--- title: 'Lab Operations, Facilities and Equipment Manager at nEye.ai' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/lab-operations-facilities-and-equipment-manager-neye-ai-santa-clara-and-1qv3ypwcxjcm' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-15' --- # Lab Operations, Facilities and Equipment Manager at nEye.ai - **Company:** nEye.ai - **Location:** Santa Clara and Emeryville, CA - **Compensation:** $120k–$192k - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-06-23 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-15 - **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/neye-systems-inc./e3b36125-c982-4a2d-96fa-5adaff1991e7 ## Job description ## 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 OCS is an ultra-low power consumption, high radix, compact chip-scale design, offering hyperscale data centers enhanced performance, efficiency, and scalability. Job Overview As we scale our engineering and manufacturing operations, we are seeking a highly hands-on Lab Operations, Facilities & Equipment Manager to own the day-to-day operation, organization, and readiness of our labs, cleanrooms, equipment, and facilities across our Santa Clara and Emeryville sites. This is an ideal opportunity for someone who enjoys building order from complexity, solving practical problems, supporting technical teams, and serving as the go-to person who keeps critical infrastructure running smoothly. ## Key Responsibilities Lab Operations & Site Management - Serve as the primary owner of day-to-day lab operations across Santa Clara and Emeryville. - Maintain organized, efficient, and professional laboratory and cleanroom environments. - Coordinate equipment placement, lab layouts, benches, fixtures, storage systems, and workspaces. - Manage facility and equipment requests from engineering teams and ensure timely follow-through. - Establish systems and processes that keep labs operating efficiently as the company scales. - Act as the first point of contact for lab-related operational issues. Facilities & Infrastructure - Own and coordinate critical facility systems including: - Cleanroom infrastructure - HVAC systems - Process gases - Vacuum systems - Electrical power distribution - DI water systems - Chemical storage and handling infrastructure - Partner with landlords, contractors, facilities providers, and vendors on upgrades, repairs, expansions, and maintenance activities. - Support future lab and cleanroom buildouts as company needs evolve. - Proactively identify facility risks and capacity constraints before they impact engineering productivity. Equipment & Maintenance - Support installation, commissioning, relocation, and decommissioning of laboratory and manufacturing equipment. - Troubleshoot equipment issues directly when possible and coordinate vendor support when required. - Maintain equipment inventories, service records, calibration schedules, and maintenance documentation. - Develop and manage preventive maintenance programs. - Track spare parts, consumables, and critical replacement components. - Ensure equipment remains operational, organized, and available to engineering teams. Safety & Compliance - Support and enforce laboratory safety programs, including: - ESD procedures - Equipment calibration requirements - Chemical handling and storage - General laboratory safety practices - EH&S compliance - Maintain required documentation, inspections, and audit readiness. - Partner with internal stakeholders and external consultants on safety initiatives and compliance activities. Inventory, Assets & Procurement - Maintain accurate inventories of equipment, tools, fixtures, spare parts, and consumables. - Track asset location, condition, service history, and lifecycle status. - Coordinate equipment ordering, shipping, receiving, and deployment activities. - Conduct regular audits and reconcile inventory records. - Proactively identify low-stock or end-of-life items before they become operational risks. Required Qualifications - 5+ years of experience supporting facilities, laboratory operations, equipment engineering, manufacturing operations, or related functions. - Experience working in advanced technology environments such as: - Semiconductor manufacturing - Silicon photonics - ## MEMS - Electronics manufacturing - Advanced packaging - Precision engineering laboratories - Experience supporting laboratory, cleanroom, pilot manufacturing, or R&D environments. - Hands-on experience coordinating facility systems, equipment installations, and vendor relationships. - Strong organizational skills with exceptional attention to detail. - Working knowledge of: - ESD controls - Equipment calibration - Laboratory safety procedures - Chemical handling and storage - General EH&S requirements - Ability to independently solve practical operational problems and take ownership of issues from identification through resolution. ## Preferred Skills - Experience supporting startup or rapidly scaling technology companies. - Experience participating in laboratory, cleanroom, or facility buildouts. - Familiarity with photonics, MEMS, semiconductor, or advanced manufacturing equipment. nEye is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. ## About nEye.ai ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: nEye.ai develops ultra-low-power MEMS-based silicon photonic optical circuit switches (OCS) that eliminate connectivity bottlenecks in AI data centers, enabling direct optical links among thousands of GPUs. