About Us​

Pilot Photonics is a progressive photonics product development company based, since 2024, in DCU Alpha in Dublin, Ireland.

We design and build unique laser and photonic integrated circuit (PIC)-based products that exceed the capabilities of products currently on the market. Pilot Photonics’ innovations are based on a decade of photonics research at two centres of excellence, the Tyndall National Institute and Dublin City University in Ireland. Our core technologies and applications have been peer reviewed and published in more than 100 publications, including Nature Communications and Science Advances. Pilot Photonics is supported by Kernel Capital, Infinity Capital, AIB Seed Capital Fund, the Irish state agency Enterprise Ireland, the EU through the European Innovation Council, and the European Space Agency.

The company prides itself on its “full stack photonics” offering, with design and validation capabilities ranging all the way from epitaxial wafer design through PIC, packaging and RF design, up to digital electronics and software control. This capability combined with a strong IP portfolio, state of the art infrastructure and world-class partnerships enables the company to deliver innovative products, and a compelling roadmap and vision. Pilot counts among its customers, leading Tier 1 corporations in several industry verticals.

 

 

 

 

 

Our People

William Opperman is Chief Executive Officer at Pilot Photonics

William Oppermann

CEO

Dr. Frank Smyth is Chief Technical Officer and Founder of Pilot Photonics

Dr. Frank Smyth

CTO and Co-founder

Nicola Smyth is Chief Financial Officer at Pilot Photonics

Nicola Smyth

CFO

Robert McDonnell is Chief Operations Officer at Pilot Photonics

Robert MacDonnell

COO

Gavin King is Operations MAnager at Pilot Photonics

Gavin King

Operations Manager

Damian Colour

Damian McGillivary

Sales Director

Dr. Desi Gutierrez is Director of Photonics at Pilot Photonics

Dr. Desi Gutierrez

Director of Photonics

Jules Braddell is the Director of Engineering at Pilot Photonics

Jules Braddell

Director of Innovation

Dr. Gaurav Jain is the Research and Development Manager at Pilot Photonics

Dr. Gaurav Jain

Research and Development Manager

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Alison Kearney

Senior Photonics Engineer & Programme Manager

Dr. Shane Duggan is Senior PIC Design Engineer at Pilot Photonics

Dr. Shane Duggan

Principal PIC Design Engineer

Dr. Ankit Sharma is Senior Photonics Engineer at Pilot Photonics

Dr. Ankit Sharma

Senior Photonics Engineer

Chris McGuinness is a Photonics Technician at Pilot Photonics

Chris McGuinness

Photonics Engineer

Dr. Robert McKenna is a PIC Design Engineer at Pilot Photonics

Dr. Robert McKenna

Senior PIC Design Engineer

Dr. Caolán Murphy is a Photonics Engineer at Pilot Photonics

Dr. Caolán Murphy

Senior Photonics Engineer

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David Coffey

Principal RF & Electonics Engineer

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Cristian Vargas

Photonics Engineer

Our Advisors

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Dr. Stan Lumish

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Shoa-kai Liu

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Prof. Andrew Ellis

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Prof. Liam Barry

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Prof. Prince Anandarjah

Want to know more ?

Pilot Photonics Enabling single-chip photonic integrated circuits with comb-enhanced capabilities at wafer scale, today.

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