Senior Photonics Circuit Design Engineer — Hybrid + Equity

Lightmatter; Mountain View (CA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health care plan

Retirement matching

Life insurance

Generous time off

Paid family leave

Disability coverage

Training & development

Commuter benefits

Flexible, hybrid workplace model

Equity grants

Job summary

Lightmatter is pioneering AI data center photonics. We design and model photonic and analog sub-circuits for Guide laser modules and Passage optical links, bridging device physics with circuit behavior.

You will build high-fidelity models, account for process variations, and enable end-to-end simulations used by architects to optimize performance. You will work with experts across fabrication, design, and testing, applying advanced photonics tools, Python scripting, and data-driven methods to

Qualifications

• Ph.D. or MS with substantial photonics/IC experience.
• Strong background in silicon photonics and analog circuit modeling.
• Experience with photonic modeling platforms and IC design suites.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Create high-fidelity compact and behavioral models for active and passive photonic elements.
• Incorporate process variations, dispersion, and thermal effects into models.
• Collaborate with device engineers to calibrate parameters using optical solvers and data across tapeouts.
• Develop sub-circuit simulations for Guide laser modules and Passage interconnects.
• Lead topologies refinement to meet performance, bandwidth, and noise targets.
• Perform corner and Monte Carlo analyses to assess tolerances and yields.
• Validate models against empirical silicon measurements across production cycles.

Skills

Silicon photonics physics

Analog circuit fundamentals

Python for modeling

Data-driven decision making

Modeling automation

Clear written/verbal communication

Education

Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering / Photonics or related, plus 2+ years (or MS with 5+ years)

Tools

Lumerical

RSoft

Tidy3D

Cadence Virtuoso/Spectre

Job description

Lightmatter is pioneering AI data center photonics. We design and model photonic and analog sub-circuits for Guide laser modules and Passage optical links, bridging device physics with circuit behavior.

You will build high-fidelity models, account for process variations, and enable end-to-end simulations used by architects to optimize performance. You will work with experts across fabrication, design, and testing, applying advanced photonics tools, Python scripting, and data-driven methods to