IC Electronic & Telecom Systems Engineer
Barcelona (Hospitalet de Llobregat), some travel required (expenses covered)
Fixed-term R&D project contract (12 - 24 months, with possibility of extension)
Full-time – 40 h/week
On site 100%
About the project
TARRANIX is a cutting-edge R&D initiative focused on developing next-generation photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for sustainable photonic computing. The project combines nanofabrication, photonic design, computing and photonics within a multidisciplinary team of physicists, engineers, and material scientists.
Role Overview
We are building the electronic layer that interfaces with the Tarranix fully photonic ALU. Your mission is to design the mixed-signal, reconfigurable, and embedded systems that drive on-chip lasers/modulators and read out multi-state optical logic. You will create the ELECTRONIC validation SoC: a small RISC-V–based calculator-style platform that tests and demonstrates our optical gates.
​
This role bridges telecom-grade optoelectronics, IC design, mixed-signal engineering, and FPGA-based control—a core position in shaping the first hybrid photonic processor.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
-
Design the electronic–photonic interface layer (laser/SOA drivers, modulator drivers, TIAs, ADCs, comparators).
-
Develop E/O and O/E transduction for 1550 nm systems.
-
Build FPGA-based control logic for modulation, timing, and multi-level photonic readout.
-
Integrate an ELECTRONIC RISC-V SoC (peripherals, memory-mapped photonic ALU interface, firmware).
-
Design mixed-signal PCBs / IC blocks ensuring clean analog + high-speed behavior.
-
Prototype the optical calculator demonstrator (keyboard, display, firmware).
-
Collaborate with photonics, metasurface, and nanofab teams to co-design the global architecture.
Requirements
Electronics & Telecom
-
Electronic mixed-signal design (drivers, TIAs, ADCs, high-speed interfaces).
-
Opto-electronic communication fundamentals: modulators, photodiodes, polarization handling.
-
Experience with 1550 nm optoelectronic components.
Reconfigurable Logic
-
FPGA development: Xilinx Vivado / Vitis, Intel Quartus, Yosys/Verilator.
-
Hardware peripheral design (AXI/Wishbone) and real-time sampling logic.
Embedded & RISC-V
-
Integration of open-source RISC-V cores.
-
Bare-metal or RTOS firmware (C/C++, PlatformIO).
-
Driver code for displays, keyboards, GPIO, SPI/I²C.
EDA & IC-Design Tools (Mandatory)
-
Cadence Virtuoso / Spectre (analog & mixed-signal IC design).
-
Synopsys HSPICE / Custom Compiler.
-
Mentor Calibre (DRC/LVS).
-
Keysight ADS for RF driver & TIA modeling.
-
PCB tools: Altium or KiCad.
-
SPICE modeling (LTspice / Spectre).
Bonus
-
Electronic+Photonic co-design tools (Lumerical INTERCONNECT, Tidy3D).
-
Experience integrating PICs (SiN, InP, GaAs) with IC (Electronic Integrated Circuits)
WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
-
A working electronics wrapper enabling full optical ALU execution.
-
A functional electronic RISC-V calculator demonstrator powered internally by photonic logic.
-
Stable, repeatable E/O + O/E transduction supporting Tarranix multi-state gates.
-
Seamless collaboration with photonics and materials teams to evolve the full processor.
POSITION DETAILS
-
Competitive salary: 20.000 € gross anual for grade, 25.000 € for Msc+grade, 30.000 € for grade+Msc+Phd
-
10% Bonus by objectives. Private fitness center and other amenities.
-
Access to advanced research infrastructure and external cleanroom laboratories.
-
Participation in an international, interdisciplinary research environment.
-
Opportunities for professional growth and scientific contribution in a pioneering photonics project.