Photonic IC Design Engineer, Chip-to-System Integration
Designs photonic integrated circuits and the packages that connect them to the world — optical I/O and fiber attach, high-speed modulators, bias/tuning control — for K2 Space's satellite payloads, from spec through tapeout, lab characterization, and launch/radiation qualification. Uses photonic simulation and layout tools plus Python; based on-site in Seattle, WA.
- Compensation
- $130K–$200K / yr
- Location
- Seattle, WA
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Not specified
- Employment
- Full time
- Experience
- Not specified
- Category
- Hardware
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- PhD or MS in electrical engineering, optics, physics, or related field, or Bachelor's with equivalent experience
- PIC designs taken through tapeout on commercial integrated photonics platforms (silicon photonics, silicon nitride, indium phosphide, thin-film lithium niobate) with lab characterization
- Hands-on work at the chip boundary: optical I/O design with fiber attach or packaging, or high-speed modulator/RF design measured with a VNA
- Photonic device simulation (Meep, Tidy3D, Lumerical FDTD, FEM, or EME), layout tools (KLayout, gdsfactory, Cadence), and Python
- Must be a U.S. person (per ITAR) or eligible for a federally issued export control license
Nice to have
- 3D mechanical CAD (SolidWorks, Inventor, Fusion) for package parts or fixtures with machine-shop-ready drawings
- Radiation, thermal-vacuum, or vibration testing of photonic or electronic devices
- Inverse design or topology optimization of couplers and optical I/O devices
- RF package or board design to tens of GHz (HFSS, Sonnet)
- Heterogeneous or 3D integration and co-packaged optics
- Hardware built for space or other harsh environments
- Modulator bias control, resonator locking, or closed-loop control of photonic devices
- Background in RF or microwave engineering
Full description
K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by over $1 billion in total funding from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, ICONIQ, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, and T. Rowe Price — and with over $1 billion in signed contracts across commercial and US government customers, we're mass-producing the highest-power satellite platforms ever built for missions from LEO to deep space.
The rise of heavy-lift launch vehicles is shifting the industry from an era of mass constraint to one of mass abundance, and we believe this new era demands a fundamentally different class of spacecraft. Engineered to survive the harshest radiation environments and to fully capitalize on today's and tomorrow's massive rockets, K2 satellites deliver unmatched capability at constellation scale and across multiple orbits.
With multiple launches in 2027 and plans to scale to 100 satellites a year, we're Building Bigger — helping develop the solar system and build toward a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization. If you are a motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and you're excited about contributing to the success of a high-growth Series D-funded company, we'd love for you to apply.
The Role
K2's ambitions extend beyond the satellite bus. By designing and operating our own spacecraft and regularly manifesting hardware to orbit, K2 is uniquely positioned to develop, test, and deploy ambitious, “limit-of-physics” optical and photonic payloads across MEO, GEO, cislunar, and deep space on unprecedented timelines. The satellite bus is the platform – the payloads are the mission.
As a Photonic IC Design Engineer focused on chip-to-system integration, you will design photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and the packages that connect them to the outside world: small, light, low-cost, and rugged enough to fly at constellation scale. You will own the boundary between chip and system on both sides: optically, how light gets on and off the chip and how fibers are attached and held; electrically, the high-speed modulators, RF interfaces, and bias and tuning control that connect the PIC to its drive electronics. You will also make sure the whole assembly survives launch and years in orbit. Your coupling-loss, modulator, and bandwidth numbers feed directly into system link budgets, so you will work closely with K2's systems, photonics test and automation, RF, ASIC, and manufacturing teams, and with external foundry and packaging partners. As a founding member of the photonics team, you will help set how K2 designs, packages, and qualifies photonic hardware.
Responsibilities
- Design, simulate, and lay out PIC devices and circuits (edge and grating couplers, spot-size converters, photodetectors, and passive components) from specification to tapeout on commercial integrated photonics foundry platforms.