---
title: 'Senior Silicon Photonics Design Engineer (Remote) at Voyant Photonics'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-silicon-photonics-design-engineer-remote-voyant-photonics-remote-1shz8qffvrdh'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-08'
---

# Senior Silicon Photonics Design Engineer (Remote) at Voyant Photonics

- **Company:** Voyant Photonics
- **Location:** Remote
- **Compensation:** $140k–$200k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2026-10-20
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-08
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/voyant-photonics/c1c1e508-d324-4a1b-aff1-a78def860325

## Job description

Senior Silicon Photonics Design Engineer About us: Voyant Photonics is bushing the boundaries of silicon photonic chips that steer and switch light at high speed. They power next generation, chip-scale FMCW LiDAR for robotics and autonomy, and optical circuit switches (OCS) for AI data centers. Based in NYC, we’re a hands-on team designing, building, and deploying frontier hardware to solve problems that matter, from how machines see to how AI scales. Why Join Us? At Voyant, you'll help develop some of the most sophisticated silicon photonic chips, spanning two applications: optical circuit switching for AI data centers and chip-scale LiDAR sensing. You'll tackle engineering challenges at the intersection of photonic device physics, large-scale circuit integration, and semiconductor manufacturing, developing high-performance photonic components that enable PICs with hundreds to thousands of integrated optical devices. As a Senior Silicon Photonics Design Engineer, you'll take ownership of component development from concept and simulation through layout, tapeout, and characterization. You'll have the opportunity to innovate on photonic device designs, directly influence product performance, and work closely with a multidisciplinary team in a fast-paced startup environment. What You'll Do:

- Design, simulate, and optimize passive and active silicon photonic components, including optical switches, waveguides, couplers, splitters, mode converters, and photodetectors.
- Develop innovative component designs to improve optical performance, including insertion loss, crosstalk, bandwidth, power consumption, and fabrication tolerance.
- Perform electromagnetic and multiphysics simulations to optimize device geometries and operating conditions.
- Develop component layouts and test structures, collaborating with layout engineers to implement and verify designs.
- Drive component development through foundry tapeouts, including design reviews, verification, and coordination with manufacturing partners.
- Analyze optical characterization data and wafer-level measurements to validate designs and guide improvements.
- Collaborate with system-level PIC designers to translate system requirements into component specifications.
- Work with foundry partners to understand process capabilities and develop robust, manufacturable designs.

## What We're Looking For

- Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Photonics, or a related field, or an M.S. with significant relevant industry experience.
- Strong background in silicon photonic component design, including electromagnetic simulation and device optimization.
- Demonstrated experience designing integrated photonic devices and bringing designs through silicon photonics foundry tapeouts.
- Solid understanding of waveguide optics, photonic device physics, and semiconductor fabrication processes.
- Proficiency with photonic simulation tools such as Ansys Lumerical, Tidy3D, COMSOL, or equivalent.
- Ability to analyze experimental characterization data and translate results into design improvements.
- Strong problem-solving skills, technical independence, and ability to collaborate in a multidisciplinary team.

## Nice to Have

- Experience designing silicon photonic switches, phase shifters, or advanced passive components such as MMIs, mode converters, and polarization-handling devices.
- Experience with silicon nitride waveguides, multilayer photonic integration, or heterogeneous photonic platforms.
- Experience with photonic component design across different wavelength bands, particularly O-band and C-band.
- Proficiency in Python or MATLAB for simulation automation, design optimization, and data analysis.
- Experience with wafer-level characterization, fabrication variation analysis, or statistical device performance modeling.

Life at Voyant We build frontier hardware & systems from our lab and office in Midtown Manhattan, where optical tables, lab benches and electronics sit alongside traditional office space. Our work is hands-on and primarily in person, but we don’t run on a rigid 9-to-5. We partner with customers across time zones, so some calls start early or run late, and we adjust schedules around them. We run a high-trust, high-accountability environment: you’ll own meaningful work, move quickly and often wear more than one hat. Voyant provides catered lunch every day at HQ, and we’re a diverse group of food lovers from around the world who enjoy sharing food, culture and technical ideas around the lunch table.

## Equal Opportunity Employer

Voyant Photonics is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital or partnership status, age, national origin, citizenship, veteran or military status, disability, medical condition, genetic information, caregiver status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

## About Voyant Photonics

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Voyant Photonics develops solid-state, chip-scale FMCW LiDAR sensors using silicon photonics for machine perception in autonomous vehicles, robotics, and smart infrastructure.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series A)
- **Headquarters**: New York City, New York, United States
- **Founded**: 2019
- **Founders**: Dr. Steven Miller (CTO), Dr. Chris Phare (CSO), Carlos Bhola (Executive Chairman)

## Core Business
- **Primary Industry**: Autonomous sensing / LiDAR / Silicon photonics
- **Target Customers**: B2B; OEMs and system integrators in automotive, robotics, industrial automation, and smart infrastructure
- **Mission**: To enable intelligent machines to operate in harmony with their environment by providing the spatial foundation that AI systems need to perceive the world.

## Products & Services
- **Helium™**: A fully solid-state, medium-range 4D LiDAR with no moving parts. Uses a 2D array of surface emitters for on-chip beam steering. Key specs: 75m range, 0.3cm precision, 60° x 90° FOV, ultra-compact 3x4x4 cm form factor. Ideal for mobile robotics.
- **Carbon 30**: A compact, all-in-one coherent LiDAR for mid-range, high-precision sensing. Combines single-axis on-chip beam steering with a low-speed moving mirror. Available in 32, 64, and 128-line variants. Range: 75m (standard) or 150m (extended), 30° V x 120° H FOV. Up to 977,000 points/sec.
- **Carbon 60**: A wide-FOV coherent LiDAR optimized for dense near-field perception (60° V x 90° H). Designed for short-range, wide-angle coverage in applications like person tracking and mobile robotics.

All products are software-configurable, operate at 1550nm (eye-safe), and provide instantaneous velocity data per point — immune to sunlight interference and other LiDAR sensors.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of $41.6M across 5 rounds
- **Notable Investors**: UP Partners (led Series A), LDV Capital, Contour Venture Partners, and others
- **Growth Signals**: 150% YoY headcount growth (to ~52 employees); has hired talent from Tesla, Luminar, Aeva, Microsoft, and MIT Media Lab; new CEO Clément Nouvel (former CTO of Valeo’s LiDAR division) brought in to scale the company; presence expanding to France and Japan

## Competitive Advantages
- **True solid-state design**: Their monostatic architecture integrates FMCW LiDAR, beam steering, and coherent detection on a single silicon photonics die — no moving parts, no MEMS, no multi-chip assemblies.
- **Foundry-compatible manufacturing**: Uses datacom-grade photonic foundries for wafer-scale fabrication, enabling cost and performance scaling to millions of units — manufactured like processors, not like optics.
- **Instantaneous 4D data**: Each measurement returns both range and velocity simultaneously, with no compute overhead, reducing perception pipeline complexity.
- **Software-configurable**: Sensors can dynamically trade off range, resolution, FOV, and precision under real-time application control — one sensor for many use cases.

## Strategic Focus
- Scaling production and reducing per-unit cost to enable mass-market adoption in automotive and robotics
- Expanding into smart infrastructure (bridge monitoring, power lines, industrial facilities) and IoT metrology
- Building out commercial sales team and global presence (VP Sales from Ouster/Aeva, Sales Director for Europe, presence in Japan)
- Replacing mechanical and MEMS-based LiDAR with fully solid-state solutions across all market segments

## Why Work Here
- **Cutting-edge technology**: Work on the frontier of silicon photonics, FMCW LiDAR, and coherent detection — a true hardware + perception + AI challenge
- **High-growth trajectory**: 150% headcount growth in the last year, with strong funding and commercial traction — significant career growth potential
- **Small, focused team**: ~52 employees with a high density of PhDs and experienced engineers from Cornell, Columbia, MIT, and top LiDAR companies (Luminar, Aeva, Valeo) — learn from world-class peers
- **Real-world impact**: Your work directly enables autonomous vehicles, robots, and smart infrastructure to perceive the world safely and reliably
- **Culture**: Described as "laser-focused" and balancing innovation with execution; the team includes veterans from Tesla, Microsoft, and leading Tier 1 automotive suppliers
- **Work model**: Based in NYC with a collaborative in-person culture; roles span photonics, electrical engineering, software, systems, and sales
- **Career opportunities**: Actively hiring across technical and commercial roles — "We’re growing fast and always looking for passionate, talented people"

## Sources
1. [voyantphotonics.com](https://voyantphotonics.com/)
2. [voyantphotonics.com/about](https://voyantphotonics.com/about/)
3. [voyantphotonics.com/products](https://voyantphotonics.com/products/)
4. [voyantphotonics.com/careers](https://voyantphotonics.com/careers/)
5. [linkedin.com/company/voyantphotonics](https://www.linkedin.com/company/voyantphotonics)
6. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/voyant-photonics](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/voyant-photonics)

## Other roles at Voyant Photonics

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- [Principal PIC (Photonic Integrated Circuit) Design Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-pic-photonic-integrated-circuit-design-engineer-voyant-photonics-new-2wnhfg389yrp) — New York, NY
- [Principal ASIC Engineer (Mixed-Signal)](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-asic-engineer-mixed-signal-voyant-photonics-new-york-ry7vapnea5zp) — New York, NY
- [Mechanical Design Engineer, Frontier AI Hardware](https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-design-engineer-frontier-ai-hardware-voyant-photonics-new-york-46mtegnzfprf) — New York, NY
- [Senior Silicon Photonics Design Engineer (Onsite/Hybrid)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-silicon-photonics-design-engineer-onsite-hybrid-voyant-photonics-new-york-6q4e8bswvarp) — New York, NY
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- [Senior Project Manager, Global Supply Chain (LiDAR & Optical Circuit Switches)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-project-manager-global-supply-chain-lidar-optical-circuit-switches-fx0qq66r9xqr) — New York, NY
- [Silicon Photonics Control & Calibration Engineer - Optical Circuit Switches (OCS)](https://feeny.ai/job/silicon-photonics-control-calibration-engineer-optical-circuit-switches-ocs-qwsypyh2e400) — New York, NY
- [Silicon Photonics Systems Test Engineer – Optical Circuit Switches (OCS)](https://feeny.ai/job/silicon-photonics-systems-test-engineer-optical-circuit-switches-ocs-voyant-57gf42rynbxv) — New York, NY