High-Speed Electro-Optical IC Engineer (RFIC Engineering)
SpaceX· RFIC Engineering
Hybrid (Palo Alto, CA)$135k - $210kFull-timePosted 5d ago
About the role
Electrical-optical silicon photonics IC engineer to develop next-generation PIC/EIC for space and ground infrastructure as part of Starlink, collaborating with cross-disciplinary teams to partition functions between hardware, software, and optical domains.
Responsibilities
- Design, analyze and simulate drivers for MZM and laser diodes
- Design analyze and simulate TIAs and derive models for PDs (Ge Photo diodes)
- Derive specifications for the entire electro-optical system and circuits
- Design and model package for electro-optical components and systems
- Develop Analog/Mixed-Signal/RF/Microwave circuits in SiGe, FDSOI, or silicon bulk CMOS processes
- Work with system architects, DSP/ASIC designers and PIC designers to partition functions between hardware, software, and optical domains
- Perform IC floor planning and layout
- Simulate and model package and external discrete components
- Evaluate, characterize and measure electrical and optical building blocks of a high-speed optical link solution
- Assist in the development of automated test setups and test programs for production and lab measurements
- Work with manufacturing engineers on production testing and qualification of the EIC/PIC components and systems
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or computer science
- 2+ years of photonics or electro-optical integrated circuit design
- Master's degree or PhD in physics, electrical engineering or computer engineering with emphasis in electro-optics integrated circuit design (preferred)
- Experience using simulation tools such as Spectre, ADS, HFSS or Momentum, Ansys Lumerical, COMSOL (preferred)
- Understanding of silicon photonics designs and familiarity with MZM, Microring modulators, Ge Photo diodes, dWDM filters, waveguides, couplers, dividers and polarization management circuitry (preferred)
- Electrical circuit design skills for mmWave or broadband analog; analysis and simulation of linear and nonlinear circuits (preferred)
- Knowledge of advanced packaging technology for high-speed data links (preferred)
- Experience with wideband circuit designs for high-speed Serdes (>80 Gbps) and bandwidths >10s of GHz (preferred)
- Familiarity with SerDes, NRZ and PAM4 modulation and link protocols (preferred)
- Familiarity with optical and RF test equipment (preferred)
- Experience characterizing EIC/PIC performance for high-speed optical Serdes (preferred)
- Fluency in C/C++ or Python (preferred)
Skills
Required:MZM and laser diode driver designTIA and PD model developmentElectro-optical system specificationAnalog/Mixed-Signal/RF/Microwave circuit design
Benefits
- Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage
- 401(k) retirement plan
- Short and long-term disability insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid parental leave
- Discounts and perks
- Paid vacation (3 weeks) and 10+ paid holidays per year
- Paid sick leave as per policy
Last updated Oct 21, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
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