What are the responsibilities and job description for the Silicon Photonics System Architect position at Langham Recruitment?
Silicon Photonics System Architect – Transmitter & Receiver PICs
Remote - California
$120,000–$220,000 Equity
We’re hiring a System Architect with strong expertise in optical transceiver systems and link budget analysis to help define the architecture and requirements for next-generation silicon photonics transmitter and receiver PICs.
You will translate system, customer, and standards requirements into device-level specifications for high-speed IM-DD and coherent optical transceivers, including pluggable formats such as DR8, FR4, and ZR-class.
The role sits at the intersection of system architecture and device design, ensuring performance targets are well-defined, realistic, and aligned with IEEE, OIF, and MSA standards.
Key responsibilities
- Define system requirements and link budgets for transmitter and receiver PICs
- Convert standards and customer requirements into component-level specs
- Specify optical/electrical targets (power, ER, bandwidth, loss, linearity, etc.)
- Analyse trade-offs across optical, electrical, and packaging domains
- Produce requirements docs, ICDs, and verification matrices
- Work closely with device, materials, and packaging teams
- Support coherent receiver PIC and system co-design
- Track relevant industry standards (IEEE, OIF, MSAs)
Requirements
- PhD or MS with 3 years’ relevant experience
- Strong knowledge of optical transceiver architectures (IM-DD and coherent)
- Experience with link budgets and system-level modelling
- Familiarity with IEEE/OIF/MSA standards
- Ability to translate system requirements into hardware constraints
- Eligible to work in the US
What's on offer
- $120k–$220k equity
- Benefits flexible environment
- High-impact technical ownership in a deep-tech start-up.
Salary : $120,000 - $250,000