Location: Austin, TX. Full-time onsite position.
Reports To: Chief Systems Engineer
FLSA Status: Exempt
Position OverviewWe are seeking a highly skilled Systems Engineer to own the architecture and requirements focus area for our optical vector-matrix multiplication (OVMM) engine. This role is responsible for defining the OVMM signal-path architecture, decomposing product-level requirements into subsystem and interface specifications, and keeping that set of requirements coherent, leveled, and traceable as the product evolves.
You will be the person who turns a product-level ask into a specification that an analog, digital, photonic, or software team can actually design against and who catches interface conflicts before they become integration surprises. If you combine systems-architecture judgment with the discipline to build and defend a structured set of requirements, and you thrive on translating between product intent and subsystem implementation, this role will let you shape how a first-of-its-kind computing platform is specified and integrated.
Key ResponsibilitiesPrimary Responsibilities- Own and maintain the OVMM signal-path architecture, ensuring it remains internally consistent as subsystem designs and product requirements evolve.
- Translate product- and system-level requirements into subsystem and work-package-level specifications. Maintain a structured, leveled set of requirements with clear ownership and priorities assigned at each level.
- Define and maintain interface specifications between subsystems and disciplines (optics, analog, digital, software). Identify interface conflicts as designs evolve and drive them to resolution.
- Lead architecture trade studies, channel count, TX/RX configuration, aspect ratio, and similar structural choices, quantifying the resulting impact on performance, power, and complexity.
- Define and manage configuration and variant trades across product options, maintaining traceability between requirements and the configurations that satisfy them.
- Lead requirements reviews across functional teams, negotiate scope with Responsible Engineers, and resolve requirement conflicts before they propagate downstream.
Secondary Responsibilities- Partner with the Signal-Path Performance & Modeling focus area to validate architecture and configuration choices against the quantitative system model.
- Partner with the Calibration, Bring-Up & Verification focus area to ensure requirements and interfaces are verifiable and do not impede bring-up or calibration.
- Maintain requirements-management tooling and documentation (e.g., ticketing systems, version-controlled specification repositories) to keep the requirements set traceable and reviewable.
- Mentor engineers in specification discipline, requirements decomposition, and architecture trade-study methodology.
Qualifications- MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, or a closely related field, with emphasis on systems engineering or mixed-signal/optical system architecture.
- 5+ years in systems engineering, requirements management, or architecture definition for complex electro-optic, mixed-signal, or communications hardware.
- Demonstrated ability to build and maintain leveled requirements sets, interface control documents, and verification/traceability matrices, and to flow top-level requirements down into defensible subsystem allocations.
- Proven ability to quantify architectural trade-offs (performance, power, complexity, cost) and to make and defend architecture decisions across disciplines.
- Working fluency with signal-path and link-budget models (Python or MATLAB) sufficient to evaluate the impact of a trade study, even where day-to-day modeling is owned by others.
- Excellent written and verbal communication, with the credibility to negotiate and align priorities across Responsible Engineers, functional leads, and executive stakeholders.
Preferred Skills- Experience with requirements-management tooling (DOORS, Jira, or similar) and version-controlled, machine-readable specification repositories (e.g., Git-based documentation).
- Familiarity with optical or RF communication systems and high-speed mixed-signal architecture.
- Experience defining product configuration and variant management for complex hardware systems.
- Exposure to formal gate-review processes (PDR/CDR-style) across internal teams and external design partners.
- Familiarity with Cadence Virtuoso and Spectre sufficient to review analog implementation against requirements.
What We OfferThis is an opportunity to play a pivotal role in an innovative startup redefining the future of AI hardware. Work on game-changing technology at the intersection of photonics and AI as part of a collaborative, brilliant team. You'll contribute to a platform that redefines computational performance and accelerates the future of artificial intelligence. Come help us bring this transformative technology to the world.
BenefitsJoin a team that invests in your future and your well-being. At Neurophos, we offer:
- 100% coverage of base health plan premiums for you and your dependents, plus HSA contributions.
- Unlimited PTO. No rigid vacation banks, just a focus on delivery.
- 401(k) matching and stock option opportunities to ensure our success is your success.
- Full suite of voluntary benefits, including Dental, Vision, Life, Hospital, Critical Illness, and Accident insurance.
- Personalized Benefits. Choose the plans that fit your life and take the cash back for those that don't.
