About Us:
nEye.ai, a well-funded optical switch startup, is poised to revolutionize the future of data centers. nEye’s MEMS-based silicon photonics optical circuit switches (OCS) eliminate critical bottlenecks in AI processing by enabling direct optical connections among thousands of GPUs and memory units. The company's SuperSwitch is an ultra-low power consumption, high radix, compact chip-scale design, offering hyperscale data centers enhanced performance, efficiency, and scalability.
Job Overview:
We are seeking a highly experienced and proactive MEMS Process Engineer to be a key player in defining and improving our Si photonics MEMS technology, which is at the heart of our optical switches. You will be an active participant in our regular company process meetings and help frame our wafer fabrication technologies and strategies.
You will be successful if you thrive in a fast-paced environment, can participate in multiple work streams simultaneously, and are passionate about solving problems and learning. The position is based in Berkeley/Emeryville and includes working in both our Emeryville location and in the Marvell Nanofabrication Laboratory on the UC Berkeley campus.
Due to the exposure to the MEMS/Photonics/Failure Analysis team, you can expect to broaden and deepen your technical knowledge. This position offers the opportunity to work with foundries and advance into an integration/foundry engineering role over time.
Key Responsibilities
- Collaborating with other team members to understand chip design and product system-level requirements and translating those learnings into specific device designs and fabrication methodologies.
- Developing and improving fabrication methodologies and exploring appropriate materials to advance our optical switch technology.
- Partnering with external vendors and technology providers to develop fabrication methods and procedures.
- Collaborating with external foundries to establish and refine fabrication processes.
- Running wafers through our lab and performing critical analysis on process steps.
- Designing and implementing process short loops.
- Advise and assist other wafer fab team members to collaboratively identify and solve fabrication-related issues.
Wafer Design and Fabrication Methodologies:
Wafer Processing:
Essential Skills
- Master's or PhD degree in Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Applied Physics, Chemistry, or a related technical discipline.
- Experience with Si photonics or MEMS technologies
- 3+ years hands-on experience with microfabrication methods and techniques.
- Experience with failure analysis, metrology, and process development.
- Experience with mask design, thin film deposition and characterization, and wet/dry etching.
- Experience with developing and scaling processes from inception to prototyping and production.
Preferred Skills
- Experience designing and executing detailed experimental protocols.
- Excellent interpersonal communication (written and oral), and leadership skills.
- Strong communication skills for managing foundry and vendor interactions.
- Demonstrated proficiency with layout tools (e.g., KLayout), accompanied by introductory exposure to Process/MEMS/photonics simulation platforms (e.g., COMSOL, Ansys, Lumerical, Coventor).
Perks and Benefits
- Opportunity to join a small well-funded start-up company, doing pioneering work in optical switches
- Competitive salary and equity package, including early-stage company stock options
- 401k
- Full healthcare coverage: medical, dental, and vision
- Fitness center access
Skills Required
- Master's or PhD degree in Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Applied Physics, Chemistry, or a related technical discipline
- Experience with silicon photonics or MEMS technologies
- At least 3 years of hands-on experience with microfabrication methods and techniques
- Experience with failure analysis, metrology, and process development
- Experience with mask design, thin film deposition and characterization, and wet/dry etching
- Experience developing and scaling processes from inception through prototyping and production
- Experience designing and executing detailed experimental protocols
- Excellent written and oral communication and leadership skills
- Strong communication skills for managing foundry and vendor interactions
- Proficiency with layout tools such as KLayout
- Introductory exposure to process, MEMS, or photonics simulation platforms such as COMSOL, Ansys, Lumerical, or Coventor
What We Do
We are nEye Systems, a next-generation optical switch company. Our programmable photonic integrated circuit integrates high-radix optical circuit switching on a Si chip and is a future-proof solution for Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML) systems and other high-performance computing environments. Our optical switches are poised to solve some of the biggest challenges facing the growth and adoption of AI/ML – the excessive costs of power requirements and network expansion. We are a well-funded, early-stage company and will be a key player in several multibillion $ markets.
