Photonics Design Verification Engineer - 100%

Lightium AG, a Swiss startup pushing the boundaries of photonics, is seeking a Photonics Design Verification Engineer to lead the verification of internal and external designs for its thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) platform. This full-time, on-site role is based in Schlieren, ZH, and offers the chance to work with top customers across telecom, datacenter and AI spaces, RoF and PON applications, and even quantum initiatives. Lightium is an equal opportunity employer that values diverse perspectives and inclusive teams.

The person in this position will help define and embed a best-in-class verification process for Lightium’s PIC designs, influencing both in-house developments and customer projects. It’s a role for someone who wants to shape how design verification is done in a fast-growing photonics startup and contribute to the next generation of photonics solutions.

Turning designs into verified photonics

Your daily work will revolve around building and driving verification procedures for electro-optical circuits, leveraging leading design software packages like Luceda, GDSFactory, Synposis and Cadence in collaboration with the vendors. You’ll also conduct hands-on verification of designs for internal and external customers, including high-speed work with bandwidths above 100 GHz, drawing on a solid background in optical chip design and microwave photonics.

You’ll engage with top-tier customers to ensure that designs are DRC clean and LVS clean, and that they meet system-level and block-level specifications. Collaboration with R&D teams, from design to optical testing and characterization, will be a hallmark of the role, with occasional travel to Lightium’s customers and test partners. Documentation and reporting will be important as you establish standard operating procedures and help train new colleagues, while staying current on the latest photonics advances to strengthen Lightium’s IP portfolio.

What you’ll bring

The company is looking for a strong combination of education, hands-on experience and technical know-how. Here’s how they think about the ideal profile:

• A graduate-level degree (PhD or MSc) in a relevant field such as communications, photonics or electrical engineering
• At least three years of industrial experience in chip design, photonic circuit design, layout, design verification, or requirements tracking, with prior exposure to integrated photonics platforms like TFLN, silicon photonics, SiN or InP
• Solid skills in verification workflows, including design rule checks, layout vs schematic verification, mask generation, and handling large GDS files; familiarity with major EDA tools such as Luceda, GDSFactory, Cadence, Synposis and Siemens/Mentor Graphics is preferred
• Strong organizational habits to plan across multiple facilities, document results and procedures, and maintain appropriate confidentiality
• Clear, effective communication and the ability to work well in multidisciplinary teams with international customers
• Adaptability to a fast-moving startup environment, with flexibility and resilience as priorities shift
• English fluency is required; knowledge of German, French or an Asian language would be an advantage

Nice to have

• Knowledge of additional languages such as German, French or an Asian language would be a bonus

Compensation, benefits and logistics

Lightium offers a competitive compensation and benefits package, including an employee stock option plan (ESOP), fully-covered Pillar Two, and generous vacation. The role is full-time and onsite in Schlieren, and occasional travel to customers and test partners is expected as part of the position.

Tips for applicants

Put your most relevant qualifications first on the resume, highlighting your advanced degree and at least three years of hands-on work in chip or photonic design verification, with explicit mention of TFLN or comparable platforms.

Show concrete verification experience by naming the methods you’ve used, such as DRC and LVS checks, mask generation, and handling large GDS files, and call out your experience with Luceda, GDSFactory, Cadence, Synposis or Siemens/Mentor graphics tools.

Be ready to discuss times you collaborated with international customers or cross-functional teams, and share anecdotes about delivering DRC/LVS-clean designs that met both system- and block-level specifications.

Explain how you’ve contributed to documenting procedures, training colleagues, and building or refining standard operating procedures, since Lightium places emphasis on documentation and process.