Infrastructure Engineer (Cambridge)
Added 7 Sept · still live
Likely
Sponsorship likelihood
This employer has issued visas recently
Not disclosed
Salary
Not disclosed by employer
£45,600
Going rate
Skilled Worker going rate
This role may qualify for a Skilled Worker visa
SOC 2137 is an eligible occupation, but we are only 34% sure that is the right code. Wave Photonics is a licensed sponsor, so if the code fits, the role should qualify. Check the occupation eligibility rules against what the job actually involves.
We pick the code from the advert's text, so it is our best guess, not the employer's. Each code it could be has its own likelihood:
- Likely 2137 (IT network professionals) · 34% match
- Likely 2133 (IT business analysts, architects and systems designers) · 29% match
- Likely 2139 (Information technology professionals not elsewhere classified) · 17% match
Your salary route
New graduate or PhD holder? Pick one of the lower rates.
What each route needs for this job
| Occupation code | New entrant 70% of going rate | STEM PhD 80% of going rate | Relevant PhD 90% of going rate | Standard rate 100% of going rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2137 IT network professionals Most likely code | £33,400 | £36,500 | £41,100 | £45,600 |
2133 IT business analysts, architects and systems designers Also possible | £38,400 | £43,900 | £49,400 | £54,900 |
2139 Information technology professionals not elsewhere classified Also possible | £36,600 | £41,800 | £47,100 | £52,300 |
We use the lowest threshold across the plausible codes. Likelihood is Possible at most when the pay clears only a lower rate, or only under a less likely code. How the Home Office picks the code
About the role
Infrastructure Engineer
Cambridge, UK
Start date: September 2026 or ASAP
Contract: Permanent, full-time role
About Us
At Wave Photonics, we are building a platform to enable and accelerate the development, mass production and adoption of integrated photonics technologies. Integrated photonics will be crucial in enabling a host of applications ranging from energy-efficient communications, wearable healthcare sensors, rapid diagnostic tools, optical tensor processors, on-chip LiDAR, quantum computing and communication, and many more. We believe that many obstacles in developing these technologies can be removed using a combination of simulation, statistical modelling and optimisation techniques.
Founded in 2021, we have backing from investors in Silicon Valley, the UK, and the EU, and are contributing to multiple projects funded by Innovate UK. We were also successful in winning a prestigious European Innovation Council Accelerator grant to develop solutions for frontier applications of integrated photonics.
Today we are a team of around 20 people in Cambridge, automating PDK design for integrated photonics and building the hub that connects chip designers, IP providers and foundries. Behind the product sits a serious compute and data pipeline, and it now needs someone to own it.
We are seeking a highly motivated and enthusiastic Infrastructure Engineer to join our team and contribute to our mission in accelerating the growth and adoption of integrated photonics technologies. If you're drawn to deep tech, enjoy working where your contributions are visible, and want to be part of a team that takes both its science and its culture seriously, we'd love to hear from you.
Role Overview
Your mission is to build reliable, cloud-backed HPC infrastructure that our team can run heavy design and simulation workloads on without friction, and to take care of security across how we run IT both on-prem and in the cloud. Our compute lives across our own hardware and the cloud, unified under Kubernetes with the ability to burst upward when we need it. Your job is to make that platform solid, self-service and trustworthy, and to keep it secure end to end.
What You Will Own
Cambridge, UK
Start date: September 2026 or ASAP
Contract: Permanent, full-time role
About Us
At Wave Photonics, we are building a platform to enable and accelerate the development, mass production and adoption of integrated photonics technologies. Integrated photonics will be crucial in enabling a host of applications ranging from energy-efficient communications, wearable healthcare sensors, rapid diagnostic tools, optical tensor processors, on-chip LiDAR, quantum computing and communication, and many more. We believe that many obstacles in developing these technologies can be removed using a combination of simulation, statistical modelling and optimisation techniques.
Founded in 2021, we have backing from investors in Silicon Valley, the UK, and the EU, and are contributing to multiple projects funded by Innovate UK. We were also successful in winning a prestigious European Innovation Council Accelerator grant to develop solutions for frontier applications of integrated photonics.
Today we are a team of around 20 people in Cambridge, automating PDK design for integrated photonics and building the hub that connects chip designers, IP providers and foundries. Behind the product sits a serious compute and data pipeline, and it now needs someone to own it.
We are seeking a highly motivated and enthusiastic Infrastructure Engineer to join our team and contribute to our mission in accelerating the growth and adoption of integrated photonics technologies. If you're drawn to deep tech, enjoy working where your contributions are visible, and want to be part of a team that takes both its science and its culture seriously, we'd love to hear from you.
Role Overview
Your mission is to build reliable, cloud-backed HPC infrastructure that our team can run heavy design and simulation workloads on without friction, and to take care of security across how we run IT both on-prem and in the cloud. Our compute lives across our own hardware and the cloud, unified under Kubernetes with the ability to burst upward when we need it. Your job is to make that platform solid, self-service and trustworthy, and to keep it secure end to end.
What You Will Own
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- The compute platform – Kubernetes across on-prem and cloud, run as one coherent system, including cloud bursting. Making it easy for the team to submit, monitor and debug compute-heavy jobs without needing to understand the machinery underneath.
- Observability – Monitoring and alerting that tells you something is wrong before a user does.
- Data infrastructure – Reliable, well-organised storage and access for large scientific datasets, with backups you can trust.
- Security – Making sure our environment is secure (RBAC, secrets, policies, zero trust networking)
Kubernetes, cloud (DigitalOcean/GCP) alongside bare metal, Terraform. Both CPU and GPU workloads.
We want to build things once, so they don't demand constant attention: it requires a lot of automation, monitoring relevant metrics, and designing robust systems. If your instinct on seeing a recurring manual task is to engineer it out of existence, you will fit in well here. It is a broad role with a lot of autonomy, so you will set the standards and we will trust you to run with them. As the company grows, so will the scale of what you are running.
Essential
Desired skills and experience
- Experience running Kubernetes in production, ideally including bare metal.
- Cloud-native mindset: you think in Kubernetes and treat on-prem machines as just another part of the cluster.
- Some Linux sysadmin experience, to manage our bare metal boxes.
- Comfortable with compute-heavy, batch-style workloads.
- Experience with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform)
- Willingness to take ownership and make pragmatic calls.
- Being able to architecture robust/reliable systems, Care about the experience of the people relying on your infrastructure.
- HPC-style job scheduling (Kueue, Slurm, MPI, or similar).
If you are as excited as we are about the world-changing technologies that will be enabled by integrated photonics and you want to play a key part in it, then please get in touch!
Work environment
At Wave Photonics, we see a brighter future. We strive towards that goal not only in the technology we develop, but as a dedicated and welcoming team who are passionate about working together to make it happen. We see the huge value in creating a team with people from all backgrounds and experiences. Equity, diversity, and inclusion are vital to our mission, and we strongly encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply.
Our office in Cambridge serves as the dynamic hub where brilliant minds converge to redefine the future of integrated photonics. Nestled in one of the world's most renowned academic and technological cities, our workspace embodies the spirit of collaboration, creativity, and cutting-edge exploration. We strive to create an environment where open communication and cross-disciplinary thinking are not just encouraged but celebrated.
How To Apply
Please upload a CV by clicking the apply button. There is no need for a formal covering letter. Instead, tell us about a piece of infrastructure you have owned and what state it was in when you handed it over.
Salary And Compensation
Excellent salary depending on experience.
Company share options plan.
Enhanced annual leave (25 days + bank holidays).
In-person working with flexible working options available where possible.
Cycle to work scheme.
All applicants will be notified within 28 days of application.
NO RECRUITMENT AGENCIES PLEASE.
This description is the source posting as it read when we added it. We are not affiliated with Wave Photonics, so check their own site for the current details.
Where this offer sits in the market
IT network professionals (SOC 2137) · UK · ONS ASHE 2025 · basic pay · ~39k in sampleSOC 2137
- Middle half £36,348–60,788
- Median £46,176
- Going rate £45,600
- Threshold £41,700
- New entrant £33,400–41,100
Similar sponsored roles
See all UK visa jobsNo close matches live right now.
Browse more sponsored jobs at Wave PhotonicsAbout sponsorship for this role
Does this job guarantee visa sponsorship?
Not necessarily. Wave Photonics holds a sponsor licence, but sponsorship for a specific hire is always the employer's decision. Be upfront in your application that you'll require it.
What salary is needed for this role to be eligible?
The offer must clear both the general threshold and the SOC 2137 going rate of £45,600. New-entrant and shortage discounts can lower it.