Sr. Silicon Photonics Design Engineer (RFIC Engineering)

SpaceX

Quick summary

Work type: On-site
Location: Redmond, WA
Salary: $160,000–$225,000 / yr
Posted: today

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Competitive pay

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $179k

This role $192k

$137k most similar roles pay here $234k

This role pays more than 62% of similar roles. Most pay $153,043–$205,750 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $192k versus about $179k for comparable roles.

Based on 240 similar postings.

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About SpaceX

SpaceX designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft with the mission of enabling humans to become a multi-planetary species. It operates the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Starship launch vehicles, as well as the Starlink satellite internet constellation.

SpaceX currently has 604 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $130,000–$155,000 across 440 roles with salary data.

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At a glance

TL;DR · Sr. Silicon Photonics Design Engineer (RFIC Engineering)

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Join our RFIC Engineering team as a Senior Silicon Photonics Design Engineer, where you will collaborate with cross-disciplinary teams to develop next-generation PICs for global space and ground infrastructure. Your daily tasks include designing optical building blocks like MZMs and microring modulators, deriving specifications for photonics IC systems, and modeling package optical interfaces. You will also work closely with system architects and ASIC engineers on partitioning functions between hardware and software domains, evaluate electrical and optical components using tools such as Lumerical and COMSOL, and ensure PIC circuits are production-ready by collaborating with manufacturing teams. Ideal candidates have a Master’s or PhD in electrical engineering or applied physics, extensive experience with simulation tools like Spectre and ADS, and knowledge of advanced packaging for co-package optics solutions.

Skills

Lumerical COMSOL HFSS Spectre ADS Python PostgreSQL Kubernetes Terraform AWS Docker CI/CD Prometheus Grafana

What you'll do

Design and simulate optical building blocks such as MZM, microring modulators, and Ge photo diodes.
Derive specifications for Photonics IC systems and circuits based on project requirements.
Model package optical interfaces including edge couplers and grating couplers.
Evaluate and measure electrical and optical performance of high-speed optical link solutions.
Work with manufacturing engineers to ensure PIC circuits meet production testing and qualification standards.

What we're looking for

5+ years of photonics or electro-optical integrated circuit design experience
Master's degree or PhD in electrical engineering, computer engineering (emphasis on electro-optics IC design), or applied physics
Experience using electrical simulation tools such as Spectre and ADS
Electrical circuit design skills for high-speed SerDes links over 100Gbps data rate
Familiarity with optical test equipment including spectrum analyzers and vector signal generators
Knowledge of advanced packaging for co-package optics (CPO) solutions
Experience characterizing EIC/PIC performance for high speed optical SerDes