Sr. Engineer, Silicon Validation

Ayar Labs • San Jose, CA

1d • $160,000 - $192,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Ayar Labs is shattering AI data bottlenecks by moving data at the speed of light. As pioneers of co-packaged optics (CPO), we are using light instead of electricity to move data faster, further, and with a fraction of the energy needed to fuel the explosive growth of AI models. Backed by industry giants like NVIDIA, AMD, MediaTek and Intel and manufactured in partnership with the world’s leading semiconductor ecosystem, Ayar Labs’ co-packaged optics solution is key to unleashing next-generation AI scale-up architectures. In this role, you will own the silicon bringup and validation of our optical chiplets. You will execute post-silicon bringup and characterization across SerDes, photonic, and mixed-signal blocks, building the test infrastructure and automation that ensures our products meet and exceed specification before customer deployment.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related field with 3+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Hands-on experience with post-silicon bringup and validation of high-speed SoC or mixed-signal devices.
• Working knowledge of SerDes PHY operation and characterization, including NRZ and/or PAM-4 signaling.
• Proficiency with lab equipment used for high-speed characterization: BERT, oscilloscopes, signal analyzers.
• Proficiency in Python for test scripting and data analysis.
• Strong troubleshooting skills and ability to work independently in a lab environment.
• Proficiency with version control (Git) and software development environments.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree in EE or physics.
• Experience with photonic device or electro-optic system characterization and validation.
• Familiarity with optical measurement equipment (OSA, optical power meters, lasers).
• Experience with high-speed serial standards: Ethernet (100G+), PCIe, OIF CEI.
• Experience with board-level debug and hardware bring-up using JTAG or I2C/SPI interfaces.

Responsibilities

• Perform initial power-on and bringup of new silicon tape-outs, including boot sequence validation, clock/power domain verification, and initial functionality tests.
• Perform functional and electrical characterization of high-speed SerDes interfaces, photonic control blocks, and mixed signal blocks. Define and execute test plans at both block and chip level.
• Use lab test equipment (BERT, oscilloscope/DCA, OSA, signal generators) to characterize signal integrity, eye diagrams, BER, jitter, and optical performance metrics.
• Develop and maintain Python-based test scripts and automation frameworks for regression and characterization testing.
• Systematically investigate silicon anomalies and failures; collaborate with design and firmware engineers to develop and verify fixes.
• Write clear test plans, validation reports, and signoff documentation; communicate findings to cross-functional teams.
• Partner with firmware, analog/mixed-signal, digital, and systems engineering teams across the full product development cycle.

What This Job Offers

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