Intern - Photonics Design Software & Automation Engineer (PhD Level)

About the role

Keysight is at the forefront of technology innovation, delivering breakthroughs and trusted insights in electronic design, simulation, prototyping, test, manufacturing, and optimization. Our ~16,800 employees create world-class solutions in communications, 5G, automotive, energy, quantum, aerospace, defense, and semiconductor markets for customers in over 100 countries. Our award-winning culture embraces a bold vision of where technology can take us and a passion for tackling challenging problems with industry-first solutions. We believe that when people feel a sense of belonging, they can be more creative, innovative, and thrive at all points in their careers.

Responsibilities

• Design, model, and analyze photonic devices, subsystems, and integrated photonic systems using RSoft and related photonic simulation tools
• Develop software and automation frameworks for photonic design, electromagnetic simulation, optimization, and design trade studies
• Design and prototype agentic or semi-autonomous workflows that orchestrate multi-step photonic simulation, optimization, and evaluation pipelines
• Integrate RSoft, CODE V, and LightTools through software APIs and custom workflow automation
• Develop cross-product workflows that connect photonics, optical system, and illumination analyses to support end-to-end engineering studies
• Support photonic device characterization, design exploration, and performance optimization across multiple simulation environments
• Develop and validate numerical algorithms for optimization, workflow integration, and engineering decision support
• Explore AI-assisted or rule-based approaches for photonic design iteration, design-space exploration, and workflow coordination
• Document workflows and deliver reusable, production-quality software tools
• Collaborate closely with application engineers, photonics experts, and software development teams

Qualifications

• PhD candidate in Photonics, Optics, Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field
• Strong foundation in electromagnetics, wave optics, photonic devices, photonic integrated circuits (PICs), optical communications, and computational photonics
• Hands-on experience with photonics design and simulation tools such as RSoft, Lumerical, COMSOL, or similar platforms
• Advanced programming skills in C++/Rust and Python
• Experience building research-grade or production-quality software tools
• Interest in automation, workflow orchestration, and engineering productivity solutions
• Familiarity with agent-based, workflow-oriented, or multi-step automation frameworks

Preferred skills

• Experience designing photonic integrated circuits (PICs), optical communication systems, silicon photonics devices, waveguides, couplers, gratings, lasers, modulators, or related photonic technologies
• Experience with large-scale optimization problems involving photonic structures, inverse design, metasurfaces, or electromagnetic devices
• Knowledge of electromagnetic simulation methods including FDTD, BPM, RCWA, FEM, or similar techniques
• API-level integration with commercial photonics simulation tools
• Experience building software workflows that connect multiple engineering applications, including photonics, optical design, and system-level simulation environments
• Experience embedding optimization heuristics, decision logic, or AI-assisted capabilities into engineering workflows
• Familiarity with modern software development practices, including source control, code reviews, automated testing, continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD), and collaborative development workflows
• Demonstrated ability to translate advanced photonics research concepts into usable engineering software solutions