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Neurophos

Optical metasurface AI accelerators

Senior Laser Test & Characterization Engineer

Hardware Validation & TestingConfirmed live in the last 24 hours
Full-timeAustin, TX, USA

About the Job

Requirements

  • A master's or PhD in electrical engineering, physics, optics, or photonics is required.
  • Hands-on lab work with narrow-linewidth lasers (DFB, external-cavity, or fiber lasers) at 1550 nm, from industry (3+ years) or graduate research, is required.
  • Direct experience measuring relative intensity noise and laser phase or frequency noise, and understanding measurement limits such as shot noise, thermal noise, and instrument floors, is required.
  • Experience characterizing high-speed pulsed or modulated optical signals using fast photodetectors, sampling oscilloscopes, autocorrelation, or optical spectrum analysis is required.
  • RF and microwave experience to tens of GHz, including phase-noise analyzers or signal-source analyzers, spectrum analyzers, synthesizers, RF amplifiers, and coaxial interconnects, is required.
  • Comfort with polarization-maintaining fiber, including fusion splicing, connector care, and polarization-extinction-ratio measurement, is required.
  • Working knowledge of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers is required.
  • Python or a similar tool for instrument control and data analysis is required.
  • Clear written communication for creating test procedures, reports, and actionable specifications is required.

Responsibilities

  • Design, build, and maintain the laser and amplifier characterization bench, including polarization-maintaining fiber setups at watt-level optical power.
  • Measure relative intensity noise from approximately kHz to tens of GHz at the source and through amplifier chains, including shot-noise subtraction and integration over the receiver bandwidth.
  • Measure laser linewidth and frequency noise using delayed self-heterodyne or an equivalent method, and measure wavelength stability, side-mode suppression, and polarization extinction ratio.
  • Characterize high-speed pulsed sources at tens of GHz by measuring pulse width and shape on a log scale, pulse-to-pulse amplitude uniformity, and timing jitter.
  • Measure RF phase noise of synthesizers and clock chains, and residual additive phase noise of the full electro-optic chain; convert phase noise to integrated jitter.
  • Set up and run the RF drive for electro-optic modulators, including Ka-band amplifiers, filters, phase alignment, and modulator bias control.
  • Characterize optical amplifiers by measuring gain, noise figure, saturation, added relative intensity noise, and correlated versus uncorrelated noise between channels.
  • Automate measurements and build a data pipeline using Python and instrument control to make results repeatable and traceable.
  • Turn data into specifications by writing test procedures, setting pass/fail thresholds, and evaluating vendor samples against them.
  • Work with vendors on sample evaluation and data requests, and with internal teams on system-level noise and timing budgets.

Desired Qualifications

  • Femtosecond-level timing-jitter metrology involving photodetected pulse trains, residual phase noise, or cross-correlation analyzers is preferred.
  • Experience with mode-locked lasers or electro-optic pulse carving using Mach-Zehnder or thin-film lithium niobate modulators, bias control, or return-to-zero formats is preferred.
  • Experience with balanced detection and common-mode rejection measurements is preferred.
  • Knowledge of stimulated Brillouin scattering, interferometric noise from reflections, and their mitigation is preferred.
  • Experience with high-power fiber amplifiers, including multicore or cladding-pumped designs, is preferred.
  • A background in optical communications or microwave photonics, such as coherent or high-baud-rate links or optoelectronic oscillators, is preferred.
  • Experience bringing up a new lab and managing equipment purchase or rental is preferred.

About the Company

Neurophos

Optical metasurface AI accelerators

Neurophos designs AI accelerator chips built with optical metasurfaces and silicon photonics to deliver high-density, energy-efficient AI computation for data centers. Its processors are designed to shrink optical components by about 8000x, increasing compute power per dollar spent and reducing both capital and operating expenditures. The product works by using optical processing techniques that handle AI inference workloads more efficiently than traditional GPUs or electronic AI accelerators, enabling faster throughput with lower power use. Neurophos differentiates itself by combining optical metasurfaces with silicon photonics to achieve higher density and energy efficiency, targeting data centers and enterprises that need scalable, cost-sensitive AI inference. The company aims to reshape the AI landscape by offering faster, denser, and more energy-efficient AI computation while lowering the total cost of ownership for data centers.

Company size
51-200
Company stage
Series A
Total funding
$117.2M
Headquarters
Austin, TX
Founded
2020

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