{"id":1296032,"url":"https://alion.io/job/openlight-photonics-high-speed-photodiode-design-engineer","title":"High Speed Photodiode Design Engineer","company":{"id":2264134,"name":"OpenLight Photonics","domain":"openlightphotonics.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/openlightphotonics","size_band":"51-200","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Kula","truth_index":null},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"middle","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Goleta, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":88000,"max_usd":160000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_remote_cell","sample_n":3690},"experience_years_min":3,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Ansys HFSS","optional":false},{"name":"Avalanche","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"SQL","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-25T09:11:46Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-11","last_verified_at":"2026-10-20T04:23:48Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":24,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":24},"description":"The Opportunity\nOpenLight Photonics is looking for a highly motivated, experienced individual to drive the design, simulation, layout, and characterization of next-generation High-Speed Photodetectors. In this role, you will join a world-class team of engineers pioneering next generation photonic solutions spanning datacom, telecom, LiDAR, healthcare, high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, automotive and optical computing across next-generation communications and computing networks.\nYou will be responsible for defining, designing and optimizing device physics, high-frequency RF behavior, and optical performance of Germanium-on-Silicon (Ge-on-Si) and heterogeneous III-V/Silicon integrated photodetectors. You will interface closely with multidisciplinary engineering teams, customers and wafer manufacturing foundries, to take components from initial concept to high-volume production.\nWhat You Will Do\nDesign, simulate, and optimize active photonic components, focusing specifically on high-bandwidth PIN, Avalanche Photodiode (APD), and wave-guided photodetector structures.\n\nUtilize advanced optical simulation tools to model carrier transport dynamics, transit time limits, quantum efficiency, and dark current.\n\nModel and design high-speed RF electrode configurations and matching transitions to ensure signal integrity at data rates reaching 200 Gbps per lane and beyond.\n\nOwn custom mask layouts (GDS/OASIS) within automated design environments, ensuring total adherence to foundry Design Rule Checking (DRC) and Layout Versus Schematic (LVS) rules.\n\nCollaborate with the fab process integration team to optimize process corners, epitaxy parameters, and implant profiles for increased wafer yields.\n\nPartner with validation and test engineering teams to perform hands-on electro-optic characterization, extracting high-speed s-parameters (S₂₁/S₁₁), responsivity, and reliability metrics.\n\nYour Background Includes\nPh.D. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Photonics, Optics or a related field with a distinct emphasis on optoelectronic devices or high-speed semiconductor physics\n\n3+ years of industry experience in high-speed, integrated photodetector design, processing, and testing\n\nProficient with high-speed device simulations and circuit design tools (e.g. Ansys HFSS, CST, ADS, Sentaurus TCAD, Crosslight)\n\nSolid grounding in RF/microwave concepts, including transmission line theory, impedance matching, and parasitic RC parameter extraction\n\nDirect experience with devices fabricated from Germanium (Ge) epitaxial growth or hybrid wafer-bonding techniques for III-V materials on silicon substrates.\n\nProficiency in Python or equivalent programming environments for automated layout generation (e.g., Luceda IPKISS, etc)\n\nExperience using statistical tools (e.g., JMP) and/or Python/SQL to parse automated wafer-level test data.\n\nFamiliarity with post-silicon testing protocols for optical transceivers, including bit error rate (BER) and optical eye diagram analysis.\n\nExperience with RF characterization of photonic devices (transceiver modules is a plus)\n\nStrong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to work in a fast-paced, collaborative environment\n\nExcellent written and verbal communication skills for technical documentation and reporting\n\nAbout OpenLight\nOpenLight is growing as customer adoption and industry momentum continue to accelerate. The rapid growth of AI and cloud infrastructure is driving unprecedented demand for faster, more energy-efficient optical connectivity. We are addressing this challenge through a platform approach that simplifies the development of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and accelerates industry adoption.\nAs part of our team, you will contribute to technologies that enable AI and hyperscale data centers, high-speed optical communications, advanced sensing applications, next-generation photonic integration, and more. Our team is collaborative and fast-moving, and you will have the opportunity to make meaningful contributions across technology, operations, and business growth.\nIf you are excited about solving challenging problems, advancing cutting-edge technology, and working with a highly collaborative team, we would love to hear from you.","description_format":"text","description_chars":4262,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":3,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"master","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Optical Communications","Optics & Photonic Components"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-26T09:11:46Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"US","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"H-1B filings in 12 months: 2","filings_12m":2,"filings_prev_12m":5,"green_card_filings_12m":0,"median_offered_wage_usd":137500,"route":null,"cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-10-15T11:24:14+00:00","sources":["US Department of Labor: LCA disclosure data (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3)","US Department of Labor: PERM disclosure data (green cards)"],"filings_for_role_12m":0}],"liveness":{"score":58,"band":"ok","label":"Likely open","p_open":1,"p_active":0.767,"p_room":0.75,"age_days":23,"expected_fill_days":31,"reasons":["conf:0","velocity","win:late"],"computed_at":"2026-10-19T05:45:15Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/openlight-photonics-high-speed-photodiode-design-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/openlight-photonics-high-speed-photodiode-design-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-20T05:29:45Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":6152,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-21T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":2264134},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=2264134"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fopenlight-photonics-high-speed-photodiode-design-engineer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fopenlight-photonics-high-speed-photodiode-design-engineer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fopenlight-photonics-high-speed-photodiode-design-engineer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/openlight-photonics-high-speed-photodiode-design-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fopenlight-photonics-high-speed-photodiode-design-engineer"}]}