Research Fellow in Ultra-Low-Loss Ring Resonators

Join Our Team – Research Fellow Opportunity at the Optoelectronics Research Centre

We are seeking a Research Fellow with a strong background in photonic integrated circuit design, fabrication and characterisation to join the EPSRC-funded PURE collaboration between the University of Southampton and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Are you an integrated photonics engineer excited to contribute to breakthroughs in quantum optics, precision sensing, and next-generation photonic systems? If so, we’d love to hear from you.

We invite applications to join our welcoming and collaborative team of world-leading researchers at the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at the University of Southampton. With over 350 staff and students, the ORC is an internationally recognised hub for cutting-edge research, delivering real-world impact across photonics, manufacturing, communication technologies, augmented reality, healthcare and quantum technology.

About the Role

As a valued member of our team, you will play a key role in the fabrication and characterisation of ultra-pure doped silica glass layers used to form the lowest-loss on-chip optical resonators ever demonstrated.

You will work on:

• Design of low-loss photonic integrated circuits (PICs), in particular, ring resonators.
• Cleanroom fabrication of these PICs from glass layers made in Southampton.
• PIC characterisation, i.e. loss, scattering and resonator finesse.
• Design experiments to determine optical loss mechanisms, i.e. hydroxyl, roughness, etc.
• Application of the PIC devices with our industrial and academic partners.

A core part of this role will involve close collaboration with our partners at Caltech and inter-institute visits to drive the project forward and translate our research into tangible innovations for the UK’s growing photonics sector, building upon our recent work published in Nature (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09889-w).

Your Responsibilities

As part of the role, you will be required to operate and maintain state-of-the-art fabrication and characterisation equipment, liaise with our project partners, develop innovative solutions, create new devices, publish results in leading journals, and investigate the potential to commercialise your outputs. Your attention to detail and commitment to excellence will help us create high-performance optical components that advance our research goals and commercial partnerships.

Who We’re Looking For

We seek a talented research fellow with skills and knowledge to complement our team. You should be comfortable working in a lab environment with cleanroom tools and optical characterisation equipment. Experience with ultra-low-loss resonators would be extremely useful for this role, but a deep hands-on understanding of integrated photonics fabrication and characterisation is more important. We are looking for someone who enjoys building things, measuring them properly, and figuring out why they behave as they do.

Applications are encouraged from those with a strong background in integrated photonics, complemented by experience in photonic fabrication. We are looking for a self-motivated researcher with good experimental skills who is willing to conduct research independently and collaboratively, and who values contributing to a supportive team environment. You will also help train and support researchers and PhD students in this role, so strong communication and mentoring skills will be a plus. A PhD or equivalent professional qualification is essential.

Due to the topic of the work, candidates must be exempt or eligible for an ATAS certificate; more details on ATAS can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/academic-technology-approval-scheme.

The appointment will last until the 31^st October 2028 and will start as soon as possible.

Informal enquiries: Prof James Gates, gates@southampton.ac.uk

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