Photonics Architect (Boston and Mountain View)

Photonics Architect

Lightmatter builds chips that enable extreme-scale artificial intelligence computing clusters. If you're a collaborative engineer or scientist who has a passion for innovation, solving challenging technical problems, and doing impactful work like building the world's first optical computers, consider joining the team at Lightmatter!

We are hiring a Photonics Architect. The selected candidate will partner with external facing teams at Lightmatter and internal engineering teams to deliver groundbreaking products to the market. In this role, you will design and develop innovative photonics architecture solutions to deliver high-volume products for our customers. You will engage with our cross-disciplinary engineering teams to model and analyze solutions.  You may also test and measure prototypes to validate the models. This role requires a deep understanding of silicon photonics process technologies, state-of-the-art photonics designs, high-speed (40+ GHz) electro-optic interfaces, lasers, and packaging and assembly approaches. The role also requires creativity, analytical skills, and clear communication skills. You will represent the company externally at technical conferences as an example of our technical leadership.

Join a tight-knit team where each individual’s contributions directly influence the success of the company and product. You'll have the opportunity to build a new kind of computer from the ground up and to solve groundbreaking challenges along the way. Work with people who love to build and who thrive in technically diverse environments where great ideas are prioritized.

Responsibilities

• Engage in problem-solving and contributing to innovative high-performance architecture solutions
• Own the architecture, design, characterization, and packaging deliverables for a successful high-volume product
• Actively collaborate across disciplines—with electronics, photonics, and mechanical engineering teams—to design systems, algorithms, circuits, and devices that meet performance, power, and production requirements
• Actively collaborate with the engineering, product, sales, and architecture teams to define requirements for system, circuit, device characterization, debug, and validation
• Work with external vendors to ensure timely development and delivery of key photonics related processes and components
• Work closely with hardware and software teams on functionality, interfaces, and documentation
• Publish and present novel ideas, and participate in premier photonics conferences

This is not a complete listing of the responsibilities. It’s a representation of the things you will be doing

Requirements

• A Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, or similar discipline with at least 5 years of relevant experience, or equivalent experience

• Minimum 8 years of experience in photonic devices, photonic integrated circuits, and semiconductor physics 
• Minimum 5 years of experience in design, simulation, and characterization of microsystems that use silicon photonic integrated circuits
• Strong understanding of high-speed optical modulators and receivers in Si, lasers, and packaging 
• Experience in control of photonic integrated circuits
• Experience in architecting and modeling electro-optic interfaces and optical communication links
• Experience collaborating with photonics, electronics, mechanical, and packaging teams

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in integrated photonics for datacom is a plus
• Demonstrated strong problem solving skills specifically pertaining to problems that do not have obvious solutions
• Strong publication record in integrated photonics field is a plus
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Willing and able to learn quickly. Self-starter with a “no task is too big or small” attitude

Benefits

• Comprehensive Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
• 401k matching
• Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
• Generous Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
• Paid Family Leave
• Short Term & Long Term Disability
• Training & Development
• Flexible, hybrid workplace model
• Stock Option Plan

We offer competitive compensation. The base salary range for this role, including all US locations, is $220,000 to $265,000. Your base salary will be determined based on location, experience, educational background, and market data.

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.