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Phd Photonics Jobs (NOW HIRING)

GlobalFoundries inc.

NY · On-site

$143 - $247/hr

PhD in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Physics, Photonics, Materials Science, or related discipline.* 15+ years of experience in photonic device development, quantum photonics, semiconductor ...

New

TSMC

Silicon Photonics - Technical Lead

San Jose, CA · Hybrid

$149K - $263K/yr

Masters or PhD in electrical engineering, opto-electronics, physics or related field. * Minimum 10 years of relevant industry experience in silicon photonics design and characterization. * Proven ...

Socket.dev

WI · On-site

$143 - $247/hr

PhD in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Physics, Photonics, Materials Science, or related discipline. * 15+ years of experience in photonic device development, quantum photonics ...

New

Monarch Quantum, Inc.

$200 - $300/hr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Retirement

  • PTO

MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Optical Engineering, or related field. * 12+ years of experience in photonics or laser systems development. * 5+ years managing technical teams. * Deep ...

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Phd Photonics information

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$44K

$106.4K

$173.5K

How much do phd photonics jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 19, 2026, the average yearly pay for phd photonics in the United States is $106,386.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $76,000.00 and $132,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is the difference between Phd Photonics vs Optical Engineer?

AspectPhd PhotonicsOptical Engineer
Required CredentialsPhD in Photonics or related fieldBachelor's or Master's in Optical Engineering or related field
Work EnvironmentResearch labs, academia, industry R&DDesign, develop, and test optical systems in industry
Industry UsageResearch institutions, universities, high-tech companiesManufacturers, tech companies, telecommunications

While a Phd Photonics focuses on advanced research, development, and theoretical understanding of photonic systems, an Optical Engineer applies practical engineering skills to design and implement optical devices and systems. Both roles often overlap in industry, but the PhD typically emphasizes research and innovation, whereas the Optical Engineer concentrates on product development and application.

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Phd Photonics jobs near you
Infographic showing various Phd Photonics job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 77% Full Time, 21% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 73% Physical, 4% Hybrid, and 23% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $106,386 per year, or $51.1 per hour.

Sr. Engineer, Photonics Device Design

Ayar Labs

San Jose, CA

$170K - $220K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 9 days ago

Job description

Sr. Engineer, Photonics Device Design
Location: San Jose (on-site)
Ayar Labs is transforming AI infrastructure with the industry's first proven co-packaged optics (CPO) solution, manufactured in partnership with the world's leading semiconductor ecosystem. Backed by industry leaders including NVIDIA, AMD, MediaTek and Intel, our technology moves data at the speed of light — faster, further, and with a fraction of the energy consumed by conventional electrical interconnect.
As a photonics design engineer at Ayar Labs, you'll work on the devices at the heart of our CPO solution — designing, simulating, and characterizing integrated photonic components for an aggressive optical I/O product roadmap. You'll contribute to real tape-outs, develop compact models from measurement data, and build tools and infrastructure the team depends on. Because our team is small and the problems are real, you'll develop faster here than almost anywhere else: your contributions land in product, not in a backlog.
Essential Functions
  • Design. Design integrated photonic components needed for an aggressive optical I/O product roadmap — passive devices (couplers, gratings, micro-ring resonators) and the system context that sets their requirements.
  • Characterize and iterate. Plan test vehicles, use measurement data to refine simulation models, and drive device performance toward roadmap targets.
  • Build infrastructure. Contribute to the team's design and analysis codebase — extend simulation automation, layout scripts, and data analysis tools that make the whole team faster.
  • Collaborate. Work with colleagues across packaging, laser, circuits, and firmware to understand system requirements and translate them into device specifications.
  • Support manufacturability. Work with foundry process data to assess design margins, contribute to design-for-manufacturability, and support yield improvement on new device designs.

Required Qualifications
  • B.S. or equivalent experience in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Physics, or related field; M.S. or PhD a plus
  • 2+ years of experience in silicon photonics or integrated photonic device design (research or commercial)
  • Solid understanding of photonic device physics: waveguides, couplers, gratings, micro-ring resonators
  • Experience with simulation tools for passive optical devices (e.g., FDTD, mode solvers)
  • Python skills; experience writing structured code in a team environment
  • Ability to connect simulation to measurement — design, characterize, and iterate on device performance

Preferred Qualifications
  • M.S. or PhD with integrated photonics focus
  • Experience contributing to PIC tape-outs on a standard silicon photonics platform (e.g., AIM Photonics, GlobalFoundries, imec, or similar)
  • Experience designing or characterizing electro-optic devices: micro-ring modulators, photodetectors
  • High-speed test experience: BERT, VNA, wafer-level characterization
  • Statistical analysis of device or process data; DOE methods
  • Familiarity with optical transceiver principles and co-packaged optics architectures
  • Demonstrated use of AI tools to achieve meaningful productivity gains in design or analysis workflows — e.g., device optimization, AI-assisted code development

Salary range: $170,000-$220,000

NOTE TO RECRUITERS:
Principals only. We are not accepting resumes from recruiters for this position. Remuneration for recruiting activities is only applicable subject to a signed and executed agreement between the parties. Please don’t send candidates to Ayar Labs, and do not contact our managers.
Ayar Labs is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is strongly committed to all policies which will afford equal opportunity employment to all qualified persons without regard to age, sex, national origin, race, color, ethnicity, creed, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. It is the policy of Ayar Labs to provide reasonable accommodation when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with a disability, unless such accommodation would cause an undue hardship. Veterans are more than welcome and encouraged to apply.

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