Test Engineer

Photonics Test Engineer

Onsite - Berkeley California

up to $250 k base

I am working with a photonic computing company developing an integrated optical-electronic platform for AI workloads. They’re hiring a hands-on Photonics Test Engineer to build characterization infrastructure from scratch and turn device measurements into practical engineering decisions.

Direct photonic integrated circuit experience is preferred. Engineers from free-space optics, optical communications, transceivers, fiber optics, semiconductor lasers and photodetectors are also encouraged to apply.

This is a primarily onsite role for someone who wants to build setups, run experiments and own the interpretation of results.

The role

• Build optical and optoelectronic characterization setups, from measurement strategy and instrument selection through physical integration and validation.
• Own calibration and reference methods, ensuring measurements are repeatable and meaningful.
• Characterize devices and explain how their components, interfaces and operating conditions affect performance.
• Diagnose performance limitations and failure mechanisms, separating device behavior from setup or measurement artifacts.
• Work with design, fabrication and packaging engineers to translate findings into improvements.
• Develop repeatable manual and automated test capability, with automation supporting hands-on hardware measurement.
• Connect device-level results to wider module and subsystem behavior.

Your experience

• Personally characterized PICs or relevant optical/optoelectronic devices.
• Built or substantially developed measurement setups, with direct ownership of the hardware and results.
• Can explain the device physics behind your measurements, why you chose a particular method and how you interpreted the data.
• Understand how design and fabrication choices influence measured performance.
• Used experimental findings to change a design, package, test method or operating condition.
• Bring practical breadth beyond a single narrow experiment and are comfortable building capability in an early-stage environment.

Why join?

You’ll shape the company’s test capability from the ground up, working closely with engineers across photonics, electronics and packaging. Your measurements will directly inform the development of an integrated computing platform.

Interested? Lets chat?