Sr Staff Photonics Design Engineer

Lightmatter builds chips for artificial intelligence computing that leverages unique properties of light for efficient computing and communications. If you're a collaborative engineer or scientist who has a passion for innovation, solving challenging technical problems and doing impactful work...work like building the world's first optical computers, consider joining the team at Lightmatter!

We are hiring a Sr. Photonics Designer. The selected candidate will partner with external facing teams at Lightmatter and the internal engineering team to deliver groundbreaking products to the market. As a designer, you will design, develop, build and test photonic systems that are key to our products. This will require a solid understanding of process technology, state-of-the-art in photonics design, and clear communication skills. You will represent the company externally at technical conferences as an example of our technical leadership.

We are seeking a motivated and dedicated hands-on Photonics Designer to help develop chips for our next-generation communication architecture alongside a team of world-class scientists and engineers.

From component-level to top-level design, you will be part of a team that enables high-bandwidth low-latency photonic interconnect/switch fabric. As a tech lead, you will also lead a team of photonic designers to deliver a high-volume product that delights our customers.

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.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop, grow, and lead a small team of photonic designers to design and deliver innovative high-performance photonic devices.
• Own the architecture, tapeout, characterization, and packaging deliverables of the team for a successful high-volume product.
• Actively collaborate across disciplines—with analog, digital, and physical design teams—to tapeout products and characterization devices.
• Actively collaborate with the product, sales, and architectural teams to define requirements for device characterization, debug, and validation.

• Publish and novel ideas related to photonics, and participate in premier optics/photonics conferences or difficulties, as well as mitigation strategies, around the execution of the proposed architecture

Requirements

• PhD in electrical engineering, physics, applied physics, or a discipline related to photonics
• In-depth knowledge of photonic devices and semiconductor physics
• Demonstrated track record of ownership of integrated silicon photonics components
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability and desire to collaborate in cross-disciplinary team
• Demonstrated strong problem solving skills specifically pertaining to problems that do not have obvious solutions
• Strong publication record in the field of photonics

Professional and Cultural Characteristics

• A culture champion for Lightmatter, aligns with the company’s light-hearted culture
• Willing and able to learn quickly. Self-starter with a “no task is too big or small” attitude
• Collaborates well with others regardless of discipline
• Innovative and flexible; realizes that a one-size-fits-all approach will not always solve the problem at hand
• Data-driven and analytical; translates numbers into actionable strategies
• Process-oriented and programmatic: builds structure through processes that can be relied upon across the organization

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
• Training & Development
• Flexible, hybrid workplace model
• Stock Option Plan

Base Compensation Range: 170,000 to 220,000 In accordance with the Colorado, California, and New York law, the range provided is Lightmatter's reasonable compensation estimate for this role. Actual pay will be based on several factors, including work experience, location, and education.

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.