Principal PIC Design Engineer

An exciting opportunity for a Principal PIC Design Engineer to take a leading role developing next-generation visible-light photonic integrated circuits for advanced precision and nanoscale technologies.

You’ll own devices from first-principles simulation and PIC design through cleanroom fabrication to measured silicon, with significant influence over the technical direction of the photonics platform.

The role

• Design visible-light PICs including waveguides, couplers, MMIs, MZIs, resonators and subwavelength structures
• Develop fibre-to-chip coupling and interfaces for heterogeneously integrated lasers and photodetectors
• Perform FDTD, eigenmode and propagation simulations
• Take designs through layout, fabrication and characterisation
• Work hands-on with e-beam lithography, ICP-RIE, thin-film deposition and evaporation
• Characterise optical thin films and fabricated photonic devices
• Use Python to automate simulations, parameter sweeps and data analysis
• Help define the technical direction of the photonics platform

Your background

• Strong hands-on PIC/waveguide design experience, ideally at visible wavelengths
• Experience with Lumerical/FDTD and photonic simulation
• Strong passive photonics knowledge, including couplers and resonant devices
• Hands-on cleanroom and nanofabrication experience
• Understanding of heterogeneous integration and mode matching
• Experience with optical characterisation and thin-film processes
• Python skills; KLayout, GDSFactory or IPKISS advantageous

A rare opportunity to combine advanced PIC design, visible photonics and hands-on nanofabrication, taking technology from simulation all the way through to fabricated and characterised devices while helping shape a new photonics platform.