Experimental Physicist

Job Title

Experimental Physicist

Role Summary

Join a hardware research team to design, execute, and interpret experiments that characterize novel computing architectures and microelectronic devices. The role focuses on building measurement setups, extracting quantitative insights from complex data, and validating device and circuit performance against theory and simulation.

Experience Level

Mid-level. No specific years of experience were provided.

Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities are developing and operating experiments that characterize microelectronic devices and circuits and converting measurements into actionable engineering feedback.

• Design and run experiments to measure I–V characteristics, noise, high-frequency response, and temperature-dependent behavior of devices and circuits.
• Develop custom measurement setups and automation for data acquisition and instrument control.
• Operate laboratory instrumentation: oscilloscopes, spectrum/network analyzers, signal generators, source-measure units, and probe stations.
• Process and analyze experimental data using filtering, FFTs, statistical methods, and noise characterization techniques.
• Correlate experimental results with theoretical models and simulation outputs to guide device and architecture iterations.
• Work collaboratively with circuit designers to refine device and architecture designs based on measurement results.
• Maintain clear documentation of experiments, measurement procedures, and data provenance.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience.

• Experience designing and executing experiments for microelectronic device and circuit characterization (I–V, noise, HF response, temperature dependence).
• Proficiency in experimental signal processing and data analysis (filtering, FFT, statistical analysis, noise characterization).
• Hands-on experience with laboratory instrumentation and measurement hardware (oscilloscopes, spectrum/network analyzers, signal generators, SMUs, probe stations).
• Experience with temperature-controlled measurements and understanding of device physics across temperature regimes.
• Experience developing automation scripts and custom measurement setups for data acquisition.
• Experience analyzing non-linear dynamics, stochastic processes, or analog computing primitives.
• Understanding of information theory and statistical mechanics as applied to physical systems.
• Proficiency in scientific computing and data-analysis programming; ability to correlate experiments with models and simulations.
• Ability to collaborate with circuit designers and integrate measurement feedback into design iterations.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with neuromorphic, analog, or unconventional computing architectures.
• Background in mesoscopic physics, semiconductor device physics, or quantum transport.
• Experience with high-speed digital sampling, real-time data processing, or CMOS device characterization.
• Familiarity with machine learning methods for experimental data analysis and pattern recognition.
• Publications showing ability to extract physical insights from experiments; experience building measurement databases and data pipelines.

Education Requirements

Preferred: PhD in Physics, Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering, or a related experimental field. The posting does not explicitly state minimum degree requirements or whether equivalent practical experience is accepted.

About the Company

Company: Extropic

Extropic is a hardware startup focused on analog/mixed-signal and CMOS hardware development, including design and layout of analog blocks, high-speed circuits, simulation, lab testing, and supporting tape-out verification.