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Contract Type: Full time

Location: Our main offices are in Begbroke, UK, and we are open to flexible and partial remote working. We are able to sponsor visas for skilled workers, and applications from outside the UK are welcome.

Salary: We provide highly competitive compensation including equity.

About Oxford Ionics

Oxford Ionics is a start-up building Quantum Computers to revolutionise industries from drug discovery to material design. Quantum Computing offers a radically new way of building computers that harnesses the power of quantum physics to be exponentially more powerful than conventional supercomputers. We are using unique trapped-ion technology to build the first Quantum Computers that can realize this potential.

Located in Begbroke Science Park with great transport links to Oxford’s beautiful city centre and University as well as London, we are an agile, ambitious company who champion creative thinking in a fast-paced environment at the cutting edge of technology.

Our Technology

Our quantum computers are based on microfabricated ion trap chips. These chips, built using our custom multi-layer process, have patterned metal structures which serve to confine individual atomic ions tens of microns above the surface. Optical components can be integrated into the dielectrics that separate the metal layers. Typical integrated optical elements include high-contrast single-mode waveguides, power splitters, and grating couplers. These need to operate in the near-UV to near-IR wavelength range, (approx. 375 nm – 900 nm). Integrated optics serves to deliver laser light to individual ions across a large chip with high power efficiency and low crosstalk – see this animation from MIT Lincoln Laboratory for a hint of what this may look like.

Role and responsibilities

We are seeking a highly motivated engineer to work on our optical integration efforts within our integrated photonics team. Your role will focus on integrating light delivery into our technology, and the design and simulation of building blocks, layer structures and system performance. This will involve preparing the designs and test structures for manufacture whilst incorporating feedback from test results. You will collaborate closely with our test and fabrication teams and external partners to ensure testability and manufacturability of the devices.

Essential Requirements

You must have hands-on experience in designing photonic integrated circuits, preferably with an external foundry. You must know how to simulate and design photonic devices for manufacture using tools such as Lumerical, IPKISS, Synopsys, L-Edit or similar.

You might be a great fit for this Position if…

You have designed photonic integrated circuits (PICs)
Do you have experience designing PICs or optical devices in the telecom band within foundry PDKs? Perhaps you have worked on visible devices for other applications using custom fabrication processes? If you’re excited to use your experience to tackle similar problems in a completely new domain, we’d love to hear from you.

You have fabricated custom photonic components
Do you have experience fabricating photonic components or structures? Have you worked on testing of optoelectronic components? Although you will not be fabricating devices, your experience will help you understand the main challenges involved in turning our designs into reality. If you are interested in using your experience to help us build useful photonic chips faster, we would love to hear from you.

You have a desire to learn and take on new challenges
You function well with unfamiliar challenges. You enjoy learning from colleagues who have a very different knowledge base to you, and enjoy sharing knowledge so that they may learn from you too. We’re looking for someone with strong communication skills who is confident enough to ask questions and able to recognise when you could be doing something better. At the same time, you must be motivated to use your initiative and tackle big problems.

Why work with Oxford Ionics?

Values
We care about building technology that empowers people to do the impossible, whether it’s designing new drugs or solving complex optimization problems. Oxford Ionics is an inclusive and supportive work environment, with the resources to learn, grow, and work collaboratively to develop cutting-edge technology.

Research
You will be working to solve unique, never-before-solved challenges with a world-class team of scientists and engineers. We work across fields including algorithm design, microfabrication, opto-mechanical engineering, vacuum design, and radiofrequency electronics.

Collaboration
You will be well-supported by a team that brings experts from a wide range of disciplines. We have a non-hierarchical structure, which allows everyone to contribute to finding the right answer; we’re excited to learn from the unique insights that you will bring.

Location
Our labs are located in Begbroke Science Park close to the beautiful city of Oxford, with great transport links to the university and rail links to London. We are able to sponsor visas for skilled workers, so applications from outside the UK are welcome.

Flexibility
We accommodate flexible working hours and up to 4 days a week remote work is possible with this role.

Benefits
We offer highly competitive compensation packages including equity, a cycle to work scheme and, as of September, we will also offer a healthcare package.

At Oxford Ionics we know that diversity of thought and different approaches to problem solving breed innovation. We are looking for the most talented people with diverse backgrounds, lives, cultures and perspectives to support our ground-breaking work. Our policies and practices around holiday, flexible working and inclusive parental leave are here to support you.

If you're smart and good at what you do, we want you on our team.