Technical Program Manager, Avicena Tech
High bandwidth semiconductor interconnects
Open for applications
High bandwidth semiconductor interconnects
21-100 employees
Open for applications
21-100 employees
Company mission
To unleash the power of next-generation computer architectures.
Role
Who you are
- Degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, Optoelectronics or similar (or equivalent experience)
- Strong experience running complex hardware programmes in semiconductors, photonics, optoelectronics or advanced packaging
- Hands-on background in at least two of:
- FA & reliability
- Test development (ATE, bench automation, data)
- Optical / opto-electronic packaging
- Proven people leadership: managing and developing engineers and/or leading technical teams end-to-end
- Comfortable working with distributed teams and external suppliers, including across US/Europe time zones
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
- Ability to work in a fast-paced startup environment and rapidly respond to changes as needed
Desirable
- Experience with microLEDs, optical interconnects or high-speed I/O
- Familiarity with reliability and qualification standards for optoelectronic components
- Experience taking products from R&D into pilot or high-volume manufacturing
- Competence in data analysis tools (Python, MATLAB, JMP, etc.)
What the job involves
- We’re looking for a Senior Technical Program Manager / Engineering Manager to lead a team of ~8 engineers working on:
- Failure analysis (FA) and reliability
- Test development (hardware, software, data)
- Optical and opto-mechanical packaging
- You’ll own programme delivery and people leadership, and you’ll play a central role in coordinating work between Edinburgh and headquarters in Sunnyvale, CA
- Line-manage, mentor and grow a multidisciplinary team
- Set clear priorities, goals and development plans
- Support hiring and help shape the engineering culture in Edinburgh
- Build and manage integrated plans for FA, reliability, test and packaging projects
- Track milestones, manage risks and dependencies, and communicate status to UK and US leadership
- Coordinate external partners for test, packaging and qualification activities
- Act as the primary engineering interface with Sunnyvale HQ
- Align roadmaps, priorities and resources across time zones
- Run effective cross-site reviews, handovers and decision forums
- Oversee FA and reliability strategies, test plans and qualification activities
- Guide development of scalable electrical/optical tests and data flows from R&D through to production
- Support optical / opto-mechanical packaging design, build and qualification with the specialist engineers
- Ensure learnings from test, FA and field use feed back into design and process
- Drive clear requirements, design reviews, change control and documentation
- Promote data-driven decisions and good experimental practice
Application process
- Add pronouns to your application so interviewers know how to refer to you when talking to or about you
Our take
Copper has been the industry standard for chip-to-chip interconnects since it was introduced by IBM back in 1997. Now, however, the computational demands of more complex systems like AI, machine learning, and cloud systems are too high: copper interconnects are creating bottlenecks thanks to sub-optimal latency and power consumption. Avicena Tech has developed a new system - and it could be a game changer.
The company’s ‘LightBundle’ solution uses micro-LEDs to create ultra-dense, low-latency, low-cost, and low-power optical interconnects, thereby facilitating the kind of high-performance architecture that’s in increasingly high demand as digital infrastructure becomes more complex.
It’s a solution that’s attracted healthy funding from major players including Samsung Catalyst Fund and Cerberus Capital Management. This suggests substantial faith in Avicena’s ambition that its technology could help unlock the future of distributed high-performance computing and disaggregated architecture. Although a relatively modest outfit for now, Avicena’s advances could prove highly influential over the coming years.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 3 rounds)
May 2025
$65m
SERIES B
Aug 2022
$25m
SERIES A
Total funding: $96.5m
Company benefits
- Stock Options
- Medical, Dental, Vision & Disability
- 401(k)
- Free Food
- And More!
Company HQ
Alviso, San Jose, CA
Leadership
Bardia Pezeshki
(Founder & CEO)After their PhD in Electrical Engineering at Stanford, they held various Managerial roles at IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center and then SDL Inc. Subsequently served as CTO at Santur Corporation, and then CEO at Kaiam Corporation.
Rob Kalman
(CTO)Worked on photonic interconnects and optical subsystems at Optivision and ONI Systems, and has subsequently held various VP roles at Luminous Networks and Thryva (which he co-founded).
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