Photonics Test Engineer

Job Description

The RF and Integrated Photonics Group (Group 85) seeks a highly motivated, detail-oriented, curious, and driven scientist or engineer to join their integrated photonics testing team. The successful candidate will work at the forefront of photonic integrated circuit (PIC) platform and systems development.

In this role, the successful candidate will perform wafer-level and chip-scale measurements on photonic integrated circuits and develop custom test systems for characterizing unique PIC chips and subsystems. They will provide mission-critical feedback on device and system performance, operating and maintaining photonic test setups, using optical probe stations, fiber-optic assemblies, and optical or electro-optical test instrumentation to characterize devices and subsystems at the wafer, chip, and package levels. This work supports both PIC-related research and the development of prototype systems.

The candidate will construct testbeds, perform measurements, collect and analyze data, troubleshoot device behavior, and collaborate closely with design, fabrication, and systems teams to enhance device performance, yield, and test repeatability. A key aspect of this role is supporting both manual probe station work and automated wafer-level testing. The successful candidate will become an expert in PIC measurement techniques, test automation, and data processing.

Requirements

• Education: B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Photonics, Physics, Materials Science, or a related technical field
• At least two years of experience in photonic integrated circuit testing, ideally including both passive and active optical devices.
• Familiarity with common test equipment such as optical probe stations, tunable lasers, oscilloscopes, source meters, power meters, spectrum analyzers, and similar instrumentation
• Experience with data analysis and test scripting using Python, MATLAB, or a similar tool
• Ability to troubleshoot test setups, identify root causes of measurement issues, and document findings clearly
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail in data collection, interpretation, analysis, and reporting, including the communication of test results through reports, plots, and summaries to relevant teams.
• Good written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across engineering teams

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with automated wafer testing
• Familiarity with the working principles of photonic, semiconductor, or RF devices like lasers, electro-optic modulators, transmission lines, optical fiber, optical amplifiers, etc.
• Understanding of photonic device characterization such as insertion loss, wavelength response, IV/CV measurements, dark current, responsivity, or high-speed performance
• Knowledge of statistical data analysis, yield analysis, and measurement system repeatability
• Experience supporting engineering builds

Benefits

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans
• MIT-funded pension
• Matching 401K
• Paid leave (including vacation, sick, parental, military, etc.)
• Tuition reimbursement and continuing education programs
• Mentorship programs
• A range of work-life balance options