Principal Test & Characterization Engineer — Advanced Photonic and Semiconductor Systems

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Modern intelligent systems increasingly depend on advanced semiconductor and photonic technologies that require entirely new approaches to characterization, measurement automation, and experimental analysis.

We are looking for a Senior Test & Characterization Engineer to develop and operate advanced experimental platforms for next-generation device technologies. This role combines hands-on laboratory work, automated measurement infrastructure, large-scale data analysis, and AI-assisted characterization workflows.

You will build the systems that transform experimental devices into actionable engineering insight.

What you’ll be doing:

• Develop and operate advanced electrical, optical, and electro-optical characterization platforms.
• Design and build experimental setups including optics, motion systems, thermal control, RF instrumentation, imaging systems, and automated data acquisition.
• Automate complex measurement flows using Python and modern software infrastructure.
• Perform detailed device characterization, analysis, and correlation across wafer-level and packaged-device measurements.
• Develop scalable data-analysis pipelines and visualization frameworks.
• Apply AI/ML techniques to large experimental datasets for anomaly detection, trend analysis, classification, and predictive insights.
• Collaborate closely with process, device, packaging, and modeling teams to close the loop between design, fabrication, and characterization.
• Drive measurement reproducibility, calibration, reliability, and lab infrastructure improvements.
• Build internal tools and frameworks that improve engineering productivity and experimental throughput.

What we need to see:

• BS, MS, or PhD in Physics, Electrical Engineering, Photonics, Applied Physics, or related field.
• 5+ years of hands-on experimental characterization experience.
• Strong laboratory skills with optics, instrumentation, automation, and measurement systems.
• Strong Python programming and data-analysis capability.
• Experience with automated test systems and instrument control.
• Strong debugging mindset and experimental rigor.
• Ability to work across hardware, software, and data-driven engineering environments.

Ways to stand out from the crowd:

• Experience with advanced optical or semiconductor device characterization.
• AI/ML experience applied to experimental datasets.
• High-speed measurement or RF instrumentation experience.
• Experience building custom laboratory infrastructure from the ground up.
• Strong data visualization and analytics capabilities.
• Experience scaling automated measurement platforms in R&D environments.

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