Photonics Experimental & Fabrication Engineer in Bristol

Overview

This role exists to extract truth from real active photonic systems. As a Photonics Experimental & Fabrication Engineer, you will build experiments, run automated tests, and analyse large datasets to understand how PICs, lasers, detectors, and nonlinear optical effects actually behave under bias, noise, drift, and real operating conditions - not how we wish they behaved. This is not a cleanroom-only role. It is about turning fabrication intuition and experimental rigor into system-level learning.

What You’ll Do

• Design, build, and improve experiments involving: lasers and optical sources, photodetectors and readout chains, active PIC components and biasing, nonlinear or power-dependent effects.
• Run automated wafer-scale and lot-scale measurements.
• Characterise behaviour across bias points, optical power, temperature, and time (drift, ageing, stability).
• Work late when experiments demand it - then automate to avoid heroics.
• Invent new experimental or analysis approaches when behaviour is messy or non-ideal.

Data & Analysis

• Analyse large experimental datasets with strong statistical discipline.
• Quantify and separate noise sources, drift mechanisms, nonlinearities, cross-coupling effects.
• Correlate results to design intent, simulation assumptions, fabrication and process variation, metrology and electrical readout.
• Write substantial Python for data processing, automation, experiment control, and model validation.

Fabrication-aware Insight

• Use fabrication knowledge to interpret variation intelligently, identify real yield and performance limiters, and distinguish process effects from physics.
• Avoid blaming fabrication for lack of understanding.
• Feed insight back into design, simulation, and architecture decisions.

Cross-Domain Collaboration

• Work closely with photonics design, process, electronics, FPGA, and systems engineers.
• Ensure experimental results directly inform design updates, simulation models, biasing strategies, and future system architectures.

Required Background

• Strong hands-on experimental experience with photonic systems, including lasers, photodetectors, PICs or fibre-based waveguides.
• Comfort working with active and bias-dependent behaviour.
• Fabrication or process-development experience used analytically.
• Demonstrated Python coding ability beyond trivial scripts.
• Comfort handling large datasets and statistics.
• Comfort with electronics and lab instrumentation.
• Willingness to rapidly upskill in design-experiment-system correlation.
• Experience with nonlinear optics, laser locking, noise characterisation, or optoelectronic readout is a strong plus.

Who This Role Is For

• Experimentalists who care about how photonic systems actually behave in operation.
• Engineers who enjoy debugging noise, drift, instability, and nonlinear effects.
• People who automate instead of repeating manual work.
• Builders who want to push photonics toward production reality.
• Engineers with high integrity and strong internal standards.

What This Role Is Not

• A cleanroom operator role.
• A passive-component-only measurement job.
• A simulation-first, experiment-second position.
• A role for manual, spreadsheet-driven analysis.

What Success Looks Like

• Lasers, detectors, and active PICs are characterised across wafers and lots.
• Nonlinearities, noise sources, and drift mechanisms are understood and quantified.
• Experimental results directly drive design, simulation, and biasing updates.
• Measurement, metrology, and electrical data are linked coherently.
• Test infrastructure becomes a competitive advantage.
• Learning cycles around active photonic behaviour are dramatically shorter.

Working with us

• Compensation: Our framework is built on fairness and transparency, with regular reviews to reflect growth and performance.
• Benefits: Share options, pension, and private medical insurance.
• Culture: A deep-tech rocketship backed by leading investors. We’re building breakthrough technology with real commercial impact. Pace is high. Standards are higher.

Zero Point Motion is determined to foster belonging and empowerment at work. We are committed to providing a work environment where there’s a zero‑tolerance approach to discrimination, and everyone is treated with respect. Equity, diversity and inclusion are central to our mission, and we strongly encourage candidates of all different backgrounds and identities to apply. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us.