Founding Laser Engineer (Semiconductor Venture)

TopoLight is a venture-backed deep tech startup commercializing novel InP-based high-power photonic crystal lasers. We’re looking for a founding laser engineer to own the physics and design of our devices. You’ll be involved in the design cycle from the epitaxial semiconductor stack and the photonic crystal cavity to the thermal path and fiber coupling. You’ll turn performance targets into concrete, manufacturable device designs, drive them through simulation, and work hand-in-hand with fabrication and characterization to make them real.

Responsibilities
Translate laser power, wavelength, and efficiency targets into manufacturable device designs.
Design the epitaxial stack for laser operation including active region and quantum-well design, strain balancing, and band-structure engineering.
Design the photonic crystal lattice geometry, band structure, and resonant mode engineering for lasing operation at the target emission frequency.
Model and design the thermal path for optimized heat extraction, and package / substrate strategies for CW operation.
Run optoelectronic and electromagnetic simulations (FDTD, FEM, transfer matrix, coupled-mode theory etc.) to predict threshold, slope efficiency, wall-plug efficiency, and beam quality.
Support lab operations such as optical setup, device characterization, data analysis, and close the design–fab–measure loop.
Debug and iterate quickly in a fast-moving environment.

Qualifications
Ph.D. in EE, Materials Science, Physics, Applied Physics, or equivalent disciplines or B.S./M.S. with 5/3 years relevant experience with semiconductor lasers.
Demonstrated experience designing semiconductor lasers such as PCSEL, DFB, VCSEL, MECSEL, or similar architectures.
Proficient with optoelectronic and photonic simulation software (e.g., Lumerical, Photon Design, COMSOL, Tidy3d, nextnano, meep, etc.)
Strong background in semiconductor physics for III-V epitaxial design.
Extensive experience with electromagnetic and cavity design, photonic crystals, resonant modes, and thermal modeling of laser devices.
Comfortable owning ambiguous problems in a startup environment.
Strong written and verbal communication, with a collaborative working style.

Compensation
Salary will range from $120k – $170k based on experience, with a significant stock allotment.
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