Silicon Photonics Component Design Engineer (Modulators, Photodetectors, Lasers) at Intel Foundry, Albuquerque
Job Description
Intel Foundry’s Silicon Photonics Process Development and Manufacturing (SPDM) team is hiring a silicon photonics component design engineer in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The engineer designs and simulates photonic components (lasers, modulators, high-speed photodetectors, passive devices and waveguides), supports test chips from layout to silicon validation, analyses characterisation data, and contributes to patents and publications, for optical links from 400G to 3.2T and beyond.
At a glance
- Role: Silicon Photonics Component Design Engineer (JR0286575)
- Team: Intel Foundry SPDM
- Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
- Posted: 20 August 2026
- Experience: PhD + 2 years or MS + 4 years
- Apply: open until filled (re-checked 13 October 2026)
About the component design role
- Design and simulate lasers, modulators, photodetectors, passives and waveguides
- Contribute to PIC design and architecture evaluations
- Run simulations and tolerance studies for performance, manufacturability and reliability
- Support test chips: layout coordination, tape-out and silicon validation
- Analyse characterisation data and drive design improvements
- Evaluate new photonic technologies and contribute patents and papers
What Intel is looking for
- A PhD in electrical engineering, physics or a related field with 2+ years in silicon photonic device design, simulation or characterisation, or an MS with 4+ years
- Experience in high-speed modulators and photodetectors, or photonic simulation with Sentaurus, Lumerical, HFSS, RSoft or similar
- Or photonic testing and data analysis in MATLAB, Python or JMP, or layout in Cadence or KLayout
Nice to have
- Micro-ring modulators, BTO, TFLN or III-V integration
- TIAs, drivers and DSP basics
- Optical link modelling
- 100G+ devices
- Publications or patents in photonics
Pay and location
Intel lists an annual salary range of $141,910 to $269,100 for this role across US locations; the actual figure depends on location and experience.
How to apply
Apply through the official Intel job posting. Intel’s posting does not give a closing date, so the role is open until filled; ResearchJobs.in will re-check this listing on 13 October 2026. Check the posting for location and work-authorisation details before you apply.
See all our research engineer jobs, or browse more research jobs on ResearchJobs.in.
Hiring institution: Intel
Official advertisement: intel.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
How to prepare for this application
- Device depth: pick one device you designed and walk through simulation, layout and measured results.
- Materials: the posting mentions BTO, TFLN and III-V; know their trade-offs against silicon.
- Data: show statistical analysis of wafer-level test data.
- Papers: list photonics publications and patents.
About Intel's photonics work
Intel has built silicon photonics products for years and says it pioneered the first heterogeneous silicon laser. Its Integrated Photonics Solutions group develops photonic devices, design tools and optical interconnects for data centres and AI, and Intel Foundry offers a silicon photonics platform to outside customers.
