Intern, Semiconductor Laser Modeling and Characterization
San Jose, CAInternship$50–60/hrPosted 2 days agoStill listed 1 day ago
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Job overview
Ayar Labs seeks a motivated PhD graduate intern to model and characterize integrated semiconductor lasers. The intern will develop models to understand and optimize laser performance across design configurations and material platforms, test advanced lasers, and analyze measurements to extract parameters that inform design improvements. Projects are tailored to the intern’s experience and interests, with mentorship from Ayar Labs scientists and engineers.
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Full job description
Position: Intern, Semiconductor Laser Modeling and Characterization Location: San Jose, CA
Job Id: 759
of Openings: 0
Intern, Semiconductor Laser Modeling and Characterization Term: May to August 2027
Please note:
- Position location is on-site in San Jose Office
- There is no immigration (except for F1) or relocation support for this position
- Posting expires upon application threshold
Position Description
Ayar Labs is shattering AI data bottlenecks by moving data at the speed of light. As pioneers of co-packaged optics (CPO), we are using light instead of electricity to move data faster, further, and with a fraction of the energy needed to fuel the explosive growth of AI models.
Backed by industry giants like NVIDIA, Mediatek, AMD 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.
We are looking for a motivated PhD graduate intern to work on integrated semiconductor lasers, with a strong focus on device modeling and characterization. You will develop laser models to understand and optimize the performance limits of advanced laser design configurations integrated onto different material platforms. You will test state-of-the-art lasers and analyze the measurements to extract key parameters that will help drive the design improvements needed for high performance integrated laser systems. Projects will be tailored to your experience and interests, and you will be mentored by a world-class team of scientists and engineers at Ayar Labs. Your work will be at the cutting-edge of semiconductor lasers that will help drive the optical I/O revolution.
Essential Functions Modeling and characterization of integrated semiconductor lasers.
Intern Skillset Needed
- Strong programming skills in Python with the scientific stack (NumPy, pandas, matplotlib).
- Familiarity with semiconductor laser physics and optoelectronic device characterization (LIV, optical spectra).
- The ideal candidate is an independent and highly-motivated student who is able to work collaboratively and independently, and can self-manage time effectively to take projects to completion.
Education Requirements
- Actively pursuing a PhD. degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Optics/Photonics, Applied Physics, or equivalent.
Pay Range: $50 - 60/hourly, depending on education level
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.
Ayar Labs is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and is strongly committed to all policies which will afford equal opportunity employment to all qualified persons without regard to age, sex, national origin, race, color, ethnicity, creed, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. It is the policy of Ayar Labs to provide reasonable accommodation when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with a disability, unless such accommodation would cause an undue hardship. Veterans are more than welcome and encouraged to apply.
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How this job compares
Set against the 4,444 open Researcher jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 10, 2026.
- Pay
- This posting$50–60/hr
- California median$38–61/hr63 hourly ranges
- US median$24–33/hr332 hourly ranges
This range's midpoint, $55/hr, is 8% below the California median midpoint ($60/hr) — in the middle half of Researcher hourly ranges in California.
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 741 open Researcher jobs in California and 4,444 across the US. 2% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most in California
- University of Southern California53 open
- Google51 open
- OpenAI46 open
- Experience
- Researcher postings that state a minimum ask for 3 years of experience at the median; the middle half ask for 2 to 5 years (1,364 postings).
- Education
- This posting asks for a doctorate or professional degree; 1,968 of the 4,444 open Researcher jobs (44%) ask for a doctorate or professional degree.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 10, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.
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