Saeed Tahvili

Two main features make the company attractive from my point of view. The first is technology. I did my Masters and Ph.D. degrees in photonic integration. This field brought me to the Netherlands in the first place to work at a research group in the TU/e. At EFFECT Photonics, I can carry out this passion to its very core.

The second reason is the company culture at EFFECT Photonics. I believe the company has maintained its essence since the beginning when the company was much smaller. There was and still is a friendly and open atmosphere within the company. Within the company, people are open about and love what they do. You feel valued at the personal and professional levels. In some big companies, there exists a sort of hostile rivalry within different groups; that is certainly not the case at EFFECT Photonics. Everyone works together and is excited about the work they can deliver to make EFFECT Photonics a success.

I like that my position enjoys a lot of freedom because it lies between engineering and planning, two vital aspects for the success of the company and its projects. Due to my educational background, I still feel much stronger on the technical side of things. However, the company has allowed me to guide people on doing things more efficiently since I have a lot of experience to share. I also advise the level above me on how long tasks could take and what challenges we might encounter. So I am contributing both to the engineers and the management team.

I would say do it! EFFECT Photonics has a multicultural and open atmosphere, and Eindhoven is the core of the Brainport region and one of the “smartest” cities in the world. For those who want to work in a multidisciplinary field and at the cutting edge of technology, EFFECT Photonics is a great choice.

Discover, design, and deliver.

This is what my team and I do. We are always looking for new ways of doing things more efficiently. That includes how to run basic device measurements and test procedures used in product development. We look for new possibilities and improve characterization plans. We contribute to chip designs and layouts. We help decide which functionalities are included in the design, how to realize them, and how to fabricate the photonic chips. In essence, we work with the anatomy and the heart of our products.

That in itself is very interesting. The “deliver” aspect means that we provide good PICs that will help the company move forward. Although we do not have a foundry of our own, we work very closely with our foundry partners to understand their capabilities. At the same time, we clarify to them what specifications we require.

The biggest highlight for me has been to be part of this organization from almost the beginning. I’ve observed immense changes the company has gone through– the growth, scale-up, and its associated ups and downs along the way. These turns are also a part of the success story. EFFECT Photonics has made a real, consistent growth, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it. There are also great highlights, such as freedom and flexibility within my work, as well as the individual and personal attention that I can expect from the management layer above me since there is no dry hierarchy in this company.