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!
As a Design Verification Engineer at Lightmatter, you will find yourself at the heart of a dynamic, interdisciplinary team. Your role will involve close collaboration with our digital design experts, using UVM testbench techniques to rigorously verify their designs. Your responsibilities will include working alongside photonic and analog designers, gaining a deep understanding of their innovative designs, and applying Real Number Modeling (RNM) and AMS verification methods. This critical function ensures the integrity of their work. We are hiring at multiple levels.
Your interaction with the Architecture team will be crucial in comprehending system requirements and spearheading performance verification. This role offers a unique platform to enhance your skills across a spectrum of areas including UVM, AMS modeling, mixed-signal verification, post-silicon validation formal verification, emulation, and both performance modeling and verification.
Responsibilities
- Define and enhance the DV methodologies required for integrated digital, analog, and photonic devices with a strong emphasis on emulation for design verification.
- Create and execute test plans to ensure high-quality tapeouts that meet functional and performance goals, while leveraging emulation where appropriate.
- Collaborate with architects, DV engineers, digital designers, and analog/photonics designers to define validation flows.
- Create reusable and scalable test bench components that enable efficient and effective verification.
- Close coverage and finish all DV signoff requirements, with a focus on leveraging mixed signal simulations to achieve high coverage metrics
- Work on block level and full chip design verification.
- Integrate analog design IPs from vendors and internal teams and develop verification environments for simulation and emulation.
- Work with analog design engineers to create behavioral models for analog designs and with digital design engineers to integrate models/testcase/checkers into upper levels
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, a related field, or equivalent experience
- Minimum of 8 years of design verification and SystemVerilog experience
- 2+ years of experience in Python
- Expertise in developing with the UVM library
- Experience with simulators such as Xcelium, ModelSim, Questa, or VCS
- Strong problem solver and collaborator
Preferred Qualifications
- Master’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, a related field, or equivalent experience with 6 years of relevant experience
- Experience with post-silicon validation and debug
- Experience with AMS verification
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, Computer Engineering, or related field
- Minimum of 8 years of design verification and SystemVerilog experience
- 2+ years of experience in Python
- Expertise in developing with the UVM library
- Experience with simulators such as Xcelium, ModelSim, Questa, or VCS
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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