Are you passionate about driving integrated photonic technologies into innovative products? Then, leverage your experience to help us unlock the immense business potential of photonic integrated circuits (PIC) – a market that is growing rapidly due to the demand for AI, faster communication, and novel types of sensors. ZEISS has started a major strategic initiative to establish an interdisciplinary team in a dynamic and agile startup environment. The corporate-backed startup will benefit from ZEISS’s ecosystem and its expertise in the field of photonics.
You will play a key role in the design and development of advanced photonic packaging solutions that enable the high performance and reliability of our PICs. You will create innovative packaging designs that meet the technical requirements of advanced photonic systems. In this exciting opportunity, you will contribute to the commercialization and scaling of next-generation photonic technologies.

Your role

• Develop and design packaging solutions for photonic integrated circuits, including aspects of mechanical, thermal, and optical interfaces.
• Optimize package designs for performance, reliability, and manufacturability, considering thermal management, optical coupling, electrical connectivity, and mechanical stability
• Collaborate with external suppliers and internal teams to build prototypes and transition from concept to full-scale production
• Ensure design-for-manufacturability principles are applied to the photonic packages to ensure scalability and cost-effectiveness
• Conduct thermal and stress evaluations of photonic packages to guarantee adequate heat dissipation and mechanical integrity under diverse environmental conditions.
• Design package structures that optimize optical alignment between the PICs, optical fibers, optical components and external devices such as lasers and detectors
• Establish high-precision alignment and assembly processes, outline test protocols to assess the performance and reliability of the packaging solutions, and interpret test data to drive further improvements.
• Collaborate closely with photonic designers, engineers, process engineers, and manufacturing teams to enhance packaging solutions.

Your Profile

• Master’s degree or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• Specialized knowledge or coursework in photonics, optoelectronics packaging, or microsystems.
• 3+ years of industry or academic experience in the design and development of packaging solutions, preferably for photonics, optoelectronics, or semiconductor devices.
• Experience with packaging techniques such as wire bonding, flip-chip bonding, and fiber-optic alignment is highly desirable.
• Experience working with optical beam assemblies is a plus.
• Experience working with high-frequency electrical packaging and RF interconnects is a plus.
• Proficiency with CAD tools for 3D modeling and simulation (e.g., SolidWorks, AutoCAD, or ANSYS).
• Experience with thermal and stress simulation tools such as COMSOL or FEA software.
• Understanding of materials used in photonics packaging, including ceramics, polymers, metals, and adhesives.
• Familiarity with cleanroom and assembly techniques for photonic and electronic components.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with attention to detail in complex systems.
• Excellent communication and collaboration abilities, with a proactive approach to teamwork in English and German
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.

Your ZEISS Recruiting Team:
Katharina Dandorfe

• Develop and design packaging solutions for photonic integrated circuits, including aspects of mechanical, thermal, and optical interfaces.
• Optimize package designs for performance, reliability, and manufacturability, considering thermal management, optical coupling, electrical connectivity, and mechanical stability
• Collaborate with external suppliers and internal teams to build prototypes and transition from concept to full-scale production
• Ensure design-for-manufacturability principles are applied to the photonic packages to ensure scalability and cost-effectiveness
• Conduct thermal and stress evaluations of photonic packages to guarantee adequate heat dissipation and mechanical integrity under diverse environmental conditions.
• Design package structures that optimize optical alignment between the PICs, optical fibers, optical components and external devices such as lasers and detectors
• Establish high-precision alignment and assembly processes, outline test protocols to assess the performance and reliability of the packaging solutions, and interpret test data to drive further improvements.
• Collaborate closely with photonic designers, engineers, process engineers, and manufacturing teams to enhance packaging solutions