Neurophos
Principal Systems Engineer, Signal-Path Performance & Modeling
$245K–$285K
Austin, Texas · On-site · Principal · Full-time · Posted Oct 15, 2026
- Experience
- 7+ years in communication systems architecture, link-budget/signal-chain modeling, or performance modeling of optical or high-speed electrical communication systems. Time spent pursuing a PhD beyond the MS counts toward the years of experience above.
- Education
- MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, or a closely related field, with emphasis on communication theory, signal processing, or mixed-signal systems.
About the job
Own the end-to-end performance model and signal-path architecture for Neurophos’s optical vector-matrix multiplication engine, allocating requirements and analyzing accuracy, throughput, power, and design margins.
What you'll do
- Define the TX/RX communication and signal-processing architecture, block requirements, and performance allocations.
- Build and maintain signal-path models and optical/electrical link and power budgets; analyze impairments and performance trade-offs.
- Run simulations and correlate model predictions with lab and silicon measurements to refine the model and architecture.
What they ask for
- MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, or a closely related field, emphasizing communication theory, signal processing, or mixed-signal systems.
- Deep knowledge of communication theory and signal processing, including modulation, equalization, synchronization, estimation, quantization, and coding gain.
- Expert-level proficiency in Python (NumPy/SciPy) and/or MATLAB/Simulink for behavioral modeling and simulation.
- Experience with optical or high-speed electrical link budgets and allocating impairments to predict system-level impact.
Nice to have
- Experience owning system architecture definition; coherent or direct-detection architectures; or high-speed SerDes/networking standards (Ethernet, PCIe, OIF-CEI).
- Modeling high-speed data converters; familiarity with Cadence Virtuoso and Spectre; lab or silicon bring-up; or photonics experience.
Pay
$245K – $285K (base salary)
Tools
Python (NumPy/SciPy), MATLAB/Simulink, Cadence Virtuoso, Spectre, Ethernet, PCIe, OIF-CEI
AI focus
The modeled optical vector-matrix multiplication engine supports large-scale AI inference; the role focuses on system performance modeling, not developing AI models.
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