Ephos is building vertically integrated, advanced packaging solutions on glass panels. We transform raw glass into electronic and optically active substrates for die-to-die connectivity, manufactured entirely within our own facilities. Our systems are built for companies developing AI accelerators, including hyperscalers and top-tier chip designers. We have already delivered products to leading global firms, and we are currently building a new fabrication facility to scale production by 100x. This expansion is backed by a $50M EU CHIPS Act grant—the first ever awarded to a startup.

Below are the open positions at Ephos:

1. Software Engineer
2. AI Engineer 
3. Junior Photonic Engineer 
4. Junior Electronic Engineer 

 

1- Software Engineer

As we scale from our current R&D cleanroom to a full production Fab of photonic integrated circuits, we are also building a new team: the group that owns the software, the data, and the AI applied to our manufacturing process.

The software this team writes runs the core processes of the fab. You’ll own projects from their pilot phase and transition them to production in a real industrial environment, where speed and reliability are key to our success.

 Your responsibilities

• Own and evolve our internal and client-facing libraries, with an emphasis on sound architecture and long-term maintainability.
• Write the runbooks and documentation for the key software running our manufacturing process.
• Build API and MCP interfaces for integrating our internal tools in a knowledge base.
• Use AI tools to move faster without letting them substitute for real understanding. You should be just as capable of architecting, writing, and reviewing code without them, for it's that grounding that lets you use them effectively.
• Push back on unnecessary complexity. Simplify architectures, pipelines, and codebases wherever it makes the system easier to scale and maintain.

Skills & experience

• Bachelor's degree (or further) in computer science, a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience writing libraries from the ground up, including system architecture and technology selection beside execution.
• Advanced experience with version control in a collaborative environment: reviewing pull requests, resolving merge conflicts, and navigating codebase history.
• Solid experience writing unit and integration tests.
• Proficiency in Python is necessary. Experience with full-stack development or other programming languages is a plus.
• Based in Milan, on site with the machines you are writing software for. Due to the nature of the role we will not consider remote applicants.

Ephos is a demanding environment. We operate with exceptional ambition and move fast, because the market gives us no other option. We expect excellence from you, as we do from one another. This environment offers unmatched opportunities to learn, build, and grow, but it also requires significant commitment.

What we offer

• Salary range from €40,000 to €65,000, depending on experience.
• Stock options; granted at this stage, they can become extremely valuable.
• An exceptional opportunity for growth.

The hiring process

• A first conversation with the head of the team.
• Two technical interviews with the head of the team and a senior software engineer.
• A final conversation with our CEO.

 

2. AI Engineer

As our production fab ramps up, we need to turn raw data into working models on a live production line. You will work on defect detection, predictive maintenance, virtual metrology, and automation of our femtosecond laser writing (FLW) process. You'll work across the full loop: from early experiments to inference in production, including the safety boundaries and monitoring that let us trust automated decisions on the fab floor.

Your responsibilities

• Integrate computer vision techniques and neural networks into our key production process, eliminating the need for human intervention across the whole fabrication.
• Build monitoring models for early defection identification and predictive maintenance.
• Build virtual metrology models that infer product performance directly from fabrication data, before having to rely on external characterization instruments.
• Validate control algorithms in simulation before deploying them on real hardware, and define fail-safe boundaries for the automated routines.
• Set up experiment tracking and model monitoring/drift detection in production. Help define our approach to transfer learning during ramp-up of the new facility.
• Proactively identify where LLMs can usefully take on repetitive tasks or support our scientific process.

Skills & experience

• Bachelor's degree (or further) in computer science, a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience building and deploying computer vision or deep learning models in a production setting, not only in research or notebooks, including defining fail-safe behaviors.
• Proficiency in Python; experience with physical simulation or digital twins is a plus.
• Practical experience with predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, or other modeling on sensor time-series data is a strong plus.
• Can commit to full time lab presence; due to the nature of the role we will not consider remote applicants.

Ephos is a demanding environment. We operate with exceptional ambition and move fast, because the market gives us no other option. We expect excellence from you, as we do from one another. This environment offers unmatched opportunities to learn, build, and grow, but it also requires significant commitment.

What we offer

• Salary range from €40,000 to €65,000, depending on experience.
• Stock options; granted at this stage, they can become extremely valuable.
• An exceptional opportunity for growth.

The hiring process

• A first conversation with the head of the team.
• Two technical interviews with the head of the team and a senior software engineer.
• A final conversation with our CEO.

 

3. Junior Photonics Engineer

As a Photonics Engineer at Ephos, you will work on both R&D and manufacturing for our photonic integrated circuits. You will help move our technology from research to full-scale chip production while working closely with our fast-moving R&D, manufacturing, and product development teams.

 Your responsibilities

• Design photonic integrated circuits using our proprietary software.
• Fabricate and characterize integrated photonic devices and circuits.
• Optimize and automate existing manufacturing and testing protocols.
• Develop Python libraries to interface and integrate with photonic and electronic instrumentation.

The candidate we are looking for

• Master's degree in Photonics, Physics, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• Hands-on experience with optical setups, including laser systems, optical fiber, and free-space optics alignment.
• Experience with femtosecond laser writing or glass-integrated photonics is a plus.
• Can commit to full time lab presence; due to the nature of the role we will not consider remote applicants.
• Ephos is a demanding environment. We operate with exceptional ambition and move fast, because the market gives us no other option. We expect excellence from you, as we do from one another. This environment offers unmatched opportunities to learn, build, and grow, but it also requires significant commitment.

What we offer

• Salary range from €40,000 to €65,000, depending on experience.
• Stock options; granted at this stage, they can become extremely valuable.
• An exceptional opportunity for growth.

The hiring process

• Interview with our Photonic Team Lead.
• Interview with a senior Photonic Engineer of our team.
• Interview with our CEO.

 

 

4. Junior Electronics Engineer

The Electronics Engineer will design the electronics systems that control our production tools: architecture, PCBs, embedded firmware and control loops. That means helping in selecting the sensors and actuators the machines need, designing the electronics around them, and tying everything to a central controller. The work is hands-on, from schematic to a board on the bench, in close contact with the process and manufacturing teams. As the role grows, it extends to the electronics behind our advanced packaging demonstrators, where the same skills go into making a full optical link measurable. 

Your responsibilities

• Define the electronics architecture of our production tools: sensing, control and automation.
• Design PCBs end to end: schematic, layout and debug.
• Write the embedded firmware that runs on them.
• Close the control loops that keep the tools repeatable.
• Integrate the electronics into the machines together with our mechanical workshop.
• Build test and measurement setups for the process and photonics teams.
• Build the electronics systems for our advanced packaging demonstrators.

The candidate we are looking for

• M.Sc. or Ph.D. in Electronics Engineering
•  Excellent interpersonal skills, energetic and self starter.
• Strong continuous improvement mindset, permanently driving to identify and eliminate waste and errors in business processes, work procedures and instructions, work organization
• Can commit to full time lab presence; due to the nature of the role we will not consider remote applicants.
• Ephos is a demanding environment. We operate with exceptional ambition and move fast, because the market gives us no other option. We expect excellence from you, as we do from one another. This environment offers unmatched opportunities to learn, build, and grow, but it also requires significant commitment.

What we offer

• Salary range from €40,000 to €65,000, depending on experience.
• Stock options; granted at this stage, they can become extremely valuable.
• An exceptional opportunity for growth.

The hiring process

• Interview with our Electronics Lead;
• Interview with one of our engineers;
• Interview with our CEO.