High Speed Photodiode Design Engineer

OpenLight Photonics • Goleta, CA

20h

About The Position

OpenLight Photonics is looking for a highly motivated, experienced individual to drive the design, simulation, layout, and characterization of next-generation High-Speed Photodetectors. In this role, you will join a world-class team of engineers pioneering next generation photonic solutions spanning datacom, telecom, LiDAR, healthcare, high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, automotive and optical computing across next-generation communications and computing networks. You will be responsible for defining, designing and optimizing device physics, high-frequency RF behavior, and optical performance of Germanium-on-Silicon (Ge-on-Si) and heterogeneous III-V/Silicon integrated photodetectors. You will interface closely with multidisciplinary engineering teams, customers and wafer manufacturing foundries, to take components from initial concept to high-volume production.

Requirements

• Ph.D. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Photonics, Optics or a related field with a distinct emphasis on optoelectronic devices or high-speed semiconductor physics
• 3+ years of experience (or equivalent academic research) in high-speed, integrated photodetector design, processing, or testing
• Proficient with high-speed device simulations and circuit design tools (e.g. Ansys HFSS, CST, ADS, Sentaurus TCAD, Crosslight)
• Solid grounding in RF/microwave concepts, including transmission line theory, impedance matching, and parasitic RC parameter extraction
• Direct experience with devices fabricated from Germanium (Ge) epitaxial growth or hybrid wafer-bonding techniques for III-V materials on silicon substrates.
• Proficiency in Python or equivalent programming environments for automated layout generation (e.g., Luceda IPKISS, etc)
• Experience using statistical tools (e.g., JMP) and/or Python/SQL to parse automated wafer-level test data.
• Familiarity with post-silicon testing protocols for optical transceivers, including bit error rate (BER) and optical eye diagram analysis.
• Experience with RF characterization of photonic devices (transceiver modules is a plus)
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to work in a fast-paced, collaborative environment
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for technical documentation and reporting

Responsibilities

• Design, simulate, and optimize active photonic components, focusing specifically on high-bandwidth PIN, Avalanche Photodiode (APD), and wave-guided photodetector structures.
• Utilize advanced optical simulation tools to model carrier transport dynamics, transit time limits, quantum efficiency, and dark current.
• Model and design high-speed RF electrode configurations and matching transitions to ensure signal integrity at data rates reaching 200 Gbps per lane and beyond.
• Own custom mask layouts (GDS/OASIS) within automated design environments, ensuring total adherence to foundry Design Rule Checking (DRC) and Layout Versus Schematic (LVS) rules.
• Collaborate with the fab process integration team to optimize process corners, epitaxy parameters, and implant profiles for increased wafer yields.
• Partner with validation and test engineering teams to perform hands-on electro-optic characterization, extracting high-speed s-parameters (S₂₁/S₁₁), responsivity, and reliability metrics.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior