Senior Photonics Engineer

SiLC Technologies, Inc; California; On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Health/vision/dental insurance

401(k)

Job summary

SiLC Technologies, Inc. is actively seeking a Senior Photonics Engineer to lead PIC design from architecture through tapeout for silicon photonics products.

You will drive system-level decisions, mentor the layout team, and interface with foundries to ensure successful tapeouts and product integration. The ideal candidate has 5+ years in silicon photonics, a strong track record leading PIC tapeouts end-to-end, and deep experience with photonic simulation tools and layout collaboration.

Qualifications

• Degree in Photonics, Applied Physics, Optical Engineering, or related field with 5+ years in silicon photonics.
• Demonstrated PIC lead experience from architecture through tapeout and test.
• Strong photonic system design background including link budgets and loss analysis.
• Experience with photonic simulation tools and direct collaboration with layout/foundry teams.
• Excellent communication and leadership to coordinate with senior management and partners.

Responsibilities

• Act as PIC lead, owning design from architecture to tapeout and product integration.
• Define photonic system architectures, budgets, and performance targets.
• Design and simulate PIC circuits and components (waveguides, couplers, modulators, detectors).
• Direct layout team, review DRC/LVS and tapeout readiness.
• Coordinate with foundries and partners to meet tapeout schedules.

Skills

PIC lead

Photonic system design

Layout coordination

Python for simulation

Education

Photonics or related field

Tools

Lumerical FDTD

Lumerical MODE

Lumerical INTERCONNECT

PICS3D

Ansys

Job description

SiLC is a silicon photonics platform company with an immediate opening for a full-time, on-site (in Monrovia, CA) Senior Photonics Engineer. This person will be part of a dynamic and experienced team designing the silicon photonics engines and devices at the core of SiLC’s products. As PIC lead, the role owns photonic system design from architecture through tapeout, directing the layout team and serving as the primary technical interface to our foundry partners to deliver SiLC’s silicon photonics solutions. The ideal candidate has a track record of leading PIC tapeouts end-to-end and is comfortable driving technical decisions with development team leads, foundries, and senior management.

Position OverviewResponsibilities:

About SiLC:

SiLC is a silicon photonics platform company with an immediate opening for a full-time, on-site (in Monrovia, CA) Senior Photonics Engineer. This person will be part of a dynamic and experienced team designing the silicon photonics engines and devices at the core of SiLC’s products. As PIC lead, the role owns photonic system design from architecture through tapeout, directing the layout team and serving as the primary technical interface to our foundry partners to deliver SiLC’s silicon photonics solutions. The ideal candidate has a track record of leading PIC tapeouts end-to-end and is comfortable driving technical decisions with development team leads, foundries, and senior management.

Position OverviewResponsibilities:

• Act as PIC lead for SiLC’s silicon photonic integrated circuits (PICs), owning each design from architecture and specification through tapeout, test, and product integration.
• Design and define photonic system architectures for SiLC’s product engines, including optical link and loss budgets, noise and power analysis, and product integration.
• Design and simulate PIC circuits and components: waveguides, couplers, splitters, modulators, detectors, and coherent receivers with appropriate simulation tools (e.g. FDTD, EME, etc).
• Direct the layout team, setting floorplans and layout priorities, and review layouts, DRC/LVS results, and GDS before tapeout.
• Serve as the primary technical interface to foundry partners, ensuring design rule compliance, mask data preparation, process options, and tapeout schedules through fab-out.
• Define PIC-level and system-level test plans, collaborate with test engineers to analyze wafer and packaged-device data, and feed results back into future tapeouts.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to photonics engineers, and collaborate with packaging, systems, electronics, and software teams to bring SiLC’s products to market.

Qualifications:

• Degree in Photonics, Applied Physics, Optical Engineering, or a related field, and 5+ years of industry experience in silicon photonics design.
• Demonstrated experience as PIC lead, taking multiple silicon photonic designs from architecture through tapeout and test.
• Strong background in photonic system design, including link budgets, noise and loss analysis, and translating system requirements into component specifications.
• Experience with photonic simulation tools (e.g. Lumerical FDTD/MODE/INTERCONNECT, PICS3D, Ansys, or similar).
• Hands‑on experience working directly with layout teams and silicon photonics foundries, including PDKs, design rule checks, and tapeout submissions.
• Strong communication and leadership skills to drive technical decisions with development team leads, foundry partners, and senior management.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with silicon photonics foundry processes (e.g. AIM Photonics, GlobalFoundries, imec, Tower Semiconductor), including managing foundry relationships.
• Experience with PIC layout and GDS tools (e.g. KLayout, GDS Factory, Synopsys OptoDesigner, Cadence Virtuoso).
• Experience designing coherent receivers, FMCW lidar, or other coherent sensing systems.
• Familiarity with laser integration, electro‑optic co‑design, and PIC packaging (fiber attach, hybrid or heterogeneous integration).
• Experience mentoring engineers or leading a small technical team.
• Proficiency in Python for simulation, automation, and data analysis.

Compensation:

• Base salary: $150,000-190,000 based on experience level and qualifications
• Stock options.
• Other benefits include health/vision/dental insurance, 401(k), etc.