Integrated Photonic Engineer (Hybrid)

Location: Holmdel, New Jersey, US

Remote Type: Hybrid

Time Type: Full time

Job Description

The application window is expected to close on: 05/30/2026

Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.

The Acacia division of Cisco is looking for an Integrated Photonics Engineer. 

Meet the Team

Acacia (part of Cisco) is a market leader in high-speed coherent optical transceivers, pioneering the development of coherent pluggable transceivers. Acacia’s coherent products are deployed by all hyperscalers to connect their Data Centers over distances from a few kilometers to thousands of kilometers and even in submarine networks. The emergence of AI has drastically increased the demand for Acacia’s coherent transceivers. Acacia’s coherent transceivers are also being used in space applications and are expected to be used inside data centers as interconnect speeds continue to increase. Acacia is also entering the PAM4 Client market and is expected to be a key provider of PAM4 solutions, including a 1.6T PAM4 DSP. The Photonic Integrated Circuits (PIC) team is a dynamic group that develops advanced photonics chips for optical communications products.

Your Impact

Design, simulation, layout, and testing of photonic components and circuits. You will work very closely with the entire PIC team covering a wide variety of directions, including silicon photonics, lithium niobate and III-V device designs, simulation, foundry process development, production tapeout, PIC testing, and production support. You will also work closely with millimeter wave design team, packaging team, and module hardware / software / optics testing team in building complete products. Acacia takes pride in providing and fostering a collaborate environment to ensure success and personal growth.

• Design and numerical modeling of passive and active photonic components, including high speed devices
• Script-based GDS layout of photonic components, circuits, and full product chips
• Hands-on testing of photonic components and circuits on die, wafer, and assembly levels.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelors + 7 years of related experience, or Masters + 4 years of related experience, or PhD + 1 year of related experience
• Prior experience with solid-state physics, integrated photonics, and opto-electronics
• Proven knowledge of PIC design, including active and passive components
• Prior experience with photonics numerical simulation principle and tools
• Prior knowledge in photonic device process and fabrication, along with device layout and tapeout.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ph.D. with + 3 year experience.
• Prior experience with large-scale photonic circuit tape-outs in commercial foundries
• Design and simulation with Lumerical, COMSOL, HFSS, Cadence or other tools for optical, electronic, RF and thermal simulation.
• Prior experience with designing, simulating and testing of high speed electronic or optical devices, including optical modulators and photo detectors.
• Prior experience in hybrid integration of different material systems
• Prior experience with photonic component testing, including optical and RF testing
• Strong numerical and programming skills for example in Python for simulation and data analysis.
• Experience with statistical analysis and data interpretation for yield improvement.

Why Cisco? 

At Cisco, we’re revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era – and beyond. We’ve been innovating fearlessly for 40 years to create solutions that power how humans and technology work together across the physical and digital worlds. These solutions provide customers with unparalleled security, visibility, and insights across the entire digital footprint.

Fueled by the depth and breadth of our technology, we experiment and create meaningful solutions. Add to that our worldwide network of doers and experts, and you’ll see that the opportunities to grow and build are limitless. We work as a team, collaborating with empathy to make really big things happen on a global scale. Because our solutions are everywhere, our impact is everywhere. 

We are Cisco, and our power starts with you. 

Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada:

The starting salary range posted for this position is $152,400.00 to $221,800.00 and reflects the projected salary range for new hires in this position in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including incentive compensation*, equity, or benefits.

Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location, market conditions, job-related skillset, experience, qualifications, education, certifications, and/or training. The full salary range for certain locations is listed below. For locations not listed below, the recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.

U.S. employees are offered benefits, subject to Cisco’s plan eligibility rules, which include medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability coverage, and basic life insurance. Please see the Cisco careers site to discover more benefits and perks.  Employees may be eligible to receive grants of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time.

U.S. employees are eligible for paid time away as described below, subject to Cisco’s policies:

• 10 paid holidays per full calendar year, plus 1 floating holiday for non-exempt employees

• 1 paid day off for employee’s birthday, paid year-end holiday shutdown, and 4 paid days off for personal wellness determined by Cisco

• Non-exempt employees** receive 16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year, accrued at rate of 4.92 hours per pay period for full-time employees

• Exempt employees participate in Cisco’s flexible vacation time off program, which has no defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use (subject to availability and some business limitations)

• 80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter, and up to 80 hours of unused sick time carried forward from one calendar year to the next

• Additional paid time away may be requested to deal with critical or emergency issues for family members

• Optional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteer

For non-sales roles, employees are also eligible to earn annual bonuses subject to Cisco’s policies.

Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components, subject to the applicable Cisco plan. For quota-based incentive pay, Cisco typically pays as follows:

• .75% of incentive target for each 1% of revenue attainment up to 50% of quota;

• 1.5% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 50% and 75%;

• 1% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 75% and 100%; and

• Once performance exceeds 100% attainment, incentive rates are at or above 1% for each 1% of attainment with no cap on incentive compensation.

For non-quota-based sales performance elements such as strategic sales objectives, Cisco may pay 0% up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.

The applicable full salary ranges for this position, by specific state, are listed below:

New York City Metro Area:

$152,400.00 - $255,100.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$134,300.00 - $224,800.00

* For quota-based sales roles on Cisco’s sales plan, the ranges provided in this posting include base pay and sales target incentive compensation combined.

** Employees in Illinois, whether exempt or non-exempt, will participate in a unique time off program to meet local requirements.