Senior/Staff Nanofabrication and Characterization Engineer

Neurophos • Austin, TX

1d • 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 the rapid prototyping path, translating electromagnetic designs into masks and process flows, fabricating multilevel metal–dielectric nanostructures, integrating an active tunable layer, packaging devices, and measuring optical and electro-optic response. Prototypes are fabricated in university cleanrooms to evaluate designs, materials, and process changes more quickly than a full foundry cycle.

The engineer will spend most of their time in shared-user university nanofabrication facilities and Neurophos’s lab, performing lithography, deposition, etch, planarization, device inspection and cross-sectioning, and optical characterization. Other work includes documentation, run tracking, and data analysis. The position offers ownership of the metasurface prototyping line from design through measured device.

Neurophos develops optical computing hardware using silicon photonics and programmable metasurfaces for energy-efficient AI inference. This is a full-time, onsite role 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 nanostructured devices’ optical response 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, plus mask-layout tools such as KLayout or L-Edit.
• 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 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 ALD 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 (FDTD, FEM, 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 to meet target dimensions and tolerances.
• 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 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, and diagnose interlayer yield problems such as misalignment, dishing, voids, and adhesion.
• Integrate the electro-optically tunable material layer, including surface preparation, alignment and encapsulation layers, cell assembly, and sealing; dice, mount, and wire-bond devices for testing.
• Inspect process runs using SEM, FIB cross-sections, AFM, profilometry, and ellipsometry, and feed measured dimensions back into device designs and models.
• Measure finished devices’ reflectance, spectra, polarization response, and voltage-dependent tuning on microscope-based optical benches; compare results with simulations and identify design or process causes of discrepancies.
• Manage facility access and training, schedule cleanroom tool time, manage materials and consumables, and maintain a steady run cadence with clear records.
• 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 so runs can be repeated and audited.
• Provide modeling and design teams with as-fabricated dimensions, material properties, and process tolerances to establish design rules for future layouts.
• 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 benefits plans, with the option to take cash back for plans not selected.

What This Job Offers

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