Senior Silicon Photonics Design Engineer

Coherent Corp.•Horsham, PA

About The Position

Coherent is a global leader in lasers, engineered materials and networking components. They are a vertically integrated manufacturing company that develops innovative products for diversified applications in the industrial, optical communications, military, life sciences, semiconductor equipment, and consumer markets. This Senior Silicon Photonics Design Engineer role involves designing and taping out silicon photonic integrated circuits (PICs), including integrated coherent receivers and integrated coherent transmitter PICs. The engineer will be responsible for the full design cycle from layout and simulation to supporting product development through New Product Introduction (NPI) phases, manufacturing transition, and mentoring junior engineers within the organization.

Requirements

PhD or MS in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Photonics, or related field.
Typically 5+ years of experience in silicon photonics design, integrated photonics, or optical communication systems.
Proven experience with silicon photonics PIC tapeouts and foundry interactions.
Strong expertise in silicon photonics device physics and PIC design methodologies.
Experience with electromagnetic simulation and photonic design tools.
Familiarity with photonic foundry design kits (PDKs) and layout environments.
Strong understanding of optical communication systems and coherent optical architectures.
Experience with RF design and electro-optic device modeling.
Knowledge of packaging and fiber coupling techniques for photonic devices.
Programming experience for simulation automation and data analysis.
Strong problem-solving, analytical, and debugging skills.
Excellent collaboration skills for working with cross-functional engineering teams.

Responsibilities

Design and tapeout silicon photonic integrated circuits (PICs) including integrated coherent receivers and integrated coherent transmitter PICs.
Design and prepare PIC layouts using industry-standard PIC design flows including: Synopsys OptoCompiler, Cadence Virtuoso-based photonic design flows.
Implement parametric layout cells (PCells) and scripted layout generation to support scalable photonic circuit design.
Develop and simulate passive photonic components.
Model and simulate active photonic devices.
Perform electromagnetic, optical, and electrical simulations using tools such as: Lumerical (FDTD, MODE, DEVICE, INTERCONNECT), CST Microwave Studio, HFSS, Tidy3D, ADS, Other PIC design and verification tools as required.
Support the local development of photonic components for multiple silicon photonics foundries and technology platforms.
Work closely with external silicon photonics foundries to successfully design, verify, and tapeout advanced PICs.
Conduct design corner analysis to ensure device robustness across process, voltage, temperature, and fabrication variations.
Perform post-layout simulations and verification, including optical, RF, and electro-optic performance validation.
Develop compact models and simulation workflows for system-level verification of photonic circuits.
Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams including: Electronics / IC design, Packaging engineering, Optical system engineering, Test engineering, Reliability engineering, Manufacturing and operations.
Support product development through New Product Introduction (NPI) phases including prototype validation, characterization, and design improvements.
Work with reliability engineering teams to define qualification plans, including lifetime testing, environmental stress testing, and failure analysis.
Support transition from prototype to high-volume manufacturing, including: Design for manufacturability (DFM), Process variation mitigation, Yield optimization, Test strategy development, Production monitoring and yield analysis.
Participate in design reviews, documentation, and technical presentations.
Mentor junior engineers and contribute to best practices for silicon photonic design within the organization.