Staff Photonics Design Engineer- Lasers

Socket.dev; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 200,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Care Plan

Retirement Matching

Equity grants

Hybrid workplace model

Training & Development

Job summary

Lightmatter is seeking a Photonics Design Engineer to design, layout, and test silicon photonics devices for an integrated laser system. You will collaborate with photonics, packaging, systems, and software teams to ensure designs meet performance targets and align with product requirements.

The role requires a PhD with 3+ years in silicon photonics, proficiency in Python, and experience with Lumerical and Tidy3D.

Qualifications

• PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Photonics or related field with at least 3 years of industry experience.
• Experience in silicon photonics device design, layout and testing in a product development setting.
• Proficiency with modelling and data analysis in Python.
• Experience with integrated lasers and SOAs.
• Excellent collaboration and communication across multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Design and optimise silicon photonic devices for laser systems (couplers, muxes, rings, switches).
• Layout device test structures and complex integrated photonic systems.
• Collaborate with characterisation, packaging, and systems teams to meet performance specs.
• Develop and execute test plans, analyse results, and troubleshoot issues.
• Publish photonics results and contribute to conferences.

Skills

Silicon photonics design

Python data analysis

Integrated lasers/SOAs

Communication skills

Problem solving

Education

PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Photonics or related

Tools

Lumerical

Tidy3D

Job description

Lightmatter is leading the revolution in AI data centre 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 centres 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 centre 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!

We are hiring a Photonics Design Engineer to join our development team. In this role, you will design, layout, and test silicon photonics devices for an integrated and scalable laser system. You will collaborate closely with cross‑functional teams including photonics, packaging, systems, and software to define and refine specifications, ensuring that all designs meet or exceed performance targets and align with product requirements.

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 innovative laser solutions from the ground up and tackle groundbreaking challenges. Work with people who love to build and who thrive in diverse technical environments where great ideas are prioritised.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and optimise silicon photonic devices for laser systems, including couplers, muxes, rings, switches, and other active and passive components.
• Layout device test structures as well as complex integrated photonic systems.
• Work with the characterisation team to develop and execute test plans for device validation, analysing results to assess performance and troubleshoot issues.
• Work closely with packaging and systems engineering teams to address integration challenges, ensuring high alignment between device and system requirements.
• Implement rigorous simulation, modelling, and testing methodologies to calibrate designs and optimise performance across manufacturing variability.
• Engage in problem solving and contribute to new device designs and architectures.
• Publish novel photonics results, and participate in premier optics/photonics conferences.

Required Qualifications

• PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Photonics, or related discipline with 3 years of industry experience.
• Experience in silicon photonics device design, layout, and testing, ideally in a product development environment.
• Demonstrated track record of designing integrated silicon photonics components using Lumerical, Tidy3D, or equivalent.
• Proficiency in modelling and data analysis in Python.
• Experience with integrated lasers, SOAs.
• Excellent communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary teams.
• Demonstrate strong problem solving skills in problems that do not have obvious solutions.
• Can‑do, positive attitude.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience doing layout with foundry PDKs.
• Experience with code‑based GDS creation such as GDS Factory or similar.
• Experience with optical and electronic test equipment, wafer‑level testing and statistical data analysis (e.g., optical spectrum analysers, tunable lasers, OBR/OVA, oscilloscopes, BERT).
• Strong project execution skills, with the ability to handle multiple priorities and meet