About the Role
You will own the photonic and detection stack from architecture through foundry to a working integrated reader, serving as the technical anchor to transform design intent into manufacturable, clinical-grade silicon.
Responsibilities
- Photonic and detection architecture for the disposable chip and reader.
- Foundry execution, including PIC, nano-optical, and microfluidic prototyping relationships, tapeout cadence, and yield, robustness, and tolerance management.
- Collaborate with the automated multi-physics design engine, interrogate its output, catch unphysical behavior, and drive design-arounds.
- Reader integration, including opto-mechanical, thermal, and electronics integration with the cartridge.
- Develop a risk register to identify potential failures and engineer solutions for scalable manufacturing.
- Leverage your network to make key technical hires in micro-fluidics, hardware/firmware, and instrumentation.
Requirements
- PhD in silicon photonics or EE.
- Demonstrable experience taking PIC designs to working silicon.
- Proven experience taking multiple designs from layout to working silicon at a commercial photonics foundry.
- Comfortable with photonic integration, photon-counting detection, and nano-optical component design.
- Ability to interpret simulation and optimiser output as a co-pilot, not a black box.
- Bonus: Prior experience in scientific instrumentation, bio-photonics, or biomedical optical engineering.
Skills
- Silicon photonics
- Photonic integration
- Photon-counting detection
- Nano-optical component design
- Micro-fluidics
- Hardware/firmware integration
- Instrumentation
- Opto-mechanical integration
- Thermal integration
- Electronics integration
- Multi-physics design engines
- Risk management
Location
- London
Work Type
- Hybrid
Experience Level
- Founding team level
Education Level
- PhD
Salary/Compensations
- Salary set at pre-seed close, calibrated to the round size and the role’s market reality at that point.
Benefits
- Founding team-level equity
About the Company
- An early-stage deep-tech photonic bio-sensing company combining silicon photonics, micro-fluidics, and applied AI.
- Mission: To transition high-end optical instrumentation from expensive, lab-based machines to low-cost, disposable chips and compact readers.
- The company is focused on developing point-of-care diagnostics for a multi-billion-dollar market.
- The founder, Prathap, is a repeat founder and AI expert with a background in software engineering and a passion for life-sciences instrumentation.
Equal Opportunity
- We are an equal-opportunity employer and value diversity. We consider all applications equally regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, or gender identity. We strongly encourage individuals from groups traditionally underrepresented in tech to apply.
