Senior/Staff Nanofabrication and Characterization Engineer

Neurophos • Austin, TX

1d • $160,000 - $190,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Neurophos is seeking a hands-on Nanofabrication and Characterization Engineer to build and characterize prototype metasurface chips for its optical vector-matrix multiplication engine. The role owns rapid prototyping in university cleanrooms, translating electromagnetic designs into masks and process flows, fabricating multilevel metal–dielectric nanostructures, integrating active tunable layers, packaging devices, and measuring their performance.

Most work takes place in shared-user university nanofabrication facilities and Neurophos’s lab. The engineer performs lithography, deposition, etching, planarization, inspection, cross-sectioning, and optical and electro-optic characterization. The role also includes process documentation, run tracking, and data analysis, with ownership of the metasurface prototyping line from design through measured device. This is a full-time, onsite position in Austin, Texas, reporting to the Chief Scientist.

Requirements

• MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Applied Physics, Optics, or a closely related field, with a thesis or work centered on nanofabrication.
• At least 3 years of hands-on cleanroom experience fabricating nanophotonic, metasurface, plasmonic, MEMS, or semiconductor devices, including independent ownership of multi-step process flows.
• Direct experience with electron-beam lithography and multilayer alignment at sub-200 nm feature sizes, including resist processing, dose correction, and proximity correction.
• Practical command of metal and dielectric deposition and dry etch, including recipe development for profile, selectivity, and uniformity.
• Proficiency with SEM, AFM, ellipsometry, and profilometry; FIB cross-sectioning experience is strongly desired.
• Experience measuring optical responses of nanostructured devices using microscope-based reflection or transmission spectroscopy and polarization optics.
• Proficiency in Python and/or MATLAB for process data analysis, image analysis, and automated measurement.
• Experience with layout tools such as KLayout or L-Edit for mask design.
• Strong cleanroom safety practices involving hazardous chemicals and gases, and laser safety training for optical bench work.
• Clear technical documentation skills and ability to collaborate with device designers, modeling engineers, packaging engineers, and facility staff.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in a university or shared-user nanofabrication facility, including quickly qualifying new tools and working within shared tool schedules.
• Experience with damascene metallization, CMP, or other planarization processes for multilevel interconnect-like stacks.
• Experience with atomic layer deposition of conformal dielectric or metal-nitride liners in high-aspect-ratio features.
• Experience with liquid crystals, electro-optic polymers, phase-change materials, or other tunable optical materials, including alignment layers and cell assembly.
• Experience with post-CMOS processing or heterogeneous integration on foundry wafers or dies.
• Experience with dicing, die attach, wire bonding, and electrical probing of fabricated devices.
• Nanophotonic or metasurface design experience using full-wave electromagnetic simulation such as FDTD, FEM, or RCWA, and simulation-to-layout workflows.
• Experience with statistical process control, design of experiments, and yield analysis across wafers and runs.
• Experience transferring a process to a commercial foundry or working with foundry design rules.

Responsibilities

• Translate metasurface designs into complete, multi-step process flows and travelers; select lithography, deposition, etch, and planarization steps suited to target dimensions, tolerances, and available tools.
• Pattern sub-200 nm features and align multiple layers using electron-beam lithography and optical or deep-UV steppers; develop and maintain dose, proximity-correction, and resist recipes.
• Deposit and etch metals, dielectrics, and thin conformal liners using processes such as sputtering, evaporation, PECVD, ALD, and RIE/ICP, controlling thickness, sidewall profile, and aspect ratio to nanometer-level tolerances.
• Build stacked metal–dielectric structures with vias and planarization, using CMP, damascene, or lift-off, and diagnose and address interlayer yield problems such as misalignment, dishing, voids, and adhesion.
• Integrate electro-optically tunable material layers, including surface preparation, alignment and encapsulation layers, cell assembly, and sealing; dice, mount, and wire-bond devices for testing.
• Inspect fabrication runs using SEM, FIB cross-sections, AFM, profilometry, and ellipsometry, and feed measured dimensions back into device designs and models.
• Measure reflectance, spectra, polarization response, and voltage-dependent tuning on microscope-based optical benches; compare measurements with simulations and identify design or process causes of discrepancies.
• Manage university cleanroom access and training, schedule tool time, manage materials and consumables, and maintain clear records of fabrication runs.
• Design metasurface unit cells and arrays with the modeling team using full-wave electromagnetic simulation, establish process-feasible geometries and tolerances, and generate mask layouts.
• Maintain process recipes, travelers, run logs, and characterization reports to ensure runs are repeatable and auditable.
• Provide modeling and design teams with as-fabricated dimensions, material properties, and process tolerances for future design rules.
• Flag unachievable or high-risk design features and tolerances to the Architecture & Requirements team based on measured process data.
• Help transfer processes and lessons learned to foundry partners and compare foundry-built and prototype devices.
• Mentor engineers and technicians in cleanroom practice, process safety, and metrology.

Benefits

• 100% coverage of base health plan premiums for the employee and dependents, plus HSA contributions.
• Unlimited PTO.
• 401(k) matching.
• Stock option opportunities.
• Voluntary dental, vision, life, hospital, critical illness, and accident insurance.
• Personalized benefit plan choices, with cash back for plans not selected.

What This Job Offers

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