Staff PIC Process Engineer

NOKIA; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Nokia in Sunnyvale is seeking a Staff PIC Process Development Engineer to lead the development, optimization, and transfer of InP PIC and laser fabrication processes for high-volume manufacturing.

You will collaborate with remote fabrication partners, drive process integration across modules, and mentor engineers to deliver robust, scalable manufacturing for next-generation optical networks.

Qualifications

• PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or related field required.
• 3+ years of industry experience developing and manufacturing InP PIC or laser fabrication processes for high-volume applications.
• Experience working with remote fabs and cross-site teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, and optimization of InP PIC and laser fabrication processes for high-volume manufacturing.
• Design epitaxial layer structures in collaboration with device designers and epitaxy suppliers.
• Develop complete fabrication process flows based on design requirements, tool capabilities, and manufacturing constraints.
• Drive process integration, ensuring compatibility across metal, semiconductor, and dielectric modules.
• Perform data analysis of photonic devices, wafers, and process data in a manufacturing environment.
• Apply SPC, Cp/Cpk, and statistical methods to monitor and improve process performance.
• Lead or contribute to FMEA activities, root cause analysis, and corrective actions for yield and reliability issues.
• Define and utilize metrology strategies to ensure robust process control.
• Shepherd wafers through the fab, coordinating with test, development, integration, and fabrication engineers.
• Interface with external or remote fabrication facilities to ensure alignment on process execution and priorities.
• Collaborate with device design, product engineering, and reliability teams to support technology readiness and product ramp.
• Provide technical leadership and mentor junior engineers.

Skills

Epitaxial design

Process development

Data analysis

FMEA

Metrology

Cross-site collaboration

Education

Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field

Tools

Deposition tools

Etching tools

Process control tools

Job description

Staff PIC Process Development Engineer

As a senior individual contributor within Nokia's Optical Components organization, responsible for the development, optimization, and transfer of InP photonic integrated circuit (PIC) and laser fabrication processes for highvolume manufacturing.

This role requires deep technical expertise across epitaxial design, semiconductor processing, datadriven manufacturing analysis, and close collaboration with remote fabrication partners. You will play a key role in enabling nextgeneration optical component technologies that support Nokia's highcapacity optical networking platforms.

Process Development & Integration

• Lead the design, development, and optimization of InP PIC and laser fabrication processes for highvolume manufacturing
• Design and specify epitaxial layer structures in collaboration with device designers and epitaxy suppliers
• Develop complete fabrication process flows based on design requirements, tool capabilities, and manufacturing constraints
• Drive process integration, ensuring compatibility across metal, semiconductor, and dielectric modules

Manufacturing Data & Yield Excellence

• Perform extensive data analysis of photonic device, wafer, and process data in a manufacturing environment
• Apply SPC, process capability analysis (Cp/Cpk), and statistical methods to monitor and improve process performance
• Lead or contribute to FMEA activities, root cause analysis, and corrective actions for yield and reliability issues
• Define and utilize metrology strategies to ensure robust process control

Fab Execution & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Shepherd wafers successfully through the fab, coordinating closely with test, development, integration, and fabrication engineers
• Act as a senior technical interface with external or remote fabrication facilities, ensuring alignment on process execution and priorities
• Collaborate with device design, product engineering, and reliability teams to support technology readiness and product ramp

Technical Leadership & Impact

• Provide technical leadership within the PIC process development domain
• Contribute to continuous improvement of tools, methods, and best practices
• Mentor junior engineers and support knowledge transfer across the broader team

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field
• Minimum 3 years of industry experience developing and manufacturing InP PIC or laser fabrication processes for highvolume applications
• Demonstrated expertise in:
  • Design of epitaxial layer structures
  • Process design and fabrication process development for InP devices or PICs
  • Photonic device data query and analysis in a manufacturing environment
  • Metal, semiconductor, and dielectric deposition and etching tools, chemistries, and methods
  • FMEA, SPC, process capability, and metrology
  • Building endtoend fabrication process flows from tool and design specifications

• Proven ability to work effectively with remote fabs and crosssite teams

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting technology transfer to highvolume manufacturing
• Familiarity with yield ramp, qualification, and reliability testing for photonic devices
• Strong communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical issues across disciplines
• Experience working in foundry or captive fab environments supporting compound semiconductor technologies