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series C funding stage) - **Headquarters**: Santa Clara, California, United States - **Founded**: 2020 - **Founders**: Ashish Vengsarkar (CEO), Ming Wu (Chief Scientist & Co-Founder), Tae Joon Seok (CTO & Co-Founder) ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Semiconductor manufacturing (silicon photonics) / AI data center infrastructure - **Target customers**: Hyperscale data centers, cloud providers, AI/ML infrastructure operators (B2B, Enterprise) - **Mission**: To transform data center networks through innovative optical circuit switching technology, solving the most challenging problems in AI infrastructure. ## Products & Services - **[SuperSwitch](https://www.neye.ai)**: A chip-scale, high-radix optical circuit switch leveraging MEMS-based silicon photonics. It enables direct optical connections among GPUs and memory units, dramatically reducing power consumption and latency compared to electrical switches. Type: Hardware (silicon photonic switch). ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed - **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$152.5M** across four rounds (Series A, B, C, and a corporate round) as of April 2026 - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Sutter Hill Ventures (led Series C, $80M, April 2026), CapitalG (led Series B, $58M, May 2025), TEDA (led Series A, $14.5M, September 2023) - **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew **+164.7% YoY** to 36 employees; 12 active job postings (up 300% YoY); filed 12 patents in photonics, fiber optics, and optical devices; key hires from Google, AWS, Ayar Labs, and Intel. ## Competitive Advantages - **MEMS + Silicon Photonics Integration**: Combines micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) with silicon photonics on a single chip, enabling ultra-low power, high-radix switching in a compact form factor. - **Founding Team Depth**: Led by industry veterans with decades of experience at Bell Labs, UC Berkeley, Google, and successful optical startups (Photuris, Nistica). Chief Scientist Ming C. Wu is a renowned professor at UC Berkeley. - **Patented Technology**: 12 granted/pending patents covering lidar, photonic switch arrays, and optical devices. - **Hyperscaler Relevance**: Directly addresses the critical bottleneck in AI cluster networking, a problem actively being tackled by major cloud providers. ## Strategic Focus - **Scaling Engineering & Operations**: Heavily hiring across MEMS design, photonics, silicon photonics layout, test systems, and lab operations to accelerate product development and deployment. - **Hyperscale Deployment**: Targeting volume production and integration into the world’s largest AI data centers, leveraging team members’ prior experience at Google and AWS. - **Product Maturation**: Moving from prototype to commercial-grade SuperSwitch, with emphasis on reliability, yield, and cost efficiency. ## Why Work Here - **Mission-Driven**: Tackle one of the hardest problems in AI infrastructure – optical connectivity at scale. - **On-Site Culture**: Roles are based in Santa Clara, CA (with an additional Berkeley office), fostering close collaboration among a tight-knit, highly technical team. - **Impact & Ownership**: Small team (~36 people) means engineers have broad responsibility and direct influence on product direction. - **Veteran Leadership**: Work alongside former Google, Bell Labs, and successful startup leaders who have raised over $100M and achieved multiple exits. - **Growth Trajectory**: Rapid headcount growth and significant venture backing signal a company in an aggressive scaling phase, offering career advancement opportunities. ## Sources 1. [LinkedIn – nEye Systems Company Page](https://linkedin.com/company/neye-systems) 2. [CB Insights – nEye Systems Profile](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/neye-systems) 3. [nEye.ai About Us](https://www.neye.ai/about-us) 4. [nEye.ai Join Us / Careers](https://www.neye.ai/join-us) 5. [Lever Jobs – nEye Systems Openings](https://jobs.lever.co/neye-systems-inc) ## Other roles at nEye.ai - [MEMS Process Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/mems-process-engineer-neye-ai-emeryville-db7tynfwsqzc) — Emeryville, CA - [Senior Silicon Photonics Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-silicon-photonics-designer-neye-ai-santa-clara-eqqy2cje2bz7) — Santa Clara, CA - [Photonics Test Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/photonics-test-technician-neye-ai-santa-clara-5w5004d6mgd3) — Santa Clara, CA - [Senior Mechanical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mechanical-engineer-neye-ai-santa-clara-xk1zjs81pyr2) — Santa Clara, CA - [Principal Systems Packaging & Assembly Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-systems-packaging-assembly-engineer-neye-ai-santa-clara-mbmxte9kq10c) — Santa Clara, CA - [Principal Packaging Engineer, Optical Interfaces](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-packaging-engineer-optical-interfaces-neye-ai-santa-clara-r6c27ht76z0w) — Santa Clara, CA - [Principal Wafer Bonding Integration Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-wafer-bonding-integration-engineer-neye-ai-santa-clara-7q9fv5rjjgcs) — Santa Clara, CA - [Senior Foundry Integration Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-foundry-integration-engineer-neye-ai-santa-clara-6s3mws7xah38) — Santa Clara, CA - [Purchasing Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/purchasing-specialist-neye-ai-santa-clara-d7cs13xv9w7a) — Santa Clara, CA - [Director of Finance](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-finance-neye-ai-santa-clara-xpx7epw3tzrn) — Santa Clara, CA