Photonic IC Design Engineer, Chip-to-System Integration

The role

You will design photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and the packages that connect them to the outside world. You will own the boundary between chip and system electrically and optically to ensure assemblies survive launch and orbit.

What you will do

• Design, simulate, and lay out PIC devices and circuits from specification to tapeout.
• Design high-speed modulators and co-design them with RF and ASIC engineers.
• Implement bias and tuning control in hardware.
• Set optical I/O requirements and work them into the floorplan and link budget.
• Design the mechanical side of the package in 3D CAD.
• Drive radiation, thermal-vacuum, and vibration qualification of photonic devices and packages.
• Partner with the photonics test and automation team on characterization.
• Carry the high-speed electrical path through the package.
• Present designs at preliminary and critical design reviews.

Required qualifications

• PhD or MS in electrical engineering, optics, physics, or a related field, or a Bachelor's degree with equivalent experience.
• PIC designs taken through tapeout on one or more commercial integrated photonics platforms, with the fabricated devices characterized in the lab.
• Hands-on work at the chip boundary: optical I/O design with fiber attach or packaging, or high-speed modulator and RF design measured with a VNA.
• Photonic device simulation (Meep, Tidy3D, Lumerical FDTD, FEM, or EME).
• Layout tools (e.g., KLayout, gdsfactory, Cadence).
• Python for automation and data analysis.

Nice to have

• 3D mechanical CAD (e.g., SolidWorks, Inventor, Fusion) for package parts or fixtures.
• Radiation, thermal-vacuum, or vibration testing of photonic or electronic devices.
• Inverse design or topology optimization of couplers and other optical I/O devices.
• RF package or board design to tens of GHz (e.g., HFSS, Sonnet).
• Heterogeneous or 3D integration and co-packaged optics.
• Hardware built for space or other harsh environments.
• Modulator bias control, resonator locking, or other closed-loop control of photonic devices.
• Background in RF or microwave engineering.

Benefits

• Paid time off
• Medical/dental/vision coverage
• Life insurance
• Paid parental leave
• Many other perks

Before you apply

• Must be a U.S. person as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15 or otherwise eligible for a federally issued export control license.

About the company

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown. They are mass-producing high-power satellite platforms for missions from LEO to deep space.