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Photonics Architect

Lightmatter

$212,000 - $321,000 / year

Boston, MA; Mountain View, CA; Toronto, ONFull-timeOn-siteIntermediate

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Description

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!

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

We are hiring a Photonics Architect. The selected candidate will partner with the internal engineering team to deliver groundbreaking products to the market. As an architect, you will provide detailed technical documents that describe what needs to be built to the engineering team. This will require a solid understanding of process technology, state of the art in photonics design, and clear communication skills. In this role, you will be defining the (micro-)architecture for a ground-breaking photonic-based communication fabric. From component-level design to top-level layout, you will be part of a team that enables high-bandwidth low-latency photonic interconnect/switch fabric.

You will report directly to the Sr. Director of Architecture, but you will also work closely with our photonic and analog teams to define and optimize the features needed to improve the power, performance, and area (PPA) of the next generation product. 

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:

  • Propose innovative photonic designs—modulators, receivers, multiplexers, lasers, amplifiers—for the product.
  • Work closely with the photonic engineering design team to provide the performance, power, and area estimates of the photonic devices within Passage.
  • Actively collaborate with the analog engineering team to provide a high-bandwidth photonic interconnect solution.
  • Author, review, and validate architectural specifications.

Qualifications:

  • PhD in electrical engineering, physics, applied physics, or a discipline related to photonics.
  • In-depth knowledge of photonic devices and semiconductor physics.
  • Experience with integrated silicon photonics components. Preferably has experience with photonic simulation tools: FDTD, umerical, Verilog-A, VPI Photonics.
  • Ability and desire to collaborate in a cross-disciplinary team.
  • Demonstrated strong problem solving skills specifically pertaining to problems that do not have obvious solutions.

We offer competitive compensation. The base salary range for this role determined based on location, experience, educational background, and market data.

Salary Range: total compensation goes beyond base salary, it also includes a new hire equity grant, annual performance-based equity, and other rewards that recognize your impact and contribution.
$212,000—$321,000 USD

Benefits

  • 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. 

Benefits

  • health insurance
  • stock options
  • life insurance

About this role

Lightmatter is building photonic chips to power next-generation AI data centers, and this role sits at the architectural core of that mission. As Photonics Architect, you would design the optical components—modulators, receivers, multiplexers, lasers, amplifiers—that form the communication fabric of Passage™, the company's 3D-stacked photonics engine. Your work translates between high-level system needs and detailed technical specifications that guide the engineering teams, requiring you to balance performance, power, and area tradeoffs while collaborating closely with photonic and analog engineers.

This position demands deep expertise in integrated silicon photonics and semiconductor physics, backed by a PhD in electrical engineering, physics, or a related photonics discipline. You should be comfortable with photonic simulation tools like FDTD, Lumerical, Verilog-A, or VPI Photonics, and have a proven ability to solve complex problems without obvious solutions. The role reports to the Sr. Director of Architecture and requires strong cross-disciplinary collaboration in a technically rigorous environment.

You'd be based in Boston working full-time in-office, with compensation between $212,000 and $321,000 plus equity grants, comprehensive health benefits, paid family leave, and professional development support. This is an opportunity to contribute directly to infrastructure that shapes AI computing at scale, working alongside experienced scientists and engineers at a well-funded company.

How this employer is doing

solid

  • H1B: Sponsors Visas
  • Recently Raised Funding
  • Sponsors Visas

This role's local market on JobMinglr

Pay for this role

$212,000 to $321,000 per year

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