Lightmatter is leading the revolution in AI data center infrastructure, enabling the next giant leaps in human progress. The company invented the world’s first 3D-stacked photonics engine, Passage™, capable of connecting thousands to millions of processors at the speed of light in extreme-scale data centers for the most advanced AI and HPC workloads.
Lightmatter raised $400 million in its Series D round, reaching a valuation of $4.4 billion. We will continue to accelerate the development of data center photonics and grow every department at Lightmatter!
If you're passionate about tackling complex challenges, making an impact, and being an expert in your craft, join our team of brilliant scientists, engineers, and accomplished industry leaders.
Lightmatter is (re)inventing the future of computing with light!
We are looking for a talented engineer to provide technical leadership to the Hardware Systems organization to help us build the next generation of silicon photonics based artificial intelligence accelerators and interconnect products. As a Hardware Systems Technical Lead, you will be responsible for delivering board and system solutions using Lightmatter’s innovative technology to create state of the art machine learning/artificial intelligence or massive scale-out interconnect platforms. You will work closely with our hardware and software teams, including mechanical, packaging, and IC engineering, to design and build leading edge system level products.
Responsibilities
- Collaborate with system architects and technical leads to define and develop hardware systems for photonic AI infrastructure applications
- Own hardware systems development throughout the full lifecycle, from concept through production
- Define, develop, and review PCBAs to meet system-level electrical, power, and interface requirements
- Lead hands-on integration, verification, and validation across bench bring-up, EVT/DVT, and production release
- Drive cross-functional collaboration with firmware, photonics, packaging, and software teams to resolve dependencies and manage tradeoffs
- Maintain thorough hardware documentation for schematics, design reviews, test plans, validation reports, and other engineering documentation
- Research components and technologies to meet current and next-generation product goals and contribute to the technology roadmap, and improve development processes and engineering best practices
- Mentor and provide technical guidance to engineers on the team
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related discipline with 12+ years of relevant industry experience
- Demonstrated track record of taking multiple complex hardware systems from concept through production
- Deep knowledge of VRMs, high-speed SerDes, and interfaces/protocols including PCIe, Ethernet, SPI/QSPI, I3C, I2C, and JTAG
- Experience leading multi-disciplinary development, integration, and troubleshooting across electrical, mechanical, and firmware domains
- Strong ownership mindset with the ability to work in ambiguous and dynamic environments
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience designing hardware systems for AI/HPC data center infrastructure, optical transceivers, or silicon photonics products
- Experience with Systems Engineering methodology, including requirements definition and traceability, FMEA, and EVT/DVT/PVT planning and execution
- Familiarity with advanced packaging technologies and high-density PCB design
We offer competitive compensation. The base salary range for this role determined based on location, experience, educational background, and market data.
- Comprehensive Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
- Retirement Savings Matching Program
- Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
- Generous Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
- Paid Family Leave
- Short Term & Long Term Disability
- Training & Development
- Commuter Benefits
- Flexible, hybrid workplace model
- Equity grants (applicable to full-time employees)
Benefits eligibility may vary depending on your employment status and location. Lightmatter recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, veteran status, and other protected status as required by applicable law.
Export Control
Candidates should have capacity to comply with the federally mandated requirements of U.S. export control laws.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related discipline with 12+ years of relevant industry experience
- Proven track record taking complex hardware systems from concept through production
- Deep knowledge of VRMs, high-speed SerDes, and interfaces/protocols including PCIe, Ethernet, SPI/QSPI, I3C, I2C, and JTAG
- Experience leading multi-disciplinary development, integration, and troubleshooting across electrical, mechanical, and firmware domains
- Strong ownership mindset with ability to work in ambiguous and dynamic environments
- Capacity to comply with U.S. export control laws
- Experience designing hardware systems for AI/HPC data center infrastructure, optical transceivers, or silicon photonics products
- Experience with Systems Engineering methodology, including requirements definition and traceability, FMEA, and EVT/DVT/PVT planning and execution
- Familiarity with advanced packaging technologies and high-density PCB design
Lightmatter Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Lightmatter and has not been reviewed or approved by Lightmatter.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is considered competitive for specialized photonics and AI‑hardware roles, with posted ranges and third‑party totals aligning to strong market levels. Compensation for niche roles is framed as consistent with top‑tier hardware/photonics expectations.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare is described as comprehensive, covering medical, dental, and vision in current postings. Additional protections like life insurance and disability are also called out.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity grants for full‑time employees are commonly included alongside base pay. Some postings also mention performance‑based equity components.
Lightmatter Insights
What We Do
Lightmatter is a startup photonics company that has pioneered a new paradigm in processor chip architecture that uses photons instead of electrons. Now the leader in the photonic AI compute “space race,” this new class of high performance semiconductors is the foundation of Lightmatter’s mission to enable the growth of computing, reduce harmful emissions associated with this growth, and democratize computing for all. Lightmatter's technology accelerates critical operations in deep neural networks, using an array of programmable photonic elements fabricated alongside transistors in conventional computer chip fabrication processes. Our close-knit team of engineers has created an integrated photonics chip and ultra-high performance interconnect that is faster, more efficient, and cooler than anything else on earth (or anything ever experienced before) to power the next giant leaps in human progress.
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