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About This Role
Overview:
SRI's Applied Physics Laboratory, in Boulder, CO, has an opportunity for a Sr Photonics Research Engineer with experience as a technical leader in photonic integrated circuits to execute on a variety of projects ranging from optical phased arrays to microwave photonic systems. SRI specializes in developing and transitioning technology from basic research and development (R\&D) to fieldable prototypes for both US government and commercial customers. Our Advanced Technology and Systems Division (ATSD) performs research spanning advanced signal processing, robotics, quantum physics, and ocean modeling. This position is on\-site in Boulder, CO.
Responsibilities:
A successful candidate will contribute to ongoing and future programs with emphasis in optical communications, signal processing, and sensing, to apply their experience as a principal investigator and their advanced knowledge and skills in photonic integrated circuits (PICs) to microwave photonics and/or optical phased arrays. They will work with small to medium sized research teams comprised of multidisciplinary, subject matter expert (SME) engineering professionals with expertise ranging from PICs, stabilized lasers, optical communications, and RF signal processing to quantum sensing, applied mathematics and computer science. Their contributions will range from technical tasks to leadership roles, such as being a principal investigator for future programs and proposal opportunities.
- Technical contributions will primarily include system development and testing, fundamental and engineering calculations, simulation and modeling, and other laboratory R\&D tasks.
- Management\-level tasks include leading tasks, leading future proposal opportunities, and communicating with clients and SRI senior management.
Qualifications:
- PhD in electrical engineering, optics, physics or related technical discipline
- 4\+ years related experience that may include industry experience
- U.S. Citizenship with the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance due to government contract requirements
- Experience leading technical projects as a principal investigator
- Experience leading proposal efforts for US Government funding
- Demonstrated ability to develop new business with potential customers and familiarity with proposal writing
- Leading technical presentations and demonstrations
- Experience simulating and testing PICs, analyzing data, and/or PIC component layout
- Experience in applying PIC systems to application areas such as optical phased arrays, microwave photonics, optical communication, and/or quantum sensing
- Proficient in scientific programming e.g., Python, MATLAB, and/or other similar scripting languages
- Familiarity with process design kits (PDKs) from foundries such as AIM Photonics, Applied Nanotools, and Tower Semiconductor
- Demonstrated experience working in a team environment and managing time while working on multiple projects
Desired:* Active DoD Secret clearance
- Familiarity with automated testing and data collection
- Familiarity with feedback control and stabilization of photonic systems comprised of components such as interferometers, filters, and lasers
- The following experience:
- Working with and submitting designs to multi\-project wafer runs at PIC foundries
- Simulating photonic devices in FDTD using Tidy3D, Lumerical, or similar tools
- With scripted\-based layout of photonic components and systems using GDSFactory, Nazca, IPKISS, or similar
- With precision measurement and/or metrology
The salary range is: $117,684\-$175,054\. Salary ranges will vary and are based on several factors, including geographic location, market competitiveness and equity amongst internal employees in similar roles. Positions may also qualify for SRI's Pay for Outstanding Performance program or the annual Performance Based Compensation program. SRI also has a competitive benefits package, to view details please go to https://www.sri.com/resources/benefits/. SRI will accept applications until the position is filled.
SRI is an independent nonprofit research institute headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., with a rich history of supporting government and industry. We create and deliver world\-changing solutions for a safer, healthier, and more sustainable future. For more than 75 years, we have collaborated across technical and scientific disciplines to discover and develop groundbreaking products and technologies and bring innovations and ideas to the marketplace.
Salary Context
This $117K-$175K range is below the median for Research Engineer roles in our dataset (median: $188K across 44 roles with salary data).
View full Research Engineer salary data →Role Details
About This Role
Research Engineers bridge the gap between research and production. They implement papers, build experiment infrastructure, optimize training pipelines, and make research prototypes production-ready. They're the engineers who make research work at scale.
The role sits at a unique intersection. You need to understand the math well enough to implement novel architectures correctly, and you need the engineering chops to make them run efficiently on distributed systems. When a research scientist has a breakthrough idea, you're the person who turns it from a notebook prototype into a training pipeline that runs on 256 GPUs.
Across the 3,708 AI roles we're tracking, Research Engineer positions make up 2% of the market. At SRI International, this role fits into their broader AI and engineering organization.
Research Engineer roles are growing as AI labs recognize that research velocity depends on engineering quality. The role is less competitive than Research Scientist (no PhD required), but the bar for engineering skill is very high. These roles are concentrated at major labs and well-funded startups.
What the Work Looks Like
A typical week involves: implementing a new attention mechanism from a recent paper, profiling and optimizing a training pipeline that's bottlenecked on data loading, building evaluation infrastructure for a new benchmark, debugging distributed training issues across a GPU cluster, and pair-programming with a research scientist on their latest experiment. The work is deeply technical.
Research Engineer roles are growing as AI labs recognize that research velocity depends on engineering quality. The role is less competitive than Research Scientist (no PhD required), but the bar for engineering skill is very high. These roles are concentrated at major labs and well-funded startups.
Skills Required
Strong software engineering fundamentals plus ML knowledge. Python, C++, and CUDA experience are common requirements. You'll need to read papers and turn ideas into working code. Distributed systems experience (especially distributed training) is highly valued. Performance optimization skills separate great candidates from good ones.
Experience with large-scale training infrastructure (FSDP, DeepSpeed, Megatron), GPU programming (CUDA, Triton), and the internals of ML frameworks (PyTorch internals, custom autograd functions) is what makes candidates stand out. The best research engineers can debug issues that span the full stack from GPU memory management to numerical precision to algorithmic correctness.
Strong postings mention the team's recent research, the infrastructure scale, and the specific technical challenges. They often list the research areas you'd support. Look for roles that emphasize both implementation quality and research understanding.
Compensation Benchmarks
Research Engineer roles pay a median of $280,000 based on 147 positions with disclosed compensation. Senior-level AI roles across all categories have a median of $230,000. This role's midpoint ($146K) sits 48% below the category median. Disclosed range: $117K to $175K.
Across all AI roles, the market median is $217,500. Top-quartile compensation starts at $272,100. The 90th percentile reaches $325,000. For comparison, the highest-paying categories include AI Safety ($300,000) and AI Architect ($254,798). By seniority level: Entry: $120,000; Mid: $200,000; Senior: $230,000; Director: $272,150; VP: $250,000.
SRI International AI Hiring
SRI International has 1 open AI role right now. They're hiring across Research Engineer. Based in Boulder, CO, US. Compensation range: $175K - $175K.
Location Context
Across all AI roles, 14% (508 positions) offer remote work, while 3,180 require on-site attendance. Top AI hiring metros: New York (1,045 roles, $220,000 median); San Francisco (810 roles, $277,088 median); Los Angeles (397 roles, $215,000 median).
Career Path
Common paths into Research Engineer roles include Software Engineer, ML Engineer, Research Intern.
From here, career progression typically leads toward Senior Research Engineer, Research Scientist, ML Architect.
This is one of the best entry points into AI research without a PhD. Build a strong engineering portfolio with ML projects, contribute to open-source ML frameworks, and demonstrate that you can implement complex ideas correctly and efficiently. The transition to Research Scientist is possible with published first-author work, which some research engineer roles support.
What to Expect in Interviews
Technical screens test both engineering skill and research understanding. Expect coding rounds with performance-critical implementations (GPU optimization, efficient data loading). Be prepared to discuss papers relevant to the team's research area and explain how you'd implement key ideas. System design questions focus on training infrastructure: distributed training, experiment tracking, and compute resource management.
When evaluating opportunities: Strong postings mention the team's recent research, the infrastructure scale, and the specific technical challenges. They often list the research areas you'd support. Look for roles that emphasize both implementation quality and research understanding.
AI Hiring Overview
The AI job market has 3,708 open positions tracked in our dataset. By seniority: 102 entry-level, 1,705 mid-level, 1,469 senior, and 432 leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level). Remote roles make up 14% of the market (508 positions). The remaining 3,180 roles require on-site or hybrid attendance.
The market median for AI roles is $217,500. Top-quartile compensation starts at $272,100. The 90th percentile reaches $325,000. Highest-paying categories: AI Safety ($300,000 median, 21 roles); Research Engineer ($280,000 median, 147 roles); AI Architect ($254,798 median, 67 roles).
Research Engineer roles are growing as AI labs recognize that research velocity depends on engineering quality. The role is less competitive than Research Scientist (no PhD required), but the bar for engineering skill is very high. These roles are concentrated at major labs and well-funded startups.
The AI Job Market Today
The AI job market spans 3,708 open positions across 16 role categories. The largest categories by volume: AI/ML Engineer (2,605), Data Scientist (310), AI Software Engineer (259). These three account for the majority of open positions, though smaller categories often have higher per-role compensation because of specialized skill requirements.
The seniority mix tells a story about where AI teams are in their maturity. Entry-level roles (102) are outnumbered by mid-level (1,705) and senior (1,469) positions, reflecting that most companies are past the 'build a team from scratch' phase and need experienced engineers who can ship production systems. Leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level) total 432 positions, representing the bottleneck between technical execution and organizational strategy.
Remote work availability sits at 14% of all AI roles (508 positions), with 3,180 requiring on-site or hybrid attendance. The remote share has stabilized after the post-pandemic correction. Senior and specialized roles (Research Scientist, ML Architect) are more likely to be remote-eligible than entry-level positions, partly because experienced hires have more negotiating power and partly because these roles require less hands-on mentorship.
AI compensation is structured in clear tiers. The market median sits at $217,500. Top-quartile roles start at $272,100, and the 90th percentile reaches $325,000. These figures include base salary with disclosed compensation. Total compensation (including equity, bonuses, and sign-on) runs 20-40% higher at companies that offer those components.
Category matters for compensation. AI Safety roles lead at $300,000 median, while Prompt Engineer roles sit at $140,000. The spread between highest and lowest-paying categories reflects the premium on specialized technical skills versus broader analytical roles.
The most in-demand skills across all AI postings: Python (1,890 postings), Aws (1,103 postings), Azure (877 postings), Rag (855 postings), Gcp (631 postings), Prompt Engineering (560 postings), Pytorch (545 postings), Claude (498 postings). Python dominates, appearing in the vast majority of role descriptions regardless of category. Cloud platform experience (AWS, GCP, Azure) is the second most common requirement. The newer entrants to the top skills list (RAG, vector databases, LLM APIs) reflect the shift from traditional ML toward generative AI applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
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