Demo

Staff or Principal Semiconductor Laser Engineer

Quintessent Inc.
Santa Barbara, CA Full Time
POSTED ON 4/14/2026
AVAILABLE BEFORE 5/11/2026

Build the laser platform that powers the next generation of AI infrastructure.

Quintessent is taking on some of the hardest challenges in optical connectivity – directly attacking the foundational bottlenecks limiting the scalability and reliability of next-generation AI and computing infrastructure. Our team has trailblazed pioneering work in quantum dot lasers and amplifiers, heterogeneous integration, and multi-wavelength silicon photonics. We are converging innovations in materials science, process integration, chip and system design to build products that we believe will form a core part of AI networking systems.


We are a scrappy, high-trust team that takes ownership, stays humble, and believes in tackling hard problems with speed, intellectual honesty, and relentless improvement. We hold ourselves to a high bar, start from a deep understanding of our customers’ problems, and win or lose together. If this sounds like you, and you want to build the laser platform that powers the next generation of AI infrastructure, we’d love to talk.

  

We are looking for a senior, hands-on laser expert to take technical ownership of our high-power laser and amplifier designs and drive them from advanced prototypes into production.


You will be the technical authority for critical laser devices, responsible for:

  • Driving designs from concept → prototype → product → production
  • Architecture, design, performance modeling, and data analysis of high-power quantum dot lasers and amplifiers
  • Making key decisions to optimize product performance, yield, reliability, and scalability
  • Working side-by-side with fabrication, test, and reliability teams to achieve goals
  • Helping define the next-generation roadmap for Quintessent’s laser platforms


Your work will directly shape the products that ship and the capabilities the company builds.


To succeed, you will need these qualifications:

  • PhD in Physics, Applied Physics, EE, or similar, plus 5 years of industry experience
  • Deep experience designing high-power (200-400 mW ) III-V semiconductor lasers
  • Hands-on experience across design, simulation, fabrication, test, and failure analysis
  • Strong command of simulation tools and methods (FMM, FDTD, TDTW, etc.)
  • Experience taking devices from prototypes to real products


Bonus if you’ve also:

  • Supported high-volume production
  • Done electrical and thermal simulation
  • Worked directly with customers or partners

Salary.com Estimation for Staff or Principal Semiconductor Laser Engineer in Santa Barbara, CA
$108,117 to $132,105
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