Staff Manufacturing Photonics Test Engineer
Aurora Innovation
Listing collected from Aurora Innovation's career site. NextChapter is independent of Aurora Innovation.
Mountain View, CA · Posted November 9, 2026
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November 2026
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- #1Best all-round cities for mid-career professionals in the West Coast85 / 100 · of 39
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About the job
Who we are
Aurora’s mission is to deliver the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly.
The Aurora Driver https://aurora.tech will create a new era in mobility and logistics, one that will bring a safer, more efficient, and more accessible future to everyone.
At Aurora, you will tackle massively complex problems alongside other passionate, intelligent individuals, growing as an expert while expanding your knowledge. For the latest news from Aurora, visit aurora.tech http://aurora.tech or follow us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/auroradriver.
What we are looking for
Aurora hires talented people with diverse backgrounds who are ready to help build a transportation ecosystem that will make our roads safer, get crucial goods where they need to go, and make mobility more efficient and accessible for all. We’re searching for a Staff Manufacturing Photonics Test Engineer.
In this role you will
- The Staff Manufacturing Photonics Test Engineer will be responsible for supporting manufacturing from a test and automation perspective in the production of the Aurora’s hardware and delivering the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly.
- A successful candidate is data-driven, excels at complex problem solving, has a strong engineering background with software and hardware skills, product focused mindset, and can lead cross-functional efforts.
- Develop and maintain advanced automated test solutions for wafer-level and chip-level integrated photonic circuits and integrated Lidar modules
- Develop software to interface with cameras, stages, and optoelectronic test equipment.
- Test and characterize passive and active integrated photonic components
- Build optical setups to test novel ideas or to debug optical chips / modules / systems
- Support development of packaging solutions for integrated photonics
- Data management and analysis to track production test performance metrics, prioritize top issues, and drive continuous improvement activities with cross-functional teams.
- Provides technical test support to all local manufacturing areas, locations, and customers as needed.
Required qualifications
- Master / Ph.D. degree in physics, electrical and computer engineering or relevant fields
- 5+ years of research or industrial experience with photonics testing
- Fundamental understanding of electronics, optics and integrated photonics
- Proficiency in Python or similar object-oriented programming languages
- Ability to work in a fast-paced team environment.
- International travel to CM for on-site bring-up and support.
Desirable qualifications
- Experience with automated wafer-level or chip-level photonics testers
- Experience with reliability testing for integrated photonics products
- Experience with characterization of high-speed opto-electrical components
The base salary range for this position is $181,000-$290,00 per year. Aurora’s pay ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, the successful candidate’s starting base pay will be determined based on factors including job-related skills, experience, qualifications, relevant education or training, and market conditions. These ranges may be modified in the future. The successful candidate will also be eligible for an annual bonus, equity compensation, and benefits.
Working at Aurora
At Aurora, we bring together extraordinarily talented and experienced people united by the strength of our values. We operate with integrity, set outrageous goals, and build a culture where we win together — all without any jerks.
We believe in-person work increases collaboration, empathy, and our ability to lead effectively. As a result, Aurorans are expected to work from the office at least 3 days per week, with some roles requiring more frequent in-office presence, up to 5 days per week, based on operational needs.
Our Careers page https://aurora.tech/careers provides insight into what it is like to work at Aurora, and you can find all the latest updates in our Newsroom https://aurora.tech/newsroom.
Our commitment to safety
At the core of everything we do is our commitment to safety. Building best-in-class self-driving technology will take time, and we believe that each employee at Aurora has a role in contributing to safety, every step of the way. Aurora expects commitment to our safety policies from every employee, and seeks candidates who take an active responsibility, can contribute to building an atmosphere of trust, and invest in the organization’s long-term success by prioritizing working safely, no matter what.
Our commitment to inclusion
Aurora considers candidates without regard to their race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy status, parent or caregiver status, ancestry, political affiliation, veteran and/or military status, physical or mental disability, or any other status protected by federal or state law. Aurora considers qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local law. We are also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at careersiteaccommodations@aurora.tech.
For California applicants, information collected and processed as part of your application and any job applications you choose to submit is subject to Aurora’s California Employment Privacy Policy.