Working Student (f/m/d) Characterization – Photonic Integrated Circuits (PIC)

You don't just want to design photonic chips — you want to measure them and make them talk? As a Working Student in Characterization, you'll join our PIC characterization team in Stuttgart and help us electrically and optically characterize our photonic integrated circuits (PICs) based on thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) — both on-chip and in fully packaged modules.

Your Tasks

• Perform electrical and optical characterization of our TFLN PICs — both on-chip and on fully packaged chips.
• Support our characterization team with DC and RF measurements on chips and packages, delivering reliable, repeatable, and high-quality measurement results.
• Coordinate closely with the characterization engineers on the team, and bring your own ideas for improving test setups and workflows.
• Depending on your interests and background, learn optical, electro-optical, and radio-frequency (RF) characterization methods in depth.
• Nice to have: write and test measurement and evaluation scripts in Python.

Your Profile

• You're a student of electrical engineering, telecommunications, physics, or a related field.
• No prior experience required — we onboard you step by step, and you'll work under the guidance of experienced colleagues at first.
• Beneficial: Python skills, plus some familiarity with measurement instrumentation such as VNAs, high-speed oscilloscopes, optical spectrum analyzers, RF probes, or tunable lasers.
• You work reliably and carefully, communicate clearly with the team, and bring self-motivation along with an eye for precise, structured work.

What We Offer

• Direct, hands-on exposure to a future technology: photonic computing made in Stuttgart.
• Access to state-of-the-art labs and measurement equipment instead of pure theory.
• Mentoring from experienced characterization engineers, with the chance to build up your skills in optical, electro-optical, and RF measurement step by step.
• Flexible working hours built around your studies (20 hrs/week, more possible during semester breaks by arrangement).
• An international, collaborative team, modern workspaces, and extras such as a meal allowance, a subsidized Deutschlandticket, and regular team events.