---
title: 'Photonics Lab Operator at nEye.ai'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/photonics-lab-operator-neye-ai-santa-clara-naj10gc81s1g'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-08'
---

# Photonics Lab Operator at nEye.ai

- **Company:** nEye.ai
- **Location:** Santa Clara, CA
- **Compensation:** $45–$55/hr
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-05-15
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/neye-systems-inc./cee38d6a-11d7-46b6-ae95-ed781527935b

## 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 We are looking for a highly skilled lab operator with experience in precision optical, photonics, or MEMS environments: someone who can execute wafer-level testing with rigor while also applying judgment to the data they observe. You will be responsible for running wafer-level tests and operating advanced metrology systems, but just as importantly, you will serve as a first line of defense for data quality, for example identifying anomalies, spotting inconsistencies, and flagging issues to engineering. This role is ideal for someone who has spent years working hands-on with high-end optical systems or metrology tools, understands the scale and precision involved, and knows when something “doesn’t look right.”

## Key Responsibilities

- Operate and support wafer-level test setups for silicon photonics and MEMS-based devices

- Load wafers, execute test sequences, and ensure consistent, high-quality test execution

- Work with high-precision optical and metrology equipment to collect measurement data

- Perform optical alignment and fiber-based test setups as needed

- Monitor test outputs and identify anomalies, drift, or unexpected behavior in data

- Proactively flag irregularities to engineers, providing clear observations and context

- Troubleshoot test setups and support root cause analysis of failures

- Maintain and calibrate lab equipment to ensure accuracy and repeatability

- Accurately document test procedures, results, and observations

- Support engineers in debugging, validation, and test optimization efforts

- Contribute to improving lab workflows, test processes, and overall data quality

Required Qualifications

- Associate’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, or related field (or equivalent hands-on experience)

- Equivalent hands-on industry experience is highly valued; a formal degree is not required for this role

- Strong hands-on experience with single mode fiber optics

- Experience working in precision optical, photonics, or MEMS environments

- Experience operating high-end metrology or measurement equipment

- Background in wafer-level testing, semiconductor environments, or advanced hardware labs

- Proven ability to execute structured test procedures with consistency and accuracy

- Experience identifying test anomalies, system issues, or data inconsistencies

- Familiarity with lab instrumentation (e.g., optical setups, oscilloscopes, power meters, etc.)

- Comfortable working in cleanroom or controlled lab environments

- Strong attention to detail and ability to follow complex procedures

## Preferred Skills

- Experience with silicon photonics or optical device testing

- Experience working with laser systems, optical alignment, or fiber coupling

- Familiarity with wafer probing, optical characterization, or MEMS devices

- Experience supporting R&D or early-stage product development environments

nEye.ai 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

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