--- title: 'Purchasing Specialist at nEye.ai' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/purchasing-specialist-neye-ai-santa-clara-d7cs13xv9w7a' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-08' --- # Purchasing Specialist at nEye.ai - **Company:** nEye.ai - **Location:** Santa Clara, CA - **Compensation:** $95k–$125k - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-07-06 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08 - **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/neye-systems-inc./fec2a35c-1cb5-40df-8d1e-1749f5b708bc ## 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 organized and execution-oriented Purchasing Specialist to join our Operations team. In this role, you will serve as the central purchasing partner for Engineering and Operations. You'll manage the purchasing process from initial request through supplier negotiation, purchase order issuance, delivery tracking, and receipt of critical materials. Success in this role requires strong communication skills, attention to detail, and the ability to keep multiple priorities moving simultaneously in a fast-paced hardware startup environment. This position reports to the Head of Operations. ## Key Responsibilities - Partner closely with Engineering and Operations/Supply Chain teams to understand purchasing requirements. - Review purchase requests for completeness, urgency, and supplier selection. - Request and evaluate supplier quotations for pricing, lead time, and commercial terms. - Negotiate pricing, lead times, delivery schedules, and purchasing terms with suppliers. - Manage purchase orders accurately and on schedule. - Monitor open purchase orders and proactively follow up with suppliers to ensure on-time delivery. - Communicate order status, delivery risks, shortages, and schedule changes to internal stakeholders. - Resolve supplier issues related to pricing discrepancies, delayed shipments, order changes, or quality concerns in partnership with Engineering and Operations/Supply Chain. - Coordinate with Operations/Supply Chain to ensure timely receipt and movement of purchased materials. - Work with Finance team to maintain accurate purchasing records, supplier information, and procurement documentation within ERP and purchasing systems. - Support supplier onboarding and maintain positive supplier relationships. - Help improve procurement workflows, purchasing processes, and reporting as the company scales. - Assist with inventory replenishment and purchasing planning as needed. ## Preferred Skills - Experience purchasing semiconductor, photonics, optics, precision mechanical components, electronics, PCB assemblies, laboratory equipment, or custom fabricated parts. - Experience working with CMs, EMS providers, machine shops, and prototype suppliers. - Familiarity with ERP/MRP systems such as NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, or similar platforms. - Strong Excel and data analysis skills. - Experience supporting NPI or R&D organizations. Required Skills - 3 - 7+ years of purchasing, procurement, buyer, or supply chain experience in hardware manufacturing, semiconductor, electronics, photonics, or related industries. - Experience managing purchase orders from request through delivery. - Demonstrated experience negotiating pricing, lead times, and commercial terms with suppliers. - Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage dozens of active purchase orders simultaneously. - Experience working cross-functionally with Engineering, Operations, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain teams. - Excellent follow-up skills and a proactive approach to resolving supplier issues. - High attention to detail and strong documentation practices. - Comfortable working in a rapidly changing startup environment where priorities evolve quickly. 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 - [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 - [Lab Operations, Facilities and Equipment Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/lab-operations-facilities-and-equipment-manager-neye-ai-santa-clara-and-1qv3ypwcxjcm) — Santa Clara and Emeryville, CA - [Director of Finance](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-finance-neye-ai-santa-clara-xpx7epw3tzrn) — Santa Clara, CA - [Photonics Lab Operator](https://feeny.ai/job/photonics-lab-operator-neye-ai-santa-clara-naj10gc81s1g) — Santa Clara, CA