nEye.ai

Senior Materials and Surface Science Engineer

Santa Clara, CA · Senior

Sponsorship not specified$230k-$270kDetected 82 days ago

SEMElectrical Engineering

About the role

About us nEye.ai, a well-funded optical switch startup, is poised to revolutionize the future of data centers. nEye's MEMS-based silicon photonics optical circuit switches (OCS) eliminate critical bottlenecks in AI processing by enabling direct optical connections among thousands of GPUs and memory units. The company's OCS is an ultra-low power consumption,
high radix, compact chip-scale design, offering hyperscale data centers enhanced performance, efficiency, and scalability. Job Overview We are looking for a senior individual contributor with deep expertise in materials science and surface chemistry as it applies to semiconductor fabrication and optical systems. This role is critical to understanding and

Partner with design and process teams to translate material-level insights into improved device performance and manufacturability
Lead investigations connecting fabrication outcomes to device-level optical and mechanical performance
Design and interpret experiments involving thin films, interfaces, and surface treatments (e.g., passivation, cleaning, annealing)
Collaborate with fabrication partners on process evaluation and optimization
Develop models or frameworks that connect process to material and optical outcomes

Experience working in or closely with semiconductor fabs / foundries
Hands-on experience with failure analysis and materials characterization techniques

This role is critical to understanding and improving how fabrication processes at the material and interface level impact optical performance in our silicon photonics devices.
Investigate how surface chemistry and material interfaces in silicon-based photonic and MEMS material systems impact performance
Analyze effects of etching, deposition, oxidation, and plasma processes on surface states, morphology, and optical mechanisms
Utilize and guide characterization efforts using techniques such as SEM, TEM, AFM, XPS, ellipsometry, SIMS, etc.
PhD in Materials Science, Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering, or related field
15+ years of experience in semiconductor, photonics, or adjacent advanced materials environments
Deep understanding of surface chemistry and interface physics in semiconductor systems
Expertise in dielectric and semiconductor thin films and metallization.

This listing is sourced directly from nEye.ai's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.