Photonic integrated circuit test engineer

Location: Middletown/Holmdel, New Jersey

Employment Type: Full-time

Work Arrangement: on-site laboratory work

Role Overview

Aloe Semiconductor is a photonics startup developing next-generation optical interconnect technology. We are seeking a hands-on Silicon Photonics Test Engineer to develop and execute wafer-level and die-level testing of photonic integrated circuits (PICs).

You will work closely with photonic design, packaging, and senior test engineers to build automated test capabilities, characterize foundry samples, identify performance issues, and generate reliable data for internal development and customer evaluation.

Key Responsibilities

• Perform wafer-level and die-level optical and electrical characterization of silicon photonic devices and PICs.
• Measure key parameters such as insertion loss, coupling loss, wavelength response, extinction ratio, responsivity, DC/IV characteristics, PAM4 eye quality, BER, bandwidth, and RF S-parameters.
• Set up and operate tunable lasers, optical spectrum analyzers, power meters, high-speed oscilloscopes, BERTs, VNAs, probe stations, and automated fiber-alignment systems.
• Develop and maintain Python-based test automation for instrument control, fiber alignment, data acquisition, and high-throughput testing.
• Create repeatable test procedures for engineering characterization, design verification, and production screening.
• Analyze measurement data to identify device variation, failure mechanisms, performance trends, and correlations across wafers and dies.
• Generate Known Good Die (KGD) reports, wafer maps, yield summaries, and customer-facing performance reports.
• Troubleshoot optical, electrical, mechanical, and software issues affecting test accuracy and repeatability.
• Coordinate with foundry, packaging, dicing, and external test partners for sample preparation and testing.
• Maintain organized sample tracking, test records, calibrated equipment, and laboratory documentation.
• Help establish scalable test infrastructure and best practices as the company grows.

Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Photonics, Physics, or a related field.
• Practical experience with optical laboratory equipment, such as tunable lasers, OSAs, power meters, high-speed oscilloscopes, BERTs, and automated alignment stages.
• Experience using Python for test automation and data analysis, including libraries such as NumPy, Pandas, Matplotlib, and PyVISA.
• Ability to analyze experimental data, troubleshoot complex test setups, and communicate results clearly.
• Strong attention to measurement accuracy, repeatability, calibration, and documentation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with silicon photonics, wafer probing, edge or grating-coupler alignment, and die-level characterization.
• One or more years of hands-on experience testing photonic, optical, semiconductor, or high-speed electronic devices.
• Experience with high-speed optical links, PAM4, coherent optics, or data-center interconnect technology.
• Familiarity with RF probing, VNAs, S-parameters, electro-optic bandwidth measurements, and high-speed signal integrity.
• Experience developing wafer maps, yield analyses, KGD criteria, or automated production-test workflows.
• Familiarity with MATLAB, Python, SQL, Git, or laboratory data-management systems.
• Experience working with foundries, packaging vendors, or external test laboratories.

Startup Mindset

• The ideal candidate is comfortable working in a fast-moving startup where priorities can evolve quickly. You should be proactive, resourceful, and willing to take ownership—from assembling a test setup and debugging automation code to analyzing results and presenting conclusions