Hardware Engineer

About us

Salience Labs is building the optical infrastructure that will power the next generation of AI. Our photonic switching technology delivers the high-speed, ultra-low latency networking fabrics AI datacenters need and can’t get anywhere else. We’re a multi-disciplinary team of physicists, engineers, and machine learning specialists on a mission to remove the bottlenecks holding AI infrastructure back.

Job Overview

As a Hardware Engineer at Salience Labs, you will play a crucial role in designing and testing the electronics that power our hybrid photonic-electronic systems. As an early member of the team, you will contribute directly to our mission of bringing photonic products to high-performance compute systems, particularly those used for AI.

The role offers a varied mix of system design, PCB design, system bring-up and qualification, with a significant share of hands-on lab work at our Oxford office.

What you’ll be doing

• Carry out detailed hardware design, including specification, simulation, schematic capture (using Altium) and component selection. PCB layout experience is a strong advantage

• Bring up and test new hardware in the lab, focusing on the electronics and how they interact with photonic elements

• Diagnose and resolve issues during hardware bring-up and testing

• Characterise new electronic systems and their integration with photonic components

• Characterise the mechanical and thermal properties of our systems and their impact on photonic performance

• Qualify electronic systems for production, working with external test houses as needed

• Work closely with photonics, firmware and test colleagues to turn system requirements into hardware that works first time

What we’re looking for

• 3+ years of experience in high-speed digital or analogue design, including high-speed discrete analogue-to-digital conversion, high-performance FPGAs and high-speed digital interfaces (including Ethernet and DDR)

• 3+ years of experience bringing up and testing new electronic systems

• Strong diagnostic skills, including hands-on rework

• Comfort working both independently and within small, multidisciplinary teams

• Strong technical, organisational and time management skills, with the ability to translate requirements into successful hardware implementations

• Drive, motivation and flexibility to thrive in a fast-paced start-up environment

• Experience with PCB layout

• Experience working with external vendors for layout, manufacturing, assembly and qualification

• Experience characterising the mechanical and thermal properties of electronic systems

This is an "on -site" role with 4/5 days in the office required.