Why choose a career in laser design engineering? For Jonathan Doylend, it was his desire to create safer, smarter, more sustainable, and connected technologies and solutions. How does he do it? By designing the lasers that go into the data centers powering the world.
“Intel was my first choice because it is the world leader in silicon photonics. I wanted that combination of the start-up feel, really driving hard to push the boundaries and lead the world in this technology, and at the same time the resources of a big company to support that effort.” Silicon Photonics enables high-bandwidth, software-configurable access to compute and storage. “I think Intel as a company is really at the leading edge of technology development, and so I am very proud to work at a company that pushes those boundaries and develops that technology right to the forefront.”
Intel is not just about the work for Johnathan. He has engaged with the community here. “We're a team of colleagues who are working really hard together and so we go out for beer and we do all of those things that any good team of people who work together does. But on top of that, I also am a member of a chess club, Intel employees who meet and play chess. Is there a relation between loving chess and loving to solve physics problems and design lasers? Yeah, I'd say there is. You need to be thinking a couple of steps ahead, you need to be designing experiments with that in mind, and therefore it's very similar actually to a chess game in a lot of ways.”
A career creating world changing tech has its challenges, but Jonathan knows it is important to have a balance. “Intel as a company is really supportive of people not burning themselves out. Intel wants employees to have a good work-life balance and that's really important for me in particular because I have eight kids at home. For me being a full-time dad as well as a full-time employee is something that I have to balance, and it's really great that I can do it at a company that supports that.”
Interested in exploring Silicon Photonics careers? Learn more about our teams.
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