Senior Optical Health Sensor Engineer (PPG) for Wearables

Google; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 159,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Google is seeking an optical sensor design engineer in Mountain View to own the design, characterization, and mass-production ramp of Photoplethysmogram (PPG) sensors for wearable devices.

You will lead architecture, optical simulation, hardware integration, and yield improvement, collaborating with EE, PD, and Manufacturing teams to deliver high-performance sensing systems for Pixel wearables.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 4 years of experience working on optical sensor design.
• Experience in scripting and data analysis using Python or MATLAB.

Responsibilities

• Model and simulate light-tissue interactions (Monte Carlo simulations, ray-tracing via LightTools/Zemax) to optimize LED-to-PD optical paths and engagement depth.
• Author Engineering Requirements Specifications (ERS) for PPG optical subsystems, defining SNR, Perfusion Index (PI), Signal-to-Motion Ratio (SMR), and power efficiency.
• Drive component selection and custom development for LEDs (wavelengths/binning), photodiode arrays, optical filters, and Analog Front-End (AFE) silicon.
• Collaborate with EE and PD teams on schematic reviews, PCB/FPC routing, and mechanical packaging constraints. Lead benchtop bring-up, optical characterization, Direct/Reflected Light Path (DLP/RLP) baseline analysis, and dynamic range extension validation.
• Define and implement factory test requirements, optical calibration, and FATP station testing methodologies. Lead root-cause failure analysis (FA) during development builds and drive corrective actions for yield regressions.

Skills

Optical sensor design

Python or MATLAB scripting

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering, Physics or related field

Master’s degree or PhD in Electrical/Computer Engineering, Physics or related field

Tools

LightTools

Zemax

TracePro

FRED

Job description

Google is seeking an optical sensor design engineer in Mountain View to own the design, characterization, and mass-production ramp of Photoplethysmogram (PPG) sensors for wearable devices.

You will lead architecture, optical simulation, hardware integration, and yield improvement, collaborating with EE, PD, and Manufacturing teams to deliver high-performance sensing systems for Pixel wearables.