Sr. High-Speed Electro-Optical IC Engineer (RFIC Engineering)
Palo Alto · Redmond, WA · USD 175,000-280,000 · 5+ years experience · Posted Oct 15, 2026
At a glance
- Experience
- 5+ years experience
- Location
- Palo Alto · Redmond, WA
- Salary
- USD 175,000-280,000 · Base salary
About the role
- SpaceX is seeking a Sr. High-Speed Electro-Optical IC Engineer to develop next-generation PIC/EIC solutions for space and ground infrastructure.
- The role involves working within cross-disciplinary teams to design and characterize high-speed optical links for the Starlink network.
Responsibilities
- Design, simulate and model electro-optical building blocks for a silicon photonics solution
- Design, simulate and model RF/analog/mixed signal circuits and systems
- Derive specifications for the Photonics IC/Electrical IC subsystems and circuits
- Develop Analog/Mixed-Signal/RF/Microwave circuits in SiGe or CMOS processes
- Work with system architects, DSP and electro-optics, and ASIC engineers to partition functions between hardware and software domains
- Perform IC floor planning and layout
- Model package and external parasitic components
- Evaluate, characterize and measure electrical and optical building blocks of a high-speed optical link solution
- Assist in the development of automated test lab equipment for lab measurements
- Work with manufacturing engineers on production testing and qualification of the EIC/PIC components and systems
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or computer science
- 5+ years of photonics or electro-optical integrated circuit design
- Ability to work long hours and weekends as necessary to support critical milestones
- Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee to conform to U.S. Government export regulations
Preferred qualifications
- Master's degree or PhD in electrical engineering or computer engineering with an emphasis in electro-optics integrated circuit design
- Experience using simulation tools such as Spectre, ADS, HFSS or Momentum, Ansys Lumerical, COMSOL
- Photonics design skills including MZM and Microring modulators, Ge Photo diodes, dWDM filters, waveguides, couplers, dividers and polarization management
- Electrical circuit design skills including high bandwidth modulator drivers, TIAs, CTLEs, filters, low noise and power amplifiers
- Knowledge of advanced packaging technology for optical engine integration in a co-package optics (CPO) solution
- Experience with wideband circuit designs supporting high speed Serdes links with >100Gbps data rate and BW >10s of GHz
- Familiarity with high speed SerDes architecture, modulation schemes (NRZ, PAM4) and link protocols
- Familiarity with optical and radio test equipment such as spectrum analyzers, vector signal analyzers, vector signal generators, high speed oscilloscopes and BERTs
Benefits
- Medical, vision, and dental coverage
- 401(k) retirement plan
- Short and long-term disability insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid parental leave
- 3 weeks of paid vacation
- 10 or more paid holidays per year
- Paid sick leave
- Long-term incentives (company stock or cash awards)
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan
Workplace
- Role can be based in Palo Alto, CA or Redmond, WA
Skills
- Silicon Photonics
- RFIC
- Analog/Mixed-Signal
- SiGe
- CMOS
- Spectre
- ADS
- HFSS
- Ansys Lumerical
- COMSOL
- SerDes
- NRZ
Show all 15 skills
- PAM4
- PIC
- EIC
