Senior Silicon Photonics IC Design Engineer

SpaceX; Redmond (WA); On-site; USD 125,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

401(k) plan

Medical, vision, dental coverage

Paid parental leave

3 weeks paid vacation + 10+ holidays

Job summary

SpaceX is seeking a motivated photonics design engineer to develop next‑generation PICs for space and ground infrastructure. You will work with cross‑disciplinary teams to design, simulate, and package optical blocks (MZM, microring modulators, Ge photodiodes) and drive specifications for high‑speed optical Serdes beyond 100 Gbps.

The role requires a degree in electrical engineering or related field and hands‑on experience with RF/analog/MMS circuits, plus proficiency in electrical simulation

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or computer science
• 2+ years of photonics or electro‑optical integrated circuit design
• Master's degree or PhD in electrical engineering, computer engineering (with emphasis on electro‑optics IC design), or applied physics
• Experience using electrical simulation tools such as Spectre, ADS
• Knowledge of advanced packaging for a co‑package optics (CPO) solution
• Electrical circuit design skills, and experience performing analysis and simulation linear/non‑linear circuits such as high bandwidth modulator drivers, TIAs, CTLEs, filters, low noise and power amplifiers.
• Experience working on wideband circuit designs supporting high speed Serdes links with more than 100Gbps data rate and BW exceeding 10s of GHz
• Familiarity with high speed SerDes architecture and modulation schemes such as NRZ/ PAM4 and link protocols
• Familiarity with optical and radio related test equipment such as spectrum analyzers, vector signal analyzers, vector signal generators, high speed oscilloscopes and BERTs
• Experience characterizing EIC/PIC performance for high speed optical Serdes

Responsibilities

• Design, analyze and simulate optical building blocks such as MZM and Microring modulators, Ge Photo diodes, dWDM filters, waveguides, couplers, dividers and polarization management circuitry in different integrated platforms such as silicon photonics and InGaAs/InP
• Derive specifications for the Photonics IC systems and circuits
• Design and model package optical interface including edge coupler and grating couplers
• Familiar with RF, Analog and mixed signal circuits
• Work with system architects, DSP, electro‑optics, and ASIC engineers to partition functions between hardware and software domains
• Perform IC floor planning and layout
• Evaluate, characterize and measure electrical and optical building blocks of a high‑speed optical link solution
• Assist in the development of automated test lab equipment for lab measurements
• Work with manufacturing engineers on production testing and qualification of the PIC circuits and systems
• Experience using simulation tools such as Lumerical, COMSOL and HFSS

Job description

SpaceX is seeking a motivated photonics design engineer to develop next‑generation PICs for space and ground infrastructure. You will work with cross‑disciplinary teams to design, simulate, and package optical blocks (MZM, microring modulators, Ge photodiodes) and drive specifications for high‑speed optical Serdes beyond 100 Gbps.

The role requires a degree in electrical engineering or related field and hands‑on experience with RF/analog/MMS circuits, plus proficiency in electrical simulation