Principal PIC Characterization Engineer

Arycs Technologies; Los Gatos (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation and incentive

401(k) plan with 3% company matching

Medical, dental, and vision benefits

Flexible paid time off

Flexible work environment

Job summary

Arycs Technologies in California seeks a Silicon Photonics PIC Characterization Engineer to lead advanced PIC testing and validation. You will build and run wafer-scale characterization, dielectric and electrical tests, and drive data-driven insights for performance and reliability.

The role emphasizes automation, scripting in Python/MATLAB, and collaboration with product teams to deliver high-performance coherent PICs for AI, cloud, and edge HPC applications.

Qualifications

• BS, MS, or PhD in Electrical/ Optical/ Photonic Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years in silicon photonics, optical communications, or related field.
• Hands-on experience with commercial wafer-scale probe stations.
• Strong characterization/validation of silicon photonic devices.
• Experience with 56 Gbps per lane optical systems.
• Hands-on BER testing.
• Eye-diagram analysis.
• S-parameter characterization.
• High-speed optical and electrical measurements.
• Strong Python scripting skills (preferred).
• Experience with JMP, Python, MATLAB for analysis.

Responsibilities

• Develop and verify silicon photonics verification and characterization methods for PICs.
• Operate wafer-scale and die-level testing infrastructure and coordinate with vendors.
• Perform high-speed optical/electrical measurements including BER, eye-diagram, and S-parameter tests.
• Correlate wafer-level data with device, subsystem, and system performance.
• Develop automation and data analytics tools to speed yield analysis and learning.

Skills

Python scripting

Electrical/Photonic engineering

BER testing

Education

BS/MS/PhD in Electrical/Optical/Photonic Engineering

Tools

Wafer-scale probe stations

MATLAB

JMP

Job description

Arycs delivers power-efficient, coherent-class optical connectivity based on silicon photonics, coherent DSP, and advanced optical architectures. Our solutions provide industry-leading bandwidth per watt, deterministic performance, and flexible network evolution for AI, cloud, telecom, and edge infrastructure. Designed for real world deployment, Arycs Technologies enables networks to scale with growing AI demand without disruptive redesign or hardware replacement.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Silicon Photonics PIC Characterization Engineer to lead the characterization and verification of advanced photonic integrated circuits (PICs). This role will be responsible for developing characterization infrastructure including die level testing and in-situ product testing using VNA and high speed DACs and ADCs for sourcing test signals and capturing results. The ideal candidate will possess a strong background in coherent PIC characterization combined with the expertise to specify and source probing and measurement solutions and will be proficient in python, MATLAB or other automation and analysis tools needed to fully characterize and analyze the performance of our advanced PICs.

Key Responsibilities

• Silicon Photonics Verification and Characterization
  • Develop, execute, and debug wafer-scale and die-level characterization methodologies for silicon photonic integrated circuits.
  • Perform high-speed optical and electrical measurements including:
  • BER (Bit Error Rate) testing
  • Eye-diagram characterization
  • S-parameter measurements
  • Optical insertion loss and extinction ratio measurements
• Modulator, photodiode, and coherent receiver characterization
• Correlate wafer-level test data with packaged-device, subsystem, and system-level performance.
• Analyze characterization results and drive root-cause investigations for performance, yield, and reliability issues.

• Wafer-Level Probe Operations and NPI
  • Own the operation, maintenance, calibration, and continuous improvement of wafer-scale photonic probe stations.
  • Serve as the technical lead and primary interface with probe station vendors and external foundry partners.
  • Develop and maintain best practices for wafer-level optical and electrical probing.
  • Establish and manage data collection, storage, and analysis infrastructure for high-volume wafer characterization data.
  • Support New Product Introduction (NPI) activities through characterization, yield learning, and manufacturing correlation efforts.
  • Drive correlation between wafer-level test, subsystem characterization, and final product validation.
• System Photonics Validation
  • Define and execute comprehensive validation plans for coherent optical transceivers and silicon photonic subsystems.
  • Lead bring-up, characterization, and reliability assessment of new products.
  • Design and implement scalable validation platforms supporting engineering development, qualification, and manufacturing readiness.
• Automation and Data Analytics
  • Develop and maintain automated test frameworks for characterization and validation environments.
  • Create automation scripts for instrument control, test execution, and data processing.
  • Develop dashboards, data pipelines, and analytics tools to accelerate yield analysis and product learning cycles.
  • Drive continuous improvements in test efficiency, data quality, and characterization throughput.

Required Qualifications

• BS, MS, or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Physics, Photonics, or related field.
• 5+ years of industry experience in silicon photonics, optical communications, semiconductor testing, or related fields.
• Direct hands-on experience with commercial wafer-scale probe stations
• Strong experience with silicon photonic device characterization and validation.
• Experience with high-speed optical communication systems operating at 56 Gbps/lane and above.
• Hands-on experience performing BER testing
• Eye-diagram analysis
• S-parameter characterization
• High-speed optical and electrical measurements
• Strong scripting and automation skills using Python (preferred)
• Experience with statistical analysis tools (JMP, Python, MATLAB, etc.).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with coherent optical transceivers and coherent DSP-based systems.
• Experience supporting NPI, yield ramp, and volume manufacturing transitions.
• Experience working with reliability testing, failure analysis, and qualification programs

Soft Skills

• Excellent cross-functional communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong analytical mindset with a hands-on approach to problem solving.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, multi-site, and external-partner-driven environment.
• Benefits & Perks
  • Competitive compensation and incentive plan
  • 401(k) plan with 3% company matching contributions
  • Robust medical, dental, and vision benefits that promote your health and wellness
  • Flexible Paid Time Off (PTO) policy to support work-life balance
  • Flexible work environment
  • Opportunity to make a meaningful impact in a growing organization
  • High visibility across the company with exposure to executive leadership
  • Collaborative, innovative, and execution-focused culture