Laser Scientist

Senior Laser Scientist

London | £75,000 – £100,000 + Equity | Relocation Support Available

Imagine joining a well-funded deep-tech start-up at the point where groundbreaking research is becoming next-generation computing technology.

This is a rare opportunity to take ownership of semiconductor laser development, from fundamental design and simulation through to fabrication and integration. Working directly with the founders, you'll have the freedom to shape the technology, influence key technical decisions and play a pivotal role in bringing an ambitious new approach to computing to life.

The Role

You will lead the development of advanced semiconductor laser devices, with a particular focus on VCSEL and cavity design, taking concepts from simulation through to wafer fabrication, characterisation and product integration.

· Designing and modelling semiconductor laser cavities: DBR structures, resonance engineering, aperture design, mode control

· Modelling carrier transport, gain, threshold behaviour and self-heating

· Hunting down and eliminating loss mechanisms across the device

· Validating simulation against real device data: LIV, spectral, near-field, far-field, time-resolved

· Building your own simulation workflows and tools where the off-the-shelf ones fall short

What You'll Bring

· A PhD (or equivalent industry depth) in semiconductor lasers, optoelectronics or photonics

· Strong semiconductor laser design experience, ideally with VCSELs

· A track record of validating models against real-world measurement

· Fluency in tools like Lumerical, COMSOL, Sentaurus, Silvaco, PICS3D, RSoft, MEEP or in-house equivalents

· Strong Python for simulation, automation and analysis

Desirable Experience

· Oxide, proton implant or tunnel-junction confinement experience

· Polarisation dynamics, injection locking or coupled-cavity systems

· Inverse design or ML-assisted photonic modelling

· Hands-on lab characterisation of devices you designed yourself

Why This Role

· Genuine ownership, with direct access and collaboration with an experienced founding team

· The chance to build and eventually lead the laser engineering function

· Competitive salary, meaningful equity and relocation support to London

This is a chance to grow your expertise, your influence and your career as the company itself scales, with genuine scope to develop into a broader leadership position over time.

Interview process:

• Teams meeting with Sharon at Harper Evans Recruitment to dicuss the role and mutual fit
• Teams meeting with the Founders - a more technical discussion
• Face to face meeting at the London offices
• Job offer

This role is being advertised by Harper Evans Recruitment acting as a recruitment business.

At Harper Evans Recruitment, we believe that diverse teams create stronger businesses. We are committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion throughout our recruitment process and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.

If you require any adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know. We're committed to ensuring every candidate has a fair opportunity to succeed.