R&D Engineering, Staff Engineer

Synopsys is the leader in engineering solutions from silicon to systems, enabling customers to rapidly innovate AI-powered products. We deliver industry-leading silicon design, IP, simulation and analysis solutions, and design services. We partner closely with our customers across a wide range of industries to maximize their R&D capability and productivity, powering innovation today that ignites the ingenuity of tomorrow.
You AreYou have spent years working at the boundary where Maxwell's equations meet real software, and you know that getting electromagnetic simulation right means understanding both the physics and the code that brings it to life. The difference between a simulation that converges cleanly and one that fails three hours in often comes down to a numerical choice you made last week, and you are the kind of engineer who sees that choice coming. Working in C++ performance code does not intimidate you, and neither does debugging a Python workflow that ties together five different simulation steps. You have built or worked deeply inside solvers, maybe FDTD, DGTD, RCWA, or something similar, and you understand what happens under the hood when a user clicks "run." You do not need a perfect spec to start. You ask the right questions, dig into the codebase, and figure out what needs to happen next. Photonics is not abstract to you. Whether it is optimizing a grating coupler or validating inverse design output, you know what matters at micron scale and you care about getting it right. At Synopsys, you will work on simulation technology that powers the tools our customers depend on to design the next generation of photonic devices.
What You'll Be Doing
Develop and enhance computational photonics software that supports design automation and simulation tools used by customers designing photonic devices
Build, debug, and validate Maxwell-based simulation methods including DGTD, FDTD, RCWA, STACK, or related electromagnetic solvers at micron scale
Implement and improve simulation algorithms in C++ for performance-critical solver code and Python for automation and workflow orchestration
Support photonic design optimization workflows, including inverse design methodologies, that help customers achieve faster, more accurate design outcomes
Work inside an existing R&D codebase to extend capabilities, fix technical issues, and improve simulation accuracy and speed
Collaborate with R&D engineers across the team to design, test, and deliver technical solutions that directly impact product performance
Investigate complex simulation failures, trace root causes through physics and code, and deliver reliable fixes that hold up in production
The Impact You Will Have
Your work will directly improve the speed and accuracy of simulation tools that photonics designers rely on to bring devices from concept to production
The solver improvements and numerical methods you build will enable customers to design better performing photonic components with fewer iterations
Your contributions to inverse design and optimization workflows will unlock new design possibilities that were previously too slow or too complex to explore
The bugs you catch and the fixes you deliver will prevent downstream failures for customers running critical simulations on tight schedules
Your ability to balance scientific rigor with practical software development will help the team ship capabilities that matter, not just capabilities that demo well
The codebase you help maintain and extend will serve as the foundation for future R&D work across the photonics simulation platform
Your technical judgment will shape decisions about which methods to implement, which tradeoffs to make, and where to invest engineering effort for maximum customer value
What You'll Need
PhD in Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or Computer Science with a focus on Photonics or Optics, or Master's degree with equivalent hands‑on experience in computational photonics
Strong experience in computational photonics and simulation methods grounded in Maxwell's equations
Demonstrated experience with numerical methods such as DGTD, FDTD, RCWA, or related electromagnetic solvers at micron scale
Strong programming skills in C++ for performance‑critical systems and Python for scripting, automation, or workflow development
Experience in scientific computing, computational modeling, or numerical simulation in R&D or production environments
Experience in photonic device or component design, including optimization or inverse design methodologies, is a plus
Proven ability to work productively in an existing codebase, debug complex technical issues, and deliver reliable solutions in technically challenging simulation environments
Who You Are
You can trace a simulation failure back through the physics, the numerics, and the code until you find the actual problem, not just the symptom
You are comfortable explaining a tradeoff between solver accuracy and runtime to a teammate who needs to ship a feature next month, and you can do it in a way that helps them make the right call
Detail matters to you. You catch the edge case, the unit mismatch, the convergence issue that would have broken a customer workflow three weeks from now
You work well with people who think differently than you do, whether that is a physicist focused on theory or a software engineer focused on performance
Learning a new numerical method or a new corner of the codebase does not slow you down. You dig in, ask questions, and get productive quickly
The Team You'll Be Part OfYou will join an R&D team focused on developing simulation and design technology that improves the accuracy and speed of tools our customers rely on. The team supports high-value design automation and design tools, with work that connects directly to simulation performance, product capability, and customer value. This role will contribute to advancing the underlying technical capabilities that help Synopsys deliver strong solutions in this area.
Rewards And BenefitsWe offer a comprehensive range of health, wellness, and financial benefits to cater to your needs. Our total rewards include both monetary and non‑monetary offerings. Your recruiter will provide more details about the salary range and benefits during the hiring process.
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