Senior Photonics Design Engineer - Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (SOA) / Active Devices)

Voyant Photonics; New York (NY); On-site; USD 140,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Catered lunch daily at HQ

Job summary

Voyant Photonics, based in Midtown Manhattan, seeks a Senior Silicon Photonics Design Engineer to design and optimize active and passive silicon photonic components. You will lead concept-to-tapeout activities, applying SOA physics, device simulations, and heterogeneous integration with III-V materials.

You will collaborate with a multidisciplinary team in a fast-paced startup setting, model device performance, and push fabrication-aware designs from concept through tapeout and characterization.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Photonics, or related field with 2+ years of relevant experience.
• Strong background in silicon photonic component design, active devices, and SOA physics.

Responsibilities

• Design, simulate, and optimize active and passive silicon photonic components (SOAs, switches, modulators, photodetectors).
• Develop SOA and active device designs to improve gain, power, noise, bandwidth, and tolerances.
• Perform electromagnetic, thermal, and multiphysics simulations for carrier dynamics and heat in active waveguides.

Skills

Silicon photonic design

Active device design

III-V/Si integration

Photonic device physics

Education

Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering or related field

Tools

Lumerical

Tidy3D

COMSOL

Job description

About us:

Voyant Photonics builds silicon photonic chips that steer and switch light at high speed. They power next generation, chip-scale FMCW LiDAR for robotics and autonomy, and optical circuit switches (OCS) for AI data centers. Based in NYC, we’re a hands-on team designing, building, and deploying frontier hardware to solve problems that matter, from how machines see to how AI scales.

Voyant Photonics builds silicon photonic chips that steer and switch light at high speed. They power next generation, chip-scale FMCW LiDAR for robotics and autonomy, and optical circuit switches (OCS) for AI data centers. Based in NYC, we’re a hands-on team designing, building, and deploying frontier hardware to solve problems that matter, from how machines see to how AI scales.

Why Join Us?

At Voyant, you'll help develop some of the most sophisticated silicon photonic chips, spanning two exciting applications: optical circuit switching for AI data centers and chip-scale LiDAR sensing.

You'll tackle engineering challenges at the intersection of photonic device physics, large-scale circuit integration, and semiconductor manufacturing, developing high-performance photonic components that enable PICs with hundreds to thousands of integrated optical devices.

As a Senior Silicon Photonics Design Engineer, you'll take ownership of component development from concept and simulation through layout, tapeout, and characterization. You'll have the opportunity to innovate on photonic device designs, directly influence product performance, and work closely with a multidisciplinary team in a fast-paced startup environment.

The Role:

• Design, simulate, and optimize active and passive silicon photonic components, with a focus on Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers (SOAs), optical switches, modulators, and photodetectors.
• Develop innovative SOA and active device designs to enhance optical performance, optimizing small-signal gain, saturation power, noise figure, bandwidth, and fabrication tolerances.
• Perform electromagnetic, thermal, and multiphysics simulations to model carrier dynamics, heat dissipation, and nonlinearities across active waveguide geometries.
• Design component layouts and dedicated test structures for III-V/Si heterogeneous integration, collaborating with layout engineers to ensure robust thermal management and electrical contact routing.
• Drive component development through foundry tapeouts, including design reviews, verification, and coordination with manufacturing partners.
• Analyze optical characterization data and wafer-level measurements to validate designs and guide improvements.
• Collaborate with system-level PIC designers to translate system requirements into component specifications.
• Work with foundry partners to understand process capabilities and develop robust, manufacturable designs.

What We're Looking For

• Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Photonics, or a related field with 2+ years of relevant experience
• Strong background in silicon photonic component design, with expertise in active devices, III-V/Si integration, and Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (SOA) physics and simulation.
• Demonstrated experience designing integrated photonic devices and bringing designs through silicon photonics foundry tapeouts.
• Solid understanding of waveguide optics, photonic device physics, and semiconductor fabrication processes.
• Proficiency with photonic simulation tools such as Ansys Lumerical, Tidy3D, COMSOL, or equivalent.
• Ability to analyze experimental characterization data and translate results into design improvements.
• Strong problem-solving skills, technical independence, and ability to collaborate in a multidisciplinary team.

Nice to Have

• Experience designing Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers (SOAs), gain blocks, lasers, and other hybrid silicon‑III/V components.
• Experience with silicon nitride waveguides, multilayer photonic integration, or heterogeneous photonic platforms.
• Experience with photonic component design across different wavelength bands, particularly O‑band and C‑band.
• Proficiency in Python or MATLAB for simulation automation, design optimization, and data analysis.
• Experience with wafer‑level characterization, fabrication variation analysis, or statistical device performance modeling.

Life at Voyant

We build frontier hardware from our lab and office in Midtown Manhattan, where optical tables, lab benches and electronics sit alongside traditional office space. Our work is hands‑on and primarily in person, but we don’t run on a rigid 9‑to‑5. We partner with customers across time zones, so some calls start early or run late, and we adjust schedules around them. We run a high‑trust, high‑accountability environment: you’ll own meaningful work, move quickly and often wear more than one hat. Voyant provides catered lunch every day at HQ, and we’re a diverse group of food lovers from around the world who enjoy sharing food, culture and technical ideas around the lunch table.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Voyant Photonics is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital or partnership status, age, national origin, citizenship, veteran or military status, disability, medical condition, genetic information, caregiver status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Compensation Range: $140K - $240K