Process Integration Engineer

OpenLight; Santa Barbara (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenLight is seeking a Photonics Process Integration Engineer to manage the heterogeneous Silicon-III-V wafer process within the OpenLight foundry. You will coordinate with silicon front end processing, bonding, and back-end wafer processing, ensuring high-volume manufacturing readiness.

The role requires hands-on experience with silicon photonics, metrology, and device data analysis, plus leadership in process development and yield improvement efforts.

Qualifications

• PhD in Electrical Engineering, Applied Material Science, Applied Physics or related field.
• MS degree with 2-5 years of relevant experience may also be considered.
• Proven track record in silicon photonics or heterogeneous Si-III-V processing preferred.

Responsibilities

• End-to-end fabrication lot management with detailed fabrication plans and reviews.
• Lead process development for silicon/silicon nitride devices and integration with external foundries.
• Analyze inline metrology data and generate SPC and PCM results for yield improvement.
• Oversee wafer bonding initiatives and identify yield-limiting factors; design of experiments to enhance yield.
• Track process issues with external foundries and drive failure analysis with internal teams.
• Develop control plans and specifications to ensure manufacturability and product compliance.
• Contribute to PDK modules and future process roadmap.

Skills

Problem solving

Communication

Organizational skills

Presentation skills

Statistical analysis

Photolithography

Plasma etching

Planarization

Metrology techniques

Data analysis

Failure analysis

Device data analysis

Education

PhD in Electrical Engineering

MS degree with 2-5 years experience

Tools

Ellipsometry

Profilometry

SEM

TEM

AFM

Job description

As our Photonics Process Integration Engineer, you will be an integral member of the OpenLight foundry and process team, with the key responsibility of the technical management of our heterogeneous Silicon-III-V photonic wafer process. You’ll work closely with external foundry partners, including silicon front end processing, heterogeneous wafer bonding, III-V post-bond wafer processing, and backend wafer processing (i.e., wafer bumping and singulation), to manage fabrication lots, implement associated control plans, and assure the process meets high volume manufacturing standards.

If you thrive in a fast-paced development environment and enjoy working cross-functionally with external foundry partners, internal device designers, photonic integrated circuit architects, layout engineers and program managers, this could be an excellent opportunity for you!

What You Will Do

• End-to-end fabrication lot management, including creating detailed fabrication plans, participate in mask layout reviews for DfM, lead process reviews with all external foundries, and real-time monitoring of fabrication lot progress to successful completion.
• Spearhead new process development initiatives centered around silicon/silicon nitride devices in close collaboration with internal teams and external foundry partners to facilitate the integration of advanced functionalities on the OpenLight heterogeneous Si Photonics platform.
• Gather, evaluate, and synthesize in-line process metrology data to generate statistical process variation charts (SPC), as well as electrical and optical process control monitor (PCM) results, contributing to the development of a yield improvement framework for the OpenLight heterogeneous silicon photonics platform.
• Oversee wafer bonding initiatives on the OpenLight heterogeneous silicon photonics platform, identify yield-limiting factors within the current workflow, and propose new design of experiments (DOE) to enhance yield.
• Track process issues, work closely with external foundries to resolve issues in a timely manner, and drive process failure analysis with external failure analysis labs and with internal stakeholders. Collaborate closely with internal teams to identify device yield limiting factors and drive failure analysis.
• Implement control plans and process specifications to assure a manufacturable process and meets product requirements.
• Assist in the development of new process modules as required for OpenLight’s process design kit (PDK) and product roadmap.
• PhD in Electrical Engineering, Applied Material Science, Applied Physics or related discipline, or MS degree with 2-5 years of relevant professional experience
• In-depth understanding and hands-on experience of silicon photonic wafer process development and manufacturing including but not limited to photolithography, plasma etching techniques, planarization & metallization.
• In-depth understanding and hands-on experience of Si/SiN or III-V process development and manufacturing. Strong preference for candidates with heterogeneous/hybrid Si-III-V experience.
• Experience with semiconductor metrology techniques – ellipsometry, profilometry, SEM, TEM, AFM.
• Expertise in IC wafer processing failure analysis techniques
• Solid understanding of statistical processes and analysis
• Hands-on experience with optical or electronic PCM and device data analysis
• Strong technical leadership and an ability to think independently
• Very strong problem solving, communication, organizational, interpersonal, and presentation skills.

About OpenLight

OpenLight is growing as customer adoption and industry momentum continue to accelerate. The rapid growth of AI and cloud infrastructure is driving unprecedented demand for faster, more energy-efficient optical connectivity. We are addressing this challenge through a platform approach that simplifies the development of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and accelerates industry adoption.

As part of our team, you will contribute to technologies that enable AI and hyperscale data centers, high-speed optical communications, advanced sensing applications, next-generation photonic integration, and more. Our team is collaborative and fast-moving, and you will have the opportunity to make meaningful contributions across technology, operations, and business growth.

If you are excited about solving challenging problems, advancing cutting-edge technology, and working with a highly collaborative team, we would love to hear from you.