Optical I/O Engineer
External
Etched · San JosePrepare for this interview
EliteAI-generated questions, company research, and talking points tailored to this role
Responsibilities
- Define and own Etched's optical I/O architecture from photonic engine design through system integration
- Specify optical interconnect requirements (bandwidth density, reach, latency, power, packaging) derived from system-level constraints
- Design and bring up the photonic integrated circuits, light sources, and optical packaging that make up Etched's optical I/O, working with foundry and assembly partners as needed
- Drive co-design between optical I/O and the rest of the chip and system: SerDes, package, substrate, and thermal
- Own the engineering relationships with optical assembly partners
- Recruit and grow the team that will execute against the roadmap
- Partner closely with ASIC, platform, and supercomputing teams to ensure optical I/O integrates cleanly with system architecture
- Represent Etched's optical I/O work externally
- Must-Have Skills and Experience
- 8+ years of experience in silicon photonics, optical I/O, co-packaged or near-packaged optics, or high-speed optical signaling
- Deep expertise in at least one of the following clusters:
- Silicon photonics device and PIC design (modulators, photodetectors, waveguides, packaging-aware design)
- Optical packaging and assembly (fiber attach, laser integration, thermal management, hermetic and non-hermetic approaches)
- High-speed optical signaling and DSP (PAM4, coherent, SerDes-to-optical integration, link budget analysis)
- Demonstrated experience shipping or bringing up a real optical I/O or transceiver product, ideally at 100G/lane or higher
- Strong understanding of the electrical-optical boundary: how SerDes, driver, TIA, and PIC interact at the system level
- Comfortable making architectural decisions under uncertainty - trading off bandwidth, power, reach, cost, and manufacturability, and sequencing a roadmap accordingly
Requirements
- Direct experience with NPO, CPO, or optical chiplet integration
- Background in one or more of: silicon photonics, optical transceiver, or optical I/O organization
- Hands-on packaging and process integration experience with 2.5D/3D advanced packaging (CoWoS or equivalent)
- Publication track record at OFC, ECOC, ISSCC, or Hot Chips
Benefits
Additional Information
About Etched Etched is building the world's first AI inference system purpose-built for transformers - delivering over 10x higher performance and dramatically lower cost and latency than a B200. With Etched ASICs, you can build products that would be impossible with GPUs, like real-time video generation models and extremely deep & parallel chain-of-thought reasoning agents. Backed by hundreds of millions from top-tier investors and staffed by leading engineers, Etched is redefining the infrastructure layer for the fastest growing industry in history. Job Summary Etched is building dedicated optical I/O expertise to support the next generation of our inference systems. We are hiring a Founding Optical I/O Engineer to be our first dedicated optics hire and to own optical interconnect from architecture through bring-up. This is a hands-on senior IC role with a clear path to growing a team behind you. The right candidate combines deep technical credibility in silicon photonics, optical packaging, or high-speed optical signaling with the judgment to drive a complex technology from concept to working silicon.
Your Match
How well this role fits your profile.
Company Intel
What employees say
Worked at etched? Share your experience