Application Scientist – Photonic Integrated Circuits

Company

Description:

EDWATEC SA is a high-tech startup founded in 2023 and a spin-off from EPFL. Our proprietary erbium-doped photonic integrated circuit technology enables on-chip optical amplification and lasing. By replacing legacy optical amplifiers with highly compact, high-performance, and scalable photonic integrated amplifiers, we create new opportunities in AI datacenter interconnects, optical communications, space applications, quantum technologies, optical metrology, fiber sensing, LiDAR, and long-haul networks.

We are looking for a highly motivated Application Scientist to join our team and contribute to the development, validation, and deployment of our next-generation photonic integrated circuit products. This role sits at the interface of advanced R&D, customer-driven development, experimental photonics, and collaborative innovation projects. The candidate should combine deep scientific expertise with a hands‑on experimental mindset and strong communication skills.

• Manage technical interactions with customers in R&D and product development projects, translating application‑level needs into scientific and technical requirements.
• Lead and coordinate internal R&D projects on photonic integrated circuits, optical amplifiers, lasers, and next‑generation integrated photonic products.
• Manage fundamental and applied technology development projects, including publicly funded programs such as EIC, ESA, Swiss, and European collaborative grants.
• Coordinate collaborations with research institutes, universities, industrial partners, and external technology providers.
• Design, build, and operate optical and photonic experimental setups for the characterization of PICs, optical amplifiers, lasers, and optical communication components.
• Analyze experimental data, prepare technical reports, and communicate results to customers, partners, grant agencies, and internal stakeholders.
• Contribute to the development roadmap of EDWATEC’s next‑generation products and help bridge early‑stage research results toward robust product concepts.
• Take responsibility for experimental laboratory organization, instrumentation, measurement procedures, documentation, and best practices.
• Supervise and mentor junior engineers, interns, master students, and PhD students involved in experimental and R&D activities.
• Represent the company in technical meetings, project reviews, conferences, workshops, and trade shows.

• PhD in photonics, optical communications, electrical engineering, applied physics, optics, or a closely related field.
• Strong track record in photonic integrated circuits, optical communication systems, integrated optics, lasers, optical amplifiers, or related experimental photonics fields.
• Solid understanding of PIC technologies, optical communication concepts, fiber optics, optical amplification, and system‑level photonic measurements.
• Proven hands‑on experience with optical and photonic experiments, including setup design, alignment, instrumentation, data acquisition, and measurement automation.
• Ability to manage technically complex R&D projects involving multiple internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong scientific writing and communication skills, including the ability to prepare technical reports, grant deliverables, presentations, and customer‑facing documentation.
• Experience with collaborative research projects, grant‑funded programs, or academic‑industrial partnerships is a strong plus.
• Programming experience, especially in Python for data acquisition, automation, and data analysis, is a plus.
• Highly organized, proactive, and able to work independently in a fast‑moving startup environment.
• Excellent proficiency in English;
  French is a plus.
• Residence and work permit in Switzerland or EU is a plus.

• The opportunity to join a fast‑moving deep‑tech startup advancing integrated photonics for optical communications and other high‑impact markets.
• A central role at the interface of scientific R&D, customer projects, collaborative grants, and product development.
• The opportunity to work on next‑generation optical amplification and laser technologies based on photonic integrated circuits.
• A collaborative, creative, and international team environment.
• Access to advanced optical laboratories and the broader EPFL innovation ecosystem.
• An inspiring workplace in Lausanne, on the shores of Lake Geneva.

Activity rate: 100%.

Start date:

As soon as possible.