Senior Technical Program Manager

Lightmatter; Mountain View (CA); Hybrid; USD 189,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Retirement Savings Matching Program

Life Insurance

Generous Time Off

Paid Family Leave

Short Term & Long Term Disability

Training & Development

Flexible, hybrid workplace model

Equity grants

Job summary

Lightmatter in Mountain View, CA is hiring a Senior Technical Program Manager to coordinate the engineering effort behind Lightmatter’s AI and Chiplet Interconnect products. You will lead program management for Lightmatter’s silicon hardware engineering team from design through production, collaborating with engineering teams across the company to plan and drive the team's objectives.

In this role, you will gather requirements, drive quality initiatives, manage technical risks, and plan

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience with silicon design and tapeout, and product qualification.
• Experience with product qualification lifecycle (EVT, DVT, PVT).
• Prior semiconductor engineering experience (chip, systems, or product).
• Bachelor’s degree in a technical field.

Responsibilities

• Organize and drive planning, scheduling, and day-to-day execution for silicon, package and systems development.
• Collaborate with leads and engineering teams to estimate and prioritize tasks for quality and timely delivery.
• Develop and lead project plans (scope, schedule, budget) aligned with partners and business needs.
• Manage project schedules and quality, identify issues and risks, and communicate them to stakeholders.
• Facilitate recurring project meetings and checkpoints throughout project life cycle.
• Provide hands-on project management and cross-functional coordination for successful outcomes.
• Oversee release schedules and milestones in a fast-paced environment.
• Engage with vendors and customers in external programs.

Skills

Silicon design

Tapeout

Product qualification

PM tools experience

Cross-functional leadership

Strong communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in a technical field

Tools

MS-Project

Asana

Smartsheet

Job 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!

About the job

We are hiring a Senior Technical Program Manager to help coordinate the engineering effort behind Lightmatter’s AI and Chiplet Interconnect products. You will lead program management for Lightmatter’s silicon hardware engineering team from design through production, collaborating with engineering teams across the company to plan and drive the team's objectives. This role will span silicon development, packaging, assembly, and test phases.

In this role, you will collaborate constantly with engineering teams across the company to plan and drive objectives for the group. You will gather requirements, drive quality initiatives, manage technical risks, and plan for all phases of the silicon design process. In addition, you’ll partner with executives and engineering leadership to develop and manage milestones and schedules for the many moving parts that need to come together.

Responsibilities

• Organize and expertly drive planning, scheduling, and day-to-day execution to support Lightmatter’s silicon, package and systems development
• Collaborate with leads and engineering teams in effectively estimating and prioritizing tasks in order to maintain excellent quality on a realistic delivery schedule
• Develop and lead project plans (scope, schedule, and budget) to ensure alignment with key partners and business needs
• Manage project schedules and quality, identify possible issues and risks, and clearly communicate them to project stakeholders
• Facilitate recurring project meetings and operational checkpoint activities throughout the life cycle of projects
• Set clear and targeted communication to management of project information, including project plan, key dates, and project status
• Provide the required hands‑on project management, cross‑functional coordination, and internal and external team communications to deliver outstanding program outcomes
• Take responsibility for release schedules and milestones in a fast‑paced environment
• Opportunities to engage with vendors and customers in external program

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience with silicon design and tapeout, and product qualification
• Bachelor’s degree in a technical field
• Experience with product qualification lifecycle (EVT, DVT, PVT)
• Prior semiconductor engineering experience (chip, systems, or product)
• Experience influencing decisions and leading teams in a matrix environment
• Attention to detail and strong ability to multitask in an ever‑changing fast‑paced environment
• Proven ability to identify and implement process improvements, characterized by a high level of responsiveness and passion for enhancing operational efficiency
• Expert user of program management tools such as MS-Project, Asana, Smartsheet, or similar
• Excellent communications and technical presentation skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of photonic structures, optical communication, and laser solutions
• Experience setting up project management initiatives from scratch in either a startup or a new business unit environment

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.

$189,000 - $250,000 USD

• 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
• 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.