Senior Design Automation Engineer

Flexcompute Inc.; Watertown (MA); Remote; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity participation

Health, dental, vision insurance

401(k) contribution

Gym allowance

Collaborative, innovative team

Job summary

Flexcompute Inc. is hiring a Senior Design Automation Engineer to advance PhotonForge, a platform unifying component and circuit simulation, modeling, layout generation, and PDK integration.

You’ll build tool interfaces, automate workflows, and apply AI to accelerate photonic design. Ideal candidates have strong physics or engineering foundations with experience in photonic chip design and EDA tool development.

Qualifications

• MS or PhD preferred in electrical engineering, applied physics, photonics or related field.
• Experience in photonic chip design, EDA tool development, or semiconductor process integration.
• Proficient in Python; C++ helpful; AI-forward mindset.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain interfaces between PhotonForge and EDA tools for layout, DRC, LVS, and schematic-driven design.
• Create Python APIs and automation scripts to connect PhotonForge with toolchains.
• Collaborate on physics-driven workflows and AI-powered features for photonic design.

Skills

Python

C++

EDA tools

Photonics

AI

Education

MS or PhD in EE/Physics/Photonics

Tools

GDSII

DRC/LVS

PDK interfaces

Job description

Flexcompute is building the infrastructure for physics intelligence. Our mission is to make hardware innovation just as easy as software by providing high-fidelity physics simulation built with modern technology from the ground up. Trusted by more than 250 companies and academic institutions, our GPU-accelerated solvers power design workflows across photonics, electromagnetics, thermal, fluid dynamics, and acoustics.

About the Role

We’re looking for a Senior Design Automation Engineer to join the PhotonForge team. This role sits at a unique intersection of physics and applications, software engineering, and AI. You’ll work across all three to extend our end-to-end platform for photonic integrated circuit (PIC) design.

PhotonForge unifies component simulation, circuit simulation, compact modeling, layout generation, PDK integration, and foundry handoff into a single platform backed by Flexcompute’s GPU-accelerated Tidy3D multi-physics solvers. You’ll build EDA tool integrations, develop physics-driven application workflows, and leverage AI to make photonic design faster and more accessible.

This is a remote position. Preference may be given to candidates based in the Boston area who are open to in-person or hybrid work.

What You’ll Do

Build Interfaces & Connectors to EDA Tools

• Develop and maintain integrations between PhotonForge and industry-standard EDA tools for layout, DRC, LVS, and schematic-driven design.
• Enable seamless round-trip workflows between EDA environments, PhotonForge, and Tidy3D simulation.
• Build Python-based APIs and automation scripts that connect PhotonForge to existing toolchains.

Drive Physics & Application Workflows

• Work with end users on real-world design challenges in quantum photonics, RF photonics, co-packaged optics, or silicon photonics.
• Develop application workflows and reference designs across component simulation, circuit simulation, compact modeling, and layout.
• Leverage Flexcompute’s GPU-accelerated Tidy3D multi-physics solvers (tackling optical, RF, charge, and thermal physics) to build fabrication-aware simulation pipelines.

Requirements

• Strong physics or engineering foundation. Degree (MS or PhD preferred) in electrical engineering, applied physics, photonics, or a related field. Working knowledge of Maxwell’sequations, waveguide theory, and semiconductor device physics.
• A few years of industry experience. You’ve worked in photonic chip design, EDA tool development, semiconductor process integration, or a related role.
• Proficient in Python. Comfortable building APIs, automation scripts, and data pipelines. Experience with C++ is welcome but not required.
• Familiar with EDA and PIC design tools. Experience with industry-standard EDA platforms and photonic design tools. You understand GDSII, DRC, LVS, PDKs, and compact models.
• AI-forward. You actively use AI tools and are excited about building AI-powered features into engineering products.
• A builder at heart. You’d rather build a working prototype than write a specification, and you thrive with ownership over problems that span physics, software, and product.

Nice to Have

• Domain expertise in quantum photonics, RF/microwave photonics, co-packaged optics, or optical interconnects for AI datacenters
• Experience building connectors or plugins for EDA platforms
• Background in compact model generation, S-parameter extraction, or circuit-level photonic simulation
• Experience with agentic AI frameworks, LLM-based automation tools, or AI product development
• Contributions to open-source photonics or EDA tooling

What We Offer

• A front-row seat at the intersection of AI and photonics, two of the fastest-moving fields in tech
• The chance to shape how an entire generation of engineers learns to work with AI-driven simulation
• A collaborative, technically deep team that values curiosity and initiative

Benefits

• Competitive compensation with equity of a fast-growing startup.
• Medical, dental, and vision health insurance.
• 401(k) Contribution.
• Gym allowance.
• Friendly, thoughtful, and intelligent coworkers.