PICs@ICFO Strategic Initiative: Principal Engineer in testing and applications of integrated photonic circuits

As part of the PICs@ICFO Strategic Initiative, ICFO coordinates PIXEurope, a flagship Pilot Line funded under the European Chips JU program. With €400 million in investments and a consortium of 20 partners across 11 countries, the project aims to reinforce Europe’s strategic autonomy in photonic technologies and accelerate industrial uptake of cutting-edge integrated photonics. Over the next decade, PIXEurope will enable the transfer of advanced technologies to manufacturing environments, while fostering innovation and scalability across the European photonics ecosystem.

Position Overview:

We are seeking an experienced engineer or research scientist specializing in the testing and characterization of photonic integrated circuits, with strong hands-on experience at die level, wafer level, and packaged level. The selected candidate will be deeply involved in the development and execution of advanced PIC testing methodologies within the PIXEurope project, contributing to both technological development and application-oriented demonstrators.

The position is highly experimental and lab-oriented, ideal for candidates with a solid technical background and strong motivation to work with integrated photonics in a dynamic R&D and pre-industrial environment.

Key Responsibilities:

Perform optical and electrical testing of PICs at die, wafer, and packaged level, using both manual and automated setups.

Operate optical benches and test instrumentation including tunable lasers, OSAs, VNAs, photodiodes, RF sources, power meters, and probe stations.

Develop measurement procedures, automation scripts, and data-analysis workflows to ensure reliable, scalable, and repeatable characterization.

Conduct extensive wafer-level optoelectronic testing, including operation and maintenance of an automated probe-station, automated optical/electrical alignment, calibration routines, interfacing with equipment vendors for troubleshooting and process improvements, and managing high-throughput data acquisition.

Collaborate with PIC designers to define and optimize test structures, contribute to Test Design Kits (TDKs), and implement Process Control Modules (PCM).

Analyze and validate PIC performance, prepare structured testing reports, and support debugging activities across the development cycle.

Work with application-driven teams (quantum, telecom/datacom, sensing, LiDAR, RF-photonics, etc.) to translate system requirements into test metrics and support qualification in real demonstrators.

Conduct the reporting of activities on testing.

Being active part of the activities related to PIC demonstrators ensuring proper integration, testing flow, data consolidation, and communication with project partners.Collaborate closely with fabrication and packaging teams to guarantee performance consistency across the entire PIC development pipeline.

This position will report to Prof. Dr. Valerio Pruneri, Director of the European Chips JU Pilot Line PIXEurope.

PIXEurope is co-funded by the Chips Joint Undertaking and national funding authorities of the Participating States, Spain, Ireland, The Netherlands, Finland, Belgium, Portugal, Poland, Austria, France, Italy, United Kingdom. In particular, it is co-funded by Spain through the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Civil Service under reference CJU-010000-2025-0005, as part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR).

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Applicants must hold an internationally recognized engineering or science degree (BSc, MSc, or PhD) in Photonics, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or related fields.

We are looking for candidates with demonstrated experience in one or more of the following areas:

Optical and electrical testing of photonic devices or circuits (e.g., insertion loss, phase shifting, transmission spectra, RF characterization).

Operation of test and measurement equipment (tunable lasers, OSAs, VNAs, power meters, photodetectors, RF instrumentation, probe stations).

Wafer-level testing, including optical and electrical probing, coupling strategies, and automation.

Knowledge of PIC design, particularly with respect to test structures, calibration components, or PCM methodologies.

Experience developing or using TDKs or specialized testing components in PIC design kits, is a plus.

Data acquisition and automation using Python, MATLAB, or LabVIEW.

Experience in application-driven PIC development (telecom/datacom, quantum photonics, sensing, LiDAR, RF-photonics, computing).

Experience in an industrial environment or advanced R&D photonics lab will be considered an advantage.

The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, hands-on, proactive, and comfortable working in multidisciplinary teams bridging research and industrial deployment.

What We Offer

Indefinite contract for scientific and technical activities pursuant to Spanish Law 14/2011, linked to the duration or availability of funds within the PIXEurope Pilot Line

Access to state-of-the-art PIC testing infrastructure, including advanced wafer-level probing systems and high-speed optical characterization equipment.

Opportunity to work at the interface between pilot-line manufacturing, advanced R&D, and industrial applications.

A family allowance may be granted to candidates with dependents, according to ICFO policies.

ICFO is an equal opportunity employer. We hire based solely on merit and potential, regardless of gender, nationality, or disability. ICFO fully endorses the European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers, ensuring a transparent and supportive recruitment process.

Required application materials:

A presentation letter outlining your interest in the position.

A curriculum vitae, including full contact information.

The contact e-mail addresses of two referees who can provide professional references.

Applications will be reviewed as they are received.

For formal enquiries regarding the application process, please contact: [email protected]

For project and technology enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

For more information about ICFO, visit: https://www.icfo.eu.

15th of February, 2026