Neurophos · 1 day ago
VP of VLSI
San Francisco, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
15+ years expNeurophos is a promising startup revolutionizing AI computation with an innovative optical computing platform. They are seeking a Vice President of VLSI to provide strategic and technical leadership for designing and developing complex ASICs that drive their Optical Processing Units, while leading the growth of their VLSI organization.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)Hardware
Responsibilities
Provide strategic vision and rigorous technical leadership for the VLSI organization, defining and executing the ASIC roadmap in tight alignment with Neurophos’ optical computing architecture and product milestones
Build, mentor, and scale world-class digital, analog/mixed-signal, and FPGA engineering teams; lead hiring, onboarding, and talent development
Define and implement a quality-driven design methodology, including best practices and project-development processes, in alignment with the other organization at Neurophos
Oversee end-to-end ASIC development: architecture, design, verification, physical design, tape-out, validation, and transfer to high-volume manufacturing
Drive the design of complex mixed-signal SoCs with substantial digital and mixed-signal complexity, including ultra-high-speed SerDes/data interfaces and driver circuitry for silicon photonics electro-optical modulators and fast detectors
Optimize performance, power, and area (PPA) for AI compute workloads while ensuring robust signal and power integrity in co-packaged optics environments
Manage in-house design, outsourced design partners, and hybrid execution models to meet aggressive timelines
Negotiate, license, and integrate third-party IP (CPU cores, high-speed SerDes, memory controllers, etc.)
Establish and maintain strong relationships with leading CMOS foundries and drive successful on-time tape-outs on advanced nodes
Negotiate and support enterprise-wide EDA tool licenses and flows
Lead DFM/DFT to achieve high yield and reliability at scale
Collaborate closely with the silicon photonics, packaging, firmware, and system architecture teams to deliver fully integrated optical compute modules
Work closely with program managers to plan program schedules, required resources, identify critical paths, and effectively communicate progress-to-plan
Contribute to intellectual property strategy and patent filings related to VLSI architectures, high-speed electrical-optical interfaces, and mixed-signal architectures
Manage department budget, vendor relationships, and resource allocation while fostering a culture of technical excellence and innovation
Qualification
Required
PhD or MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field (PhD preferred)
Minimum 15 years of industry experience in VLSI/ASIC design and productization, with at least 7 years in senior technical leadership roles managing large digital + analog teams
Proven track record of bringing complex data center-class mixed-signal SoCs to high-volume production (≥2 full cycles on ≤7nm nodes strongly preferred)
Direct hands-on experience designing ASICs that drive and interface with high-speed (≥56 Gbaud) silicon photonic devices (modulators, detectors, TIAs)
Deep expertise in high-speed mixed-signal design, including fast SerDes, HBM interfaces, CDR, and signal/power integrity in multi-chip modules
Extensive experience working with top-tier CMOS foundries, managing PDKs, tape-outs, and yield improvement
Demonstrated success in negotiating and integrating third-party IP and managing enterprise EDA tool flows and contracts
Strong background in DFM, DFT, reliability, and production test for advanced-node mixed-signal chips
Prior success building and scaling high-performing VLSI organizations in startup or fast-growth environments
Preferred
Prior leadership of VLSI teams that delivered chips for optical computing or optical networking, silicon photonics-based data center switches, or linear pluggable optics (LPO)
Hands-on experience with co-packaged optics (CPO) integration and related technologies
Knowledge of compute-in-memory architectures or optical neural network accelerators
Benefits
Competitive compensation, including salary and equity options.
Opportunities for career growth and future team leadership.
Access to cutting-edge technology and state-of-the-art facilities.
Opportunity to publish research and contribute to the field of efficient AI inference.
Company
Neurophos
Exaflop optical AI acceleration.
11-50 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Neurophos has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2023 (1)
Funding
Current Stage
Early StageTotal Funding
$16.1MKey Investors
Gates Frontier FundMetaVC Partners
2025-12-08Series Unknown· $1.9M
2023-12-14Seed· $7.2M
2023-10-03Seed· $7M
Leadership Team
Patrick T. Bowen
CEO
Andrew Traverso
Co-founder & Chief Scientist
Recent News
2025-09-24
eeNews Europe
2025-08-21
Company data provided by crunchbase