IC Electronic

 
Barcelona (Spain), some travel required (expenses covered)

 Full-time – 40 h/week

Fixed-term R&D project contract

NO REMOTE POSITION

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: € gross anual for grade, € for Msc+grade, € 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.

Why join us

Help build the world's first 
hybrid photonic–electronic computing platform
, redefining logic beyond binary. You'll be at the intersection of photonics, materials, IC design, and embedded systems—pushing the limits of computation.