Sr. Staff Engineer, Optical Link Design
Sr. Staff Engineer in San Jose (on-site) building and validating system-level models of optical links for Ayar Labs' co-packaged optics (silicon photonics) I/O platform aimed at AI infrastructure. Day to day: link modeling studies, translating device variability into link budgets and yield, benchmarking models against measured data, using Python-based data analysis.
- Compensation
- $175K–$223K / yr
- Location
- San Jose, CA
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Staff
- Employment
- Not specified
- Experience
- Not specified
- Category
- Design
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- Bachelor's degree in Optics/Photonics, Physics, Electrical Engineering or a related field
- Demonstrated experience in photonics, electrical engineering, high-speed link design, or processing and analyzing large statistical datasets
- Comprehensive understanding of high-speed electrical and/or optical links and optical physics of photonic components
- Strong programming proficiency in Python for scientific computing and data analysis
- Familiarity with data analysis libraries (e.g., Pandas, NumPy, SciPy)
- Excellent communication skills and proven ability to thrive in collaborative team environments
Nice to have
- Master's or Ph.D. in Optics/Photonics, Physics, Electrical Engineering or a related field
- Prior experience in design and simulation of PIC components or large-scale integrated optical systems
- Experience with laboratory equipment and free-space/fiber optics for optical characterization
- Proficiency in behavioral modeling using Verilog-A and knowledge of mixed-signal simulation methodologies
Full description
Sr. Staff Engineer, Optical Link Design
Location: San Jose, CA (on-site)
Ayar Labs is shattering AI data bottlenecks by moving data at the speed of light. As pioneers of co-packaged optics (CPO), we are using light instead of electricity to move data faster, further, and with a fraction of the energy needed to fuel the explosive growth of AI models.
Backed by industry giants like NVIDIA, AMD, Mediatek and Intel and manufactured in partnership with the world’s leading semiconductor ecosystem, Ayar Labs’ co-packaged optics solution is key to unleashing next-generation AI scale-up architectures.
Joining our Link Design and Architecture team means you will play a pivotal role in shaping our silicon photonics optical I/O platform. This team is responsible for ensuring the robustness and performance of the optical links that power our technology. In this role, you will bridge the gap between large-scale data analysis and advanced optical link models to optimize the performance of Ayar Labs' co-packaged optics (CPO) solution.
Essential Functions
- Drive rigorous link modeling studies to help evaluate future product solution spaces and define precise component-level specifications.
- Identify key device performance metrics and translate hardware variability into its impact on total link budget and manufacturing yield.
- Build accurate system-level models based on component-level data and benchmark these models against measured system-level data.
- Work collaboratively with Photonic and AMS teams to ensure seamless integration across electrical and optical domains.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Optics/Photonics, Physics, Electrical Engineering or a related field.
- Demonstrated experience in photonics, electrical engineering, high-speed link design, or processing and analyzing large statistical datasets.
- Comprehensive understanding of high-speed electrical and/or optical links, as well as optical physics regarding photonic components.
- Strong programming proficiency in Python for scientific computing and data analysis.
- Familiarity with data analysis libraries (e.g., Pandas, NumPy, SciPy) is required.
- Excellent communication skills to convey complex technical concepts and a proven ability to thrive in collaborative team environments.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's or Ph.D. in Optics/Photonics, Physics, Electrical Engineering or a related field.
- Prior experience in the design and simulation of PIC components or large-scale integrated optical systems.