Sr. High-Speed Electro-Optical IC Engineer (RFIC Engineering)

SpaceX•Palo Alto, CA

24d

About The Position

SpaceX is seeking a motivated, proactive, and intellectually curious Electrical-optical Silicon photonics IC engineer to work with cross-disciplinary teams spanning systems, firmware, architecture, design, validation, and product engineering. The role develops next-generation photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and electronic integrated circuits (EICs) for deployment in Starlink space and ground infrastructure, helping expand the network’s performance and capabilities.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or computer science.
At least 5 years of photonics or electro-optical integrated circuit design experience.
Ability to work long hours and weekends as necessary to support critical milestones.
Must meet U.S. Government export-control eligibility requirements: be a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee, or be eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree or PhD in electrical engineering or computer engineering, emphasizing electro-optical integrated circuit design.
Experience with simulation tools such as Spectre, ADS, HFSS or Momentum, Ansys Lumerical, or COMSOL.
Photonics design skills and experience analyzing and simulating optical building blocks such as MZM and microring modulators, Ge photodiodes, dWDM filters, waveguides, couplers, dividers, and polarization-management circuitry.
Electrical circuit design skills and experience analyzing and simulating linear and nonlinear circuits, such as high-bandwidth modulator drivers, TIAs, CTLEs, filters, and low-noise and power amplifiers.
Knowledge of advanced packaging technology for optical engine integration in a co-packaged optics (CPO) solution.
Experience designing wideband circuits supporting high-speed SerDes links with data rates above 100 Gbps and bandwidth exceeding tens of GHz.
Familiarity with high-speed SerDes architecture, NRZ and PAM4 modulation schemes, and link protocols.
Familiarity with optical and radio test equipment such as spectrum analyzers, vector signal analyzers, vector signal generators, high-speed oscilloscopes, and BERTs.
Experience characterizing EIC/PIC performance for high-speed optical SerDes.

Responsibilities

Design, simulate, and model electro-optical building blocks for a silicon photonics solution.
Design, simulate, and model RF, analog, and mixed-signal circuits and systems.
Derive specifications for photonics IC and electrical IC subsystems and circuits.
Develop analog, mixed-signal, RF, and microwave circuits in SiGe or CMOS processes.
Collaborate with system architects, DSP and electro-optics engineers, and ASIC engineers to partition functions between hardware and software.
Perform IC floor planning and layout.
Model package and external parasitic components.
Evaluate, characterize, and measure electrical and optical building blocks of a high-speed optical link solution.
Assist in developing automated test lab equipment for laboratory measurements.
Work with manufacturing engineers on production testing and qualification of EIC/PIC components and systems.