Senior Photonics Engineer – PIC Design & Tapeout Lead

Acceler8 Talent; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Acceler8Talent is partnering with a Washington, DC area photonics startup to hire a Senior/Staff Integrated Photonics Engineer. You will design next-generation photonic integrated circuits, tape out devices, and characterize them end-to-end, collaborating with foundries and packaging vendors to move from prototype to deployment.

The role demands hands-on device testing, data analysis, and the ability to drive design iterations in a fast-paced engineering environment.

Qualifications

• MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Photonics, Optics, or related STEM field.
• 3–10 years experience in designing and developing photonic integrated circuits.
• Experience owning PIC designs through layout, tapeout, fabrication, and characterization.

Responsibilities

• Design, simulate, layout, and tape out photonic integrated circuits and subsystems.
• Develop and optimize active and passive photonic devices for next-generation optical systems.
• Perform hands-on characterization and testing of fabricated photonic devices and circuits.
• Analyze measurement data and drive future design iterations.
• Collaborate with foundry partners and cross-functional teams to deliver hardware.
• Develop scalable workflows for PIC design, simulation, characterization, and automation.
• Lead technical efforts and contribute to product development roadmaps.

Skills

PIC design

Device testing

Data analysis

Lumerical

Python

MATLAB

Photonic simulation

Education

MS/PhD in EE/Physics/Photonics

Tools

Lumerical

FDTD

MODE

Cadence Virtuoso

KLayout

GDSFactory

Python

MATLAB

Job description

Acceler8Talent is partnering with a Washington, DC area photonics startup to hire a Senior/Staff Integrated Photonics Engineer. You will design next-generation photonic integrated circuits, tape out devices, and characterize them end-to-end, collaborating with foundries and packaging vendors to move from prototype to deployment.

The role demands hands-on device testing, data analysis, and the ability to drive design iterations in a fast-paced engineering environment.