Senior Staff Engineer, Product Development

Location: On-site in Hsinchu, Taiwan | Individual contributor

Summary

Ayar Labs develops silicon photonics to enable optical communication between XPUs in the data center. Backed by industry giants like NVIDIA, AMD, MediaTek and Intel and manufactured in partnership with the world's leading semiconductor ecosystem, Ayar Labs co-packaged optics solution is key to unleashing next-generation AI scale-up architectures.

Our Taiwan team works closely with foundry, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT), and equipment partners to bring electro-optical products into high-volume manufacturing.

As a Senior Staff Product Development Engineer, you will serve as a technical expert and lead product test and yield programs against defined product goals. You will define test plans, connect Test Engineering with Design, and work directly with foundry and OSAT partners to root cause failures detected by test. This individual contributor role prioritizes technical work, coordinates project deliverables, and mentors engineers to achieve yield, quality, and test-cost objectives.

Key Responsibilities

Define end-to-end test plans for wafer-, die-, and package-level electrical and optical coverage; translate product specifications into measurable requirements and acceptance criteria.
Partner with Design and Validation before silicon to define design-for-test (DFT), characterization, and manufacturing-screening strategies.
Own product health roadmaps for yield, quality, test time, and cost from first silicon to high-volume manufacturing; track gaps and drive corrective actions.
Specify test hardware and program requirements, including probe cards, loadboards, electrical access, optical interfaces, and data needs; guide ATE and Photonics Test engineers through implementation.
Lead yield root-cause investigations with foundry and OSAT partners using wafer maps, failure signatures, process splits, and assembly data; distinguish design, process, packaging, and test-system causes.
Define correlation studies, guardbands, and production limits with Design, Validation, and Test Engineering; close coverage gaps and reduce defect escapes.
Drive test-time reduction and optimization of test insertions while protecting coverage and outgoing quality.
Work with Data Engineering on traceability and analysis tools; coordinate schedules and priorities, mentor engineers, and present progress and technical recommendations to project stakeholders.
Provide Yield Analysis and GR&R support to Test Engineers and Tool Suppliers during electrical and optical Test bring-up.

Required Qualifications

MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, or a related field.
5+ years of relevant semiconductor product development or product engineering experience, including ownership of product introduction and yield programs.
Experience working with design teams before silicon to define test plans, DFT strategy, and coverage for electrical and optical products.
Strong understanding of CMOS and photonic fabrication, optical channels, advanced packaging, and their impact on test results and manufacturing yield.
Demonstrated ability to root cause yield and quality issues with foundry and OSAT partners and drive corrective actions to closure.
Experience analyzing production data, establishing test limits, and balancing coverage, quality, yield, and cost.
Demonstrated ability to prioritize technical work, recommend resource tradeoffs, coordinate product programs, and partner with teams outside your specialty.
Professional proficiency in spoken and written Mandarin and English, including technical discussions, documentation, and collaboration with Taiwan partners and global teams.
Ability to work on-site in Hsinchu, Taiwan, and travel to partner sites in Asia and the US.

Preferred Qualifications

PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
Experience bringing silicon photonics, optical I/O, or optical transceiver products from development into production.
Experience defining manufacturing strategies across wafer-, die-, and package-level electro-optical test.
Familiarity with ATE program development, optical/electrical measurement methods, and test hardware requirements.
Experience automating yield analysis, test-plan implementation, or test generation using Python or similar tools.
Proven hands-on skills for optical and electrical workstation setup and debug.

Note To Recruiters

Principals only. We are not accepting resumes from recruiters for this position. Remuneration for recruiting activities is only applicable subject to a signed and executed agreement between the parties. Please don't send candidates to Ayar Labs, and do not contact our managers.

Sr. Staff Engineer, Product Engineering - Silicon Photonics - Optical Engine