Senior Integrated Photonics Packaging Engineer (m/f/d)

Your mission

The future of AI computing is light, not electrons. As Senior Integrated Photonics Packaging Engineer , you will sit at the very heart of Q.ANT’s photonic hardware R&D. You will research, develop, and demonstrate novel electrical and optical packaging concepts that bring our photonic integrated circuits (PICs) to their full performance potential. Rather than managing external suppliers to deliver off-the-shelf solutions, you will own the hands-on development of packaging architectures end-to-end - from first-principles design through prototyping, benchtop characterization, and validation. By bridging optical, electrical, and thermal domains, you will directly shape the performance, integrability, and scalability of our PIC-based systems. At Q.ANT, we are building photonic processing systems that compute with light - delivering a scalable, energy-efficient alternative to transistor-based architectures for next-generation AI and high-performance computing.

Your Impact & Responsibilities

• Drive Packaging Innovation: Conceive, build, and experimentally validate novel packaging prototypes and assembly methods for the co-integration of PICs with light sources, photodetectors, and high-speed analog electronics.
• Lead Workstreams End-to-End: Lead packaging R&D workstreams from concept definition and experiment design to hands-on benchtop testing and documented knowledge transfer.
• Solve First-Principles Engineering Challenges: Define packaging requirements and solve complex optical coupling, RF/microwave signal integrity, and thermal management challenges from a first-principles understanding.
• Develop Coupling Schemes: Design, build, and measure advanced optical coupling schemes (e.g., edge coupling, grating coupling, lensed fiber,
  micro-lens arrays).
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with PIC designers, systems engineers, and electronics teams to ensure packaging architectures are co-designed with device- and system-level constraints in mind.
• Build Institutional Knowledge: Document process recipes, assembly procedures, design rules, and tolerance budgets to enable manufacturability assessments, repeatability, and IP generation.
• Technical Supplier Alignment: Coordinate with external partners and suppliers for specialized materials or fabrication capabilities as the technical lead who specifies and validates rather than manages delivery.
• Mentorship & Leadership: Mentor junior engineers and contribute to shaping the team’s overall packaging R&D roadmap.

Your profile

• Education: Master’s or Ph.D. in Photonics, Optoelectronics, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field (a Ph.D. with an experimental packaging or integration focus is strongly preferred).
• Hands-on Experience: 5+ years of hands-on R&D experience in photonic/optoelectronic packaging, hybrid integration, or high-density interconnect development within a research institution, deep-tech startup, or advanced R&D environment.
• Prototyping & Co-Integration Track Record: Proven experience conceiving, building, and characterizing novel packaging prototypes-specifically co-integrating PICs, laser sources/SOAs, photodetectors, and high-speed analog electronics.
• Technical Depth: Deep understanding of optical alignment/coupling methods, flip-chip/wire bonding, die attach, hermetic encapsulation, RF signal integrity, and thermal management.
• Lab & Tool Proficiency: Hands-on proficiency with optical characterization (insertion loss, far-field imaging, OLCR/OFDR, LIV testing) and electrical characterization tools (VNA, high-speed oscilloscopes). Familiarity with CAD layout tools and optical simulation software (e.g., Zemax , Lumerical ) is a plus.

• Mindset & Ownership: High degree of autonomy and creative problem-solving skills to navigate complex, competing constraints without off-the-shelf solutions. Strong self-leadership and collaboration skills.
• Languages: Fluent in English; knowledge of German or another European language is a plus.

Why us?

• Work on the leading edge: Photonic AI acceleration technologies that will define the next decade of computing - already validated in production HPC environments.
• Make impact at scale: Help solve one of computing's biggest
  challenges - making growing demand in compute and sustainability go hand in hand.
• Own your work from day one: Broad autonomy and decision authority with direct impact on product success, packaging baselines, and overall PIC module quality.
• Fast-track your growth: Work on challenges with few industry
  precedents - every problem you solve becomes new institutional knowledge and potentially industry-defining IP.
• World-class team: Collaborate alongside a passionate, international, cross-functional team of experts in photonics, processor design, and AI systems.
• Direct access to leadership: Work closely with the company's leaders within a transparent and fast-moving structure.
• Collaborative culture: Innovative work environment that values technical excellence, open communication, and pragmatic problem-solving.
• Be part of history: Join at the inflection point where photonic computing transitions from research to mainstream—your contributions will shape this transformation.

About us

Who we are and what we do

Q.ANT is a deep-tech scale-up developing photonic processing solutions that compute natively with light and deliver a scalable alternative to transistor-based systems. The analog co-processors are optimised for complex computations and enable energy-efficient performance for next-generation AI and HPC applications. In collaboration with the Institute for Microelectronics Stuttgart IMS CHIPS, Q.ANT operates its own pilot line for photonic chips, based on the material system Thin-Film Lithium Niobate TFLN. Q.ANT was founded by Michael Förtsch in 2018 and is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany.