Senior High-Speed Photodetector Design Engineer

RiseMe; Goleta (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenLight Photonics in Goleta, CA is seeking a senior engineer to drive design, simulation, layout, and characterization of high-speed photodetectors. You will own Ge-on-Si and heterogeneous III-V/Si devices from concept to high-volume production, collaborating with fab, test, and applications teams.

You will use HFSS, CST, TCAD and Python tooling to model device physics, RF performance up to 200 Gbps per lane, and optimize processes for wafer yields. A Ph.D.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. or MS in electrical engineering, physics, photonics, optics or related field.
• 3+ years in high-speed, integrated photodetector design, processing, or testing.
• Proficiency with high-speed device simulations and circuit design tools (HFSS, CST, ADS, TCAD, Crosslight).
• Strong RF/microwave fundamentals: transmission lines, impedance matching, RC parasitics.
• Experience with Ge epitaxy or III-V on silicon bonding is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Design, simulate, and optimize high-bandwidth PIN, APD, and wave-guided photodetector structures.
• Model carrier transport, transit time limits, quantum efficiency, dark current.
• Design high-speed RF electrodes and matching transitions for 200 Gbps+ rates.
• Own mask layouts (GDS/OASIS) with DRC/LVS compliance.
• Collaborate with fab/process teams to optimize yields and process corners.
• Characterize electro-optic performance and extract S-parameters, responsivity, reliability.

Skills

High-speed device simulations

RF/microwave concepts

Python scripting

Automated layout generation

Data analysis (JMP/Python/SQL)

Technical communication

Education

Ph.D. or M.S. in EE/Physics/Photonics/Optics

3+ years in high-speed photodetector design

Tools

Ansys HFSS

CST

ADS

Sentaurus TCAD

Crosslight

Luceda IPKISS

Job description

OpenLight Photonics in Goleta, CA is seeking a senior engineer to drive design, simulation, layout, and characterization of high-speed photodetectors. You will own Ge-on-Si and heterogeneous III-V/Si devices from concept to high-volume production, collaborating with fab, test, and applications teams.

You will use HFSS, CST, TCAD and Python tooling to model device physics, RF performance up to 200 Gbps per lane, and optimize processes for wafer yields. A Ph.D.