Semiconductor Device Engineer (KTP Associate)

• The vision for this project is to embed in-house capability for specification, design and industrialisation of critical semiconductor photodetector devices, strengthening resilience and enabling new, differentiated products. The post holder is required to:
• Work with colleagues and the manager to devise and perform experiments, modelling and analysis consistent with the goals of the project.
• Design and development of semiconductor-based detectors.

Education, Qualifications and Experience

The ideal candidate will have a strong theoretical understanding and an experimental background in semiconductor optoelectronics or closely related field.

Essential Criteria

• Applicants should hold a PhD in Physics or a relevant area of electrical engineering. (Applicants should have submitted their PhD thesis first draft by the start date). Or equivalent experience.
• Experience in semiconductor wafer growth or detector fabrication processes, or photodiode characterisation
• Ability to articulate research work, both in technical reports/papers and by oral presentation.
• Ability to formulate and progress work on their own initiative.
• Experience in leading the writing of peer-reviewed papers.
• Must be able to work as part of a team on the experiments at Heriot-Watt University and more widely with the collaborators at other Universities and industrial partners.

Desirable Criteria

• Highly motivated, intellectually curious, and driven to deliver practical, impactful results.
• Capable of assimilating new knowledge and exploring innovative ideas.
• The Associate will also need excellent communication skills and the ability to operate across academic and industrial environments, engaging with both Heriot-Watt researchers and Pangolin’s engineering and commercial teams.
• Experience in simulating or characterising semiconductor devices (ideally photodetectors or APDs), strong quantitative and programming skills, and proven ability to analyse complex experimental datasets.
• Experience working with high‑speed optical or electronic measurement systems, and an understanding of applications such as LiDAR and time‑of‑flight ranging.

To develop and embed capability to design and oversee manufacture of advanced semiconductor photodetectors, reducing reliance on off-the-shelf components which have sub-optimal performance and inherent supply risk.