Principal PIC Design Engineer

Job Description

Job Title: Principal PIC Design Engineer. Location: British Columbia, Canada

Responsibilities:

• Design and optimize complex active and passive photonic integrated circuits (PICs) at system and component levels.
• Develop new software and scripts to meet design and analysis objectives.
• Collaborate with foundries and manufacturers for fabrication and testing.
• Conduct trade studies and analysis of alternatives to explore design options and their trade-offs.
• Propose and analyze experiments to validate and refine simulation models;
• Present findings verbally and in writing to cross-functional teams.
• Translate analysis into recommendations for future development directions.
• Address integration issues with other chips and systems.
• Create polished simulation flows and documentation to support collaboration with other PIC design engineers.
• Work closely with PIC designers, device engineers, nanofabrication engineers, and physicists;
• Train, guide, and mentor team members on frameworks and best practices.
• Contribute to the company’s intellectual property portfolio.

Qualifications:

• Master’s or PhD in electrical engineering, applied physics, or a related discipline.
• 10+ years of experience with silicon photonics in an industrial setting.
• Expertise in designing photonic layouts using KLayout, Luceda, Cadence, Mentor Graphics, or equivalent.
• Deep knowledge of designing and optimizing silicon photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and devices.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python and MATLAB;
• Experience with electromagnetic simulation tools like Lumerical (FDTD, MODE, INTERCONNECT), Tidy3D.
• Strong understanding of photonics, electronics, and electromagnetic compatibility.
• Familiarity with optical bench experiments, including parameter analyzers, optical spectrum analyzers, and laser sources.
• Excellent teamwork, interpersonal, and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively.

Preferred:

• 15+ years of experience with silicon photonics in industry.
• Experience designing high-performance optical switches and modulators (high speed, low optical loss, low power dissipation).
• Expertise with inverse design optimization techniques, including adjoint methods, particle swarm optimization, genetic algorithms, or gradient ascent.
• Experience with single-photon detectors and hybrid material platforms like silicon nitride.
• Experience with high-frequency chip design (RFIC/MMIC) and modeling in tools like HFSS;
• Experience with thermal and mechanical modeling (COMSOL FEM) and doping, diffusion, or electrical device simulation (Sentarus, Silvaco TCAD).
• Knowledge of PIC packaging, fabrication, and testing.
• Understanding of quantum optics and cryogenic PICs.

Benefits and Compensation:

• Competitive base salary range: CAD 162,800 – 223,900 per year.
• Equity options and comprehensive benefits including health, dental, life, long-term disability, employee assistance program, parental leave top-ups, and flexible spending account.
• Relocation assistance for global talent;
• Inclusive and collaborative company culture with regular social events.
• Opportunity to work on cutting-edge quantum technologies with a team of leading innovators.

Other Information:

• Applicants should submit a cover letter with their resume in a single file describing their fit for the role.
• The company embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion, and encourages applications even if candidates do not meet all listed requirements.
• AI tools may assist in profile review, but hiring decisions are made by humans.