photonic designs through a foundry or MPW program (e.g., imec, AIM Photonics, Ligentec).

• Experience designing SNSPDs or other waveguide-integrated detectors, or active devices such as phase shifters and modulators.

• Experience with multi-layer SiN platforms and interlayer couplers.

• Hands-on optical and electro-optical characterization (e.g., fiber coupling, waveguide loss, grating coupler, and photodetector measurements).

• Experience with fabricating devices on at least one of these platforms: silicon photonics, silicon nitride, and/or superconducting electronics.

• Experience using AI tools, including agentic AI, to improve photonic designs and write layout code.

Benefits and Perks

• Meaningful equity ownership in an early-stage deep tech company

• Employer-matched 401(k)

• Health, dental, vision, and life insurance

• Flexible PTO

• Support for ongoing learning, conference attendance, and skill development

Our culture is onsite by default (we're founded by scientists who are used to working in the lab), with flexibility for hybrid arrangements. For the right person and role, we're open to filling roles remotely