Backplane & Electrophoretic Display Research Engineer

E Ink•Billerica, MA

35d•Onsite

About The Position

E Ink is seeking an experienced, deeply curious engineer or applied physicist to investigate how active-matrix backplane design, electrical behavior, and modes of operation interact with electrophoretic display materials and drive schemes. This position will join a multidisciplinary research team focused on advancing the fundamental understanding of electrophoretic display systems and translating that understanding into improved waveforms, display architectures, test methods, and product performance. The successful candidate will study the complete electrical and electro-optical system—from individual pixel circuits and backplane structures through panel-level addressing and optical response—to identify mechanisms that affect image quality, uniformity, power consumption, reliability, and lifetime. This is a hands-on research role combining electrical measurement, display characterization, physical modeling, experimental design, and close collaboration with waveform, materials, backplane, controller, and product-development teams.

Requirements

B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Physics, Materials Science, or a closely related field.
Substantial experience with active-matrix displays, TFT backplanes, semiconductor devices, pixel circuits, mixed-signal electronics, display driving, or related physical systems.
Strong understanding of device and circuit behavior, including transient response, parasitic effects, leakage, capacitive coupling, switching behavior, noise, and electrical measurement.
Demonstrated ability to design experiments that isolate mechanisms in complex systems and to connect experimental observations with physical or electrical models.
Hands-on proficiency with laboratory equipment such as oscilloscopes, source-measure units, waveform generators, power supplies, data-acquisition systems, and high-impedance or low-current measurement techniques.
Proficiency with scientific programming and data analysis using Python, MATLAB, or comparable tools.
Ability to work effectively across electrical engineering, physics, materials science, software, and product-development disciplines.
Strong technical writing, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
Self-directed and comfortable defining a path forward when the underlying mechanism or solution is initially unclear.

Nice To Haves

Direct experience with amorphous-silicon, oxide/IGZO, LTPS, organic, or other TFT technologies.
Experience designing or characterizing active-matrix pixel circuits, display backplanes, source/gate driving systems, or display controller electronics.
Experience with circuit simulation, compact device models, SPICE, finite-element analysis, or other relevant modeling approaches.
Knowledge of electrophoretic displays, electro-optics, electrochemistry, dielectric materials, colloids, soft matter, or charge transport.
Experience correlating electrical measurements with optical or image-quality measurements.
Track record of technical leadership demonstrated through patents, publications, product innovations, internal technical standards, or successful cross-functional programs.

Responsibilities

Initiate, lead, and execute fundamental research into interactions among active-matrix backplanes, electrophoretic materials, drive electronics, and waveform operation.
Investigate how pixel-circuit and backplane characteristics—including TFT behavior, storage capacitance, parasitic resistance and capacitance, leakage, charge injection, feedthrough, voltage retention, RC settling, device variation, hysteresis, and bias stress—affect display response.
Study the impact of backplane operating conditions and addressing modes, including gate and source timing, line and frame timing, common-electrode behavior, hold and floating states, partial updates, power transitions, and nonideal or interrupted update sequences.
Determine how electrical effects couple to particle motion, charge accumulation, electro-optical memory, residual voltage, optical state accuracy, ghosting, crosstalk, uniformity, color performance, and long-term display stability.
Design controlled experiments and specialized test structures that isolate backplane, drive-electronics, waveform, and material contributions to observed display behavior.
Develop electrical, circuit, statistical, or multiphysics models that connect measurable backplane behavior to electrophoretic and electro-optical response.
Translate research findings into improved drive schemes, backplane requirements, controller behavior, diagnostic methods, design rules, and mitigation strategies.
Develop or enhance instrumentation, automated test systems, and analysis software for synchronized electrical and electro-optical characterization.
Apply rigorous data analysis and uncertainty assessment to distinguish fundamental mechanisms from sample variation, measurement artifacts, and system-level interactions.
Lead root-cause investigations of complex display-performance and reliability issues that span multiple technical disciplines.
Collaborate with global waveform, materials, TFT/backplane, electrical engineering, modeling, reliability, manufacturing, and product-development teams.
Communicate results through technical reports, design reviews, presentations, and recommendations to technical and business leadership.
Create and document intellectual property, including invention disclosures, patents, technical methods, and proprietary display knowledge.