Senior RF Systems Engineer: Co-Packaged Photonic Design, Packaging, and Characterization

Piris Labs | Full-time | On-site in the San Francisco Bay Area

Base Salary: $150,000 to $300,000, plus equity, health insurance, additional benefits, and 401(k)

Piris Labs is developing next-generation photonic connectivity for AI infrastructure. We are building low-power, low-latency optical technologies that increase bandwidth and improve data movement both between and within compute and memory systems.

Our team works across photonics, RF engineering, advanced packaging, electronics, and systems design to develop high-bandwidth optical interconnects.

We are seeking a Senior RF Systems Engineer to lead the design, packaging, simulation, characterization, and validation of high-frequency electrical and electro-optic systems.

This is a hands-on role requiring a deep understanding of RF and millimeter-wave systems from low frequencies through 140 GHz. You will work across electro-optic modulators, photodetectors, RF sources, transmission lines, package-level interconnects, measurement equipment, and complete optical links.

The successful candidate will be comfortable moving between electromagnetic simulation, RF design, laboratory measurements, packaging constraints, and system-level performance. You will work closely with photonics, electronics, fabrication, and packaging engineers to co-design the RF and optical portions of advanced photonic systems.

• Design RF and millimeter-wave components, interconnects, and packaging for operation at frequencies exceeding 100 GHz.
• Co-design electro-optic modulators, electrodes, transmission lines, drivers, photodetectors, and package-level RF interfaces.
• Develop RF architectures that support high-bandwidth optical transmitters and receivers.
• Design coplanar waveguides, microstrip structures, RF launches, probe interfaces, transitions, interposers, and package-level interconnects.
• Model impedance, insertion loss, return loss, crosstalk, dispersion, radiation loss, resonances, and mode conversion.
• Perform electromagnetic and circuit simulations using tools such as Ansys HFSS, Keysight ADS, CST Studio Suite, Cadence, AWR, or similar platforms.
• Build, calibrate, and troubleshoot RF test setups using VNAs, high-speed oscilloscopes, sampling oscilloscopes, RF probes, signal generators, spectrum analyzers, and related equipment.
• Perform VNA calibration, de-embedding, time-domain analysis, S-parameter extraction, and correlation between simulations and measurements.
• Analyze eye diagrams, jitter, bandwidth, noise, signal integrity, and bit-error-rate performance.
• Evaluate packaging approaches including wire bonding, flip-chip integration, interposers, high-frequency substrates, connectors, probes, and co-packaged RF and optical components.
• Identify limitations caused by package parasitics, dielectric loss, conductor loss, impedance discontinuities, thermal behavior, and manufacturing variation.
• Work with photonics engineers to understand how RF design and packaging affect modulator bandwidth, drive voltage, optical performance, and power consumption.
• Correlate device-level, package-level, and system-level measurements to identify the physical source of performance limitations.
• Establish design rules, measurement procedures, performance baselines, design margins, and validation criteria.
• Lead technical reviews, document findings, mentor engineers, and communicate design risks and tradeoffs.

• Master’s or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, RF Engineering, Microwave Engineering, or a closely related field.
• Deep understanding of RF, microwave, and millimeter-wave systems across frequencies extending toward 140 GHz.
• Strong knowledge of transmission lines, impedance matching, S-parameters, signal integrity, electromagnetic coupling, and high-frequency losses.
• Hands-on experience designing and characterizing high-frequency RF or electro-optic systems.
• Experience using high-frequency VNAs, oscilloscopes, RF probes, signal generators, spectrum analyzers, and probe stations.
• Experience with VNA calibration methods such as SOLT, TRL, or LRM, including de-embedding and reference-plane management.
• Strong experience with electromagnetic and RF circuit-simulation tools.
• Deep understanding of electro-optic modulators, photodetectors, high-speed drivers, RF sources, and optical-transceiver architectures.
• Experience designing RF interfaces and packaging for electro-optic or semiconductor devices.
• Understanding of package-level parasitics, thermal constraints, optical coupling, electrical interconnects, and manufacturability.
• Ability to correlate simulations with measurements, investigate discrepancies, and identify the physical source of performance limitations.
• Strong experimental troubleshooting, technical communication, and documentation skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-moving, multidisciplinary product-development environment.

• Five or more years of relevant industry experience.
• Experience designing or characterizing RF systems operating above 100 GHz.
• Experience working with RF systems extending from DC through 140 GHz.
• Experience with traveling-wave electro-optic modulators and high-speed photodetectors.
• Experience with co-packaged RF, electronic, and optical components.
• Experience designing high-frequency packages, interposers, RF substrates, and chip-to-package transitions.
• Experience with flip-chip integration, wire bonding, RF connectors, wafer probing, and package-level parasitic extraction.
• Experience with PAM4 or other high-speed signaling formats.
• Experience with eye-diagram analysis, jitter decomposition, link budgets, and bit-error-rate measurements.
• Experience with optical transceivers, optical interconnects, coherent or direct-detection systems, or related technologies.
• Experience supporting the transition from laboratory prototypes to reliable, manufacturable hardware.

You will work at the intersection of RF engineering, photonics, high-speed characterization, and advanced packaging. Your designs will directly influence the bandwidth, power efficiency, signal integrity, and scalability of next-generation optical interconnects.

This role offers substantial technical ownership, direct collaboration with the founders, and the opportunity to solve difficult hardware problems that cannot be addressed by RF, packaging, or photonics engineering in isolation.

This is an on-site position in the San Francisco Bay Area. Candidates must be based in or willing to relocate to the Bay Area and legally authorized to work in the United States.

• Base salary of $160,000 to $300,000
• Meaningful company equity
• Health insurance
• Additional employee benefits
• 401(k)
• Full-time, on-site work in the San Francisco Bay Area

Actual compensation will depend on experience, technical depth, qualifications, and scope of responsibility.

Piris Labs is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business needs, without regard to any status protected by applicable law.