Product Architect Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Our cantilever waveguide coupling technology brings together the speed of III-V materials with the scale of silicon, unlocking a new level of integration and performance. This breakthrough changes how light connects systems – and enables optical engines built to meet the demands of tomorrow’s AI and telecom infrastructure.
We are breaking the cost barrier in photonics and building photonic fabrics designed for >10 terabit-per-second communication, the kind required by future AI farms.
About the Role
As Photonic Product Architect, you are the technical lead responsible for architecting end-to-end photonic systems based on high-level product requirements. You will collaborate with our CTO, photonics designers, electronics engineers, the product manager, and the Head of Operations to deliver manufacturable, cost-effective solutions that scale. This is a systems-level leadership role, balancing performance (e.g., speed, power, bandwidth), complexity, cost, and integration feasibility. You will work hands-on with technology platforms developed in-house and guide architecture trade-offs from optical, electrical, and mechanical perspectives.
Your core responsibilities will include:
- Translate product requirements of the customer into system-level photonic architectures
- Collaborate with photonics designers to define topologies, interfaces, tolerances, and performance specs
- Make architecture trade-offs: power vs. complexity, bandwidth vs. cost, integration vs. modularity
- Model system performance from both optical and electrical perspectives
- Identify and mitigate integration challenges such as thermal and thermomechanical stress, material interfaces, and footprint constraints
- Ensure manufacturability at scale in close alignment with the Head of Operations
- Leverage and drive internal platform technologies (e.g., PICs, drivers, receivers, packaging) and influence technology roadmaps
- Define system validation strategies in collaboration with test and validation teams
- Drive internal reviews and own architectural documentation What we are looking for We’re looking for an engineer who can operate independently in a fast-paced lab environment and get things done under startup pressure.
Requirements:
- MSc or PhD in Photonics, Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, or related field
- 5+ years’ experience in photonic systems, optical transceivers, or high-speed I/O
- Proficient in optical and electrical modeling tools: Lumerical, COMSOL, ADS, SPICE
- Strong grasp of PIC design, driver/receiver integration, signal & power integrity
- Able to model and make system-level trade-offs involving power, performance, thermal management, packaging constraints, and thermo-mechanical stress
- Experience with data center hardware, AI accelerators, or optical networking is a plus
- Strong communication skills; able to translate complex systems into clear decisions
- Startup mindset: pragmatic, adaptable, and resilient under pressure
What we offer
- Competitive salary and equity
- End-to-end ownership of systems that will ship to real customers
- A key technical role in a fast-moving deep-tech company
- Collaboration with a sharp, mission-driven team
- Flexible working setup with strong ownership and autonomy
Darwin Recruitment is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.
Sindi Ngubane