Head, Silicon & Photonic Integrated Circuits Center of Excellence (CoE)

About the Role & Opportunity
Taglynk is representing a pioneering quantum-security enterprise building quantum key distribution (QKD), quantum random number generation (QRNG), post-quantum cryptography (PQC), and quantum sensing products designed to safeguard critical data against emerging quantum threats.
Our client is expanding its senior technical leadership and seeking an exceptional engineering leader to head its Silicon & Photonic Integrated Circuits Center of Excellence (CoE) and drive strategic chip-scale programs.
Mission
Lead the strategic transition from discrete optics and FPGAs toward integrated photonics and custom silicon. You will shrink QKD/QRNG transmit-receive functions and cryptographic accelerators into chip-scale, manufacturable, low-power modules, driving the leap from board-level systems to integrated chips.
Core Responsibilities
Roadmap Definition: Define the photonic-IC and ASIC roadmap for quantum photonic front-ends and post-quantum cryptographic accelerators.
Integrated Photonics Design: Own integrated-photonics design including on-chip modulators, interferometers, couplers, and detector coupling.
Silicon & Hardware Security: Lead silicon-side cryptographic hardware accelerators, secure-boot and key-management IP, and side-channel-resistant implementations.
Foundry & Execution: Manage PDKs, foundry/MPW tape-outs, packaging, fiber attach, and co-packaged electronics.
Team & Scalability: Build the design team and drive the size, power, cost, and yield trajectory required for chip-scale commercial products.
Skills & Experience
Integrated Photonics OR Silicon Design: Deep expertise in silicon-photonics / thin-film lithium niobate design OR RTL-to-GDSII ASIC design (candidates strong in either domain are encouraged to apply, as the team will be built to complement your background).
Photonics Design: Experience with waveguides, interferometers, modulators, couplers, PDKs, and photonics design tools.
ASIC / Digital VLSI: Low-power and mixed-signal design knowledge with hands-on foundry MPW and tape-out experience.
Cryptographic Silicon (Plus): Exposure to post-quantum accelerators, side-channel countermeasures, and secure-boot IP.
Packaging & DFM: Practical experience in fiber-to-chip attach, hybrid integration, PDK discipline, tape-out execution, yield, and reliability engineering.
Roadmap Judgement: Strong judgment on what to integrate first for maximum size, power, and cost benefits while maintaining security properties.
Leadership & Management Capabilities
Program Management: Proven experience managing multi-workstream technical programs against government and commercial milestones using stage-gate / TRL methodologies.
Product Leadership: Ability to translate customer requirements into technical roadmaps while balancing cost, performance, and time-to-market trade-offs.
People Leadership: Demonstrated ability to hire, mentor, and grow high-performing engineering teams grounded in a first-principles engineering culture.
Stakeholder Engagement: Skilled in engaging government, academic, and industry partners, representing the company in technical reviews and tenders.
Technical Communication: Ability to prepare clear technical decks and documentation for technical evaluators, executive leadership, and non-expert audiences.
Proposals & Grants: Experience supporting grant, tender, and funding submissions, including technical write-ups and budget justifications.
Why Join Our Client
High-Impact Mission: Lead work defending national data and critical infrastructure against quantum threats by building capability that does not yet exist.
Global Ecosystem: Collaborate across global offices, international foundries, academic groups, and standards bodies.
Patent Portfolio Support: Access a structured invention-disclosure and filing program that actively supports leaders in building personal patent portfolios.
Publications & Recognition: Support to publish in top journals, present at industry conferences, and shape emerging standards.
Nationally Critical Projects: Work directly on strategic, nation-scale programs alongside marquee government and defence stakeholders.
First-Principles Culture: Full domain ownership in an engineering-first culture that prizes fundamental physics and root-cause understanding.
Strategic Growth: Build and shape a Center of Excellence from the ground up with high strategic visibility.
Application Process
Candidates are invited to submit their CV along with a short summary highlighting a challenging technical problem they have solved. Applications are managed exclusively via Taglynk.

Work arrangement
No