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Laser Architect
OLIXLondon, UK
Apply About OLIX
AI is growing faster than any technology in history and the explosion in demand has created a massive infrastructure gap; we can no longer build chips or power stations fast enough to keep up. The industry is still leaning on a ten-year-old hardware blueprint that has reached its limit. A new paradigm that is faster and more efficient will be the biggest economic opportunity of the next century and create the most important company of the next decade. The OLIX Decode Accelerator 1 (DX-1) is the first accelerator architected specifically for decode. Rack-scale co-design of logic, data movement, packaging, optics and interconnect enables a step change in system level performance.
The Role
The Laser Architect is the most senior individual-contributor role in our laser design team. You will bring deep expertise in III-V laser devices to shape the architectural direction of OLIX's laser design, working alongside a strong team of engineers on how OLIX designs, builds, and scales its devices.
This is a role for a builder and a collaborator. You will run toward the most ambiguous, high-stakes device and integration problems and help the team converge on a durable direction under uncertainty. Rather than handing down decisions, you contribute your experience, judgement, and first-principles thinking that helps the team make the right architectural trade-offs across epitaxy, device architecture, packaging integration, and reliability: the trade-offs that determine system-level bandwidth, power, and density. The best argument wins here, and we expect you to make it, welcome challenges to it, and change your mind when the evidence says so.
You will partner with electronics, optics, packaging, systems, and manufacturing to build a coherent multi-year laser roadmap, connect technical direction to broader business objectives, and represent OLIX externally in ways that strengthen our talent, partnerships, and positioning.
Responsibilities
Shape the architectural vision and multi-year direction for OLIX's lasers, developed with and owned alongside the team
Bring deep III-V device expertise into design decisions, helping the team establish shared design principles and best practices
Run toward the most ambiguous, high-stakes device and integration problems and help the team build clarity and a durable direction
Partner with cross-functional stakeholders across electronics, optics, packaging, systems, and manufacturing to align on a coherent long-term laser roadmap
Inform high-impact architectural trade-offs across epitaxy, device architecture, packaging interaction, and reliability that determine system-level performance
Raise the bar for design, simulation, characterisation, and reliability practice across the laser domain, through example and mentorship rather than mandate
Continuously bring cutting-edge research, competitive intelligence, and market shifts into the team's thinking
Mentor and grow Staff and Senior engineers, remaining hands-on in critical reviews and high-stakes decisions
Connect laser technical decisions to broader business objectives and capital-efficient scaling to volume
Represent OLIX externally, building industry relationships that strengthen talent, partnerships, and strategic positioning
Skills & Experience
15+ years in semiconductor laser development, with deep, demonstrated expertise in III-V devices
PhD Degree in Physics, Optics, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related discipline
Experience shaping architecture and long-term technical direction for a laser or photonics domain, beyond individual devices or programmes
Deep command of III-V materials, epitaxy (MBE/MOCVD), device physics, high-speed modulation, and reliability
A collaborative working style: you influence through expertise, evidence, and clear reasoning, not title or tenure, and you engage the strongest counter-argument in the room
Proven ability to bring diverse cross-functional stakeholders together around a long-term technical vision
Track record of helping teams develop shared design principles, standards, and roadmaps
External engagement in the field through publications, patents, standards bodies, or industry involvement
Experience mentoring engineers at all levels and elevating the people around you
Exceptional communicator, able to make complex trade-offs clear to engineers and executives alike, and equally comfortable being questioned by both
Nice to Have
Experience with co-packaged or co-designed optics at rack scale
Track record founding or scaling a laser or photonics device line
Deep knowledge of datacom reliability standards
Experience co-designing lasers with custom driver ASICs
Visible industry leadership through talks, committees, or standards work
Compensation & Equity
Competitive Salary: Commensurate with your experience, skills, and location
Equity & Ownership: Meaningful stock options. You’re not just joining the mission; you’re owning a piece of it
Proximity Bonus: We value your time. To minimise your commute and maximise your life, we offer an annual Living-Local Bonus if your residence is within 20 minutes of the office
Retirement Benefits: Employer-contributed retirement plans to help you build long-term financial security
Due to U.S. export control regulations, candidates’ eligibility to work at OLIX depends on their most recent citizenship or permanent residency status. We are generally unable to consider applicants whose most recent citizenship or permanent residence is in certain restricted countries (currently including Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Russia, Belarus, China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Venezuela). Applicants who have subsequently obtained citizenship or permanent residency in another country not subject to these restrictions may still be eligible.