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 hiring a Physical Design Timing Engineer to help drive backend digital execution for some of the leading photonics based interconnect solutions. You will work alongside a team of world-class scientists and engineers in defining how the system will be optimized and trailblaze problems that are new to the industry. If your passion is innovation, solving challenging technical problems and doing impactful work you should join our team.
In this job you will be responsible for timing constraints development, STA and timing closure on leading edge CMOS technologies and flows. This includes synthesis through place and route, timing closure, and tapeout signoff.
Responsibilities- Drive the STA sign-off for our flagship Silicon photonics chips at various technology nodes.
- Analyze fab guidelines and work with the methodology team to incorporate sign off corners, margins, and derates into timing analysis flows and methodologies.
- Collaborate with the architecture, RTL, and DFT teams to analyze the timing complexities and develop consolidated timing modes and constraints for synthesis, along with PnR and chip timing sign-off flows.
- Analyze and understand the tradeoffs between power/performance and area goals to drive them into overall chip implementation flows.
- Run full-chip STA and accurately project the timing summary across scenarios.
- Leverage Tempus/PrimeTime to automate timing ECO generation for effective closure and support physical design implementation.
- Document best practices and lessons learned to drive continuous improvements in future projects.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer engineering
- 12 years of Physical Design experience, with a minimum of 5 years hands-on experience in ASIC STA and timing constraints development, timing closure with Cadence or Synopsys tools
- Experience in driving timing closure by effectively managing on-chip variation derates, optimizing multi-mode multi-corner constraints, and implementing robust clock tree building strategies
- Well versed with scripting languages like TCL and Python, PERL, or Shell
- Strong problem solving skills with attention to every technical aspect
- Be a strong team player with clear and precise communication skills
Preferred Qualifications:
- Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer engineering
- A minimum of 8 years of hands-on experience in ASIC STA and timing constraints development, timing closure with Cadence or Synopsys tools
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 Computer Engineering
- 12 years of Physical Design experience
- 5 years hands-on experience in ASIC STA and timing constraints development
- Experience with Cadence or Synopsys tools
- Well versed with scripting languages
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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