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!
The New Product Introduction (NPI) Engineer supports the development, assembly, testing, and troubleshooting of advanced computing systems and prototypes. Work closely with hardware engineers, software engineers and contract manufacturers, contributing directly to board-level and system-level test, bring-up, validation, and debug.
The NPI Engineer plays a critical role in bridging the gap between design engineers and contract manufacturing. This position is responsible for ensuring that new products are introduced into production smoothly, efficiently, and with the highest quality standards. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in engineering, manufacturing processes, and project management. This position will be responsible for developing and implementing manufacturing processes, creating documentation, conducting design for manufacturability (DFM) reviews, and leading pilot builds in-house and at external CMs.
Responsibilities
- Key responsibilities include evaluating boards, components, and subassemblies for manufacturability, identifying potential production issues early in the development cycle, and working with internal design teams and external suppliers to resolve them.
- Creating and maintaining process documentation such as work instructions, process flow diagrams, and control plans.
- Assist with the assembly and integration of complex electromechanical and electronic systems, including PCBA, chassis, and rack-level hardware.
- Triage and debug build issues – in-house and at external contract manufacturing sites.
- Collaborate with relevant SMEs to root-cause and deploy corrective measures, and actively track build progress.
- Execute and document test procedures, including setup, data collection, and issue tracking.
- Troubleshoot and identify root causes of hardware issues, including short circuits, signal integrity problems, and power-related faults.
- Read and interpret electrical schematics and mechanical drawings to assist in assembly and debugging.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or similar discipline.
- 5+ years of experience in Electrical Design, NPI, or manufacturing engineering.
- Strong understanding of manufacturing processes and quality systems.
- Experience with DFM/DFA principles and tools.
- Proficiency in CAD software and engineering documentation.
- Excellent project management and organizational skills.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
- Effective communication and teamwork skills.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment.
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 a similar discipline
- 5+ years of experience in electrical design, NPI, or manufacturing engineering
- Strong understanding of manufacturing processes and quality systems
- Experience with DFM/DFA principles and tools
- Proficiency in CAD software and engineering documentation
- Excellent project management and organizational skills
- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities
- Effective communication and teamwork skills
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment
- Capacity to comply with federally mandated U.S. export control laws
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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