Principal Thermal Mechanical Photonic Designer at NVIDIA

**Who this is for** This role is for a highly experienced thermal and structural expert with a PhD and 15+ years of experience in the design, validation, and as

Work type: onsite

Location: US, CA, Santa Clara

Salary: $232,000 – $368,000/yr

Type: Full-time

Summary

**Who this is for** This role is for a highly experienced thermal and structural expert with a PhD and 15+ years of experience in the design, validation, and assembly of complex Silicon Photonic integrated circuits. **Key highlights** You will lead the thermo-mechanical modeling of chip packages, perform stress simulations for optical components, and develop experimental methodologies to validate laser performance in high-speed chip interfaces. **You might be a good fit if you...** - Have 8+ years of hands-on experience in Silicon Photonics IC development from concept to manufacturing. - Are proficient in Ansys tools for structural and thermal analysis. - Possess a deep understanding of die-package interactions, including fatigue and creep modeling. - Excel at collaborating across cross-functional teams to define system-level performance specifications.

Job Description

We are now looking for a Principal Thermal Mechanical Photonic Designer. We are part of the global circuits team at NVIDIA that craft the state-of-the-art GPUs for all applications such as supercomputers, gaming consoles and self-driving cars. Come join us in our mission to Engineer the next generation of outstanding products. Teams are dedicated to the architecture and design of CMOS and Silicon-Photonics high-speed chip interfaces (NVLink, IEEE, PCIE, USB, OIF) and other sophisticated photonic functions. Strong hands-on lab experience with silicon evaluation, debugging, characterization, and bring up.

What you will be doing:

• Work on Thermal and Structural design of Silicon Photonic designs

• Run stress simulation in optical components and fiber alignment and propose improved design of optical components.

• Set up experimental methodology for thermal validation and laser performance under different stress conditions.

• Modeling Si die-package thermo-mechanical interactions

• Solder joint fatigue and creep modeling

• Support the optical engineering and system engineering leads with the opto-mechanical system design.

• Die-package thermo-mechanical interactions in electronic packages for predicting failures during various assembly and reliability tests to recommend design, process or material changes.

• Hygroscopic stresses in electronic packages due to moisture diffusion.

• Crack propagation and interfacial delamination.

• Multifaceted simulation of wire-bonding and wire fusing process

• Thermal characterization of electronic packages (crafting thermal specification datasheets based on FE and experiments according to JEDEC standards)

• Solder joint fatigue and creep modeling

• PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a similar discipline (or equivalent experience) with 15+ years of experience in a related field

• 8+ years of experience in the development of silicon photonics ICs from concept to high-volume manufacturing

• Experience in product development of optics or photonic systems

• Experience in applied research on Silicon Photonic ICs and Systems

• Hands-on experience with Silicon Photonics products

• Proficient in Ansys tools

• Background with design tools and fixtures to aid in alignment, fabrication, gluing, and assembly of lasers, interferometers, and optical components

• Experience working, communicating, and collaborating in a cross-functional team environment

• Experience defining system performance and component specifications

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Self-motivated and self-directed individual, with little supervision vital

You will also be eligible for equity and [benefits](https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/benefits/).

Applications for this job will be accepted at least until April 25, 2026.

This posting is for an existing vacancy. 

NVIDIA uses AI tools in its recruiting processes.

NVIDIA is committed to fostering a diverse work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. As we highly value diversity in our current and future employees, we do not discriminate (including in our hiring and promotion practices) on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or any other characteristic protected by law.

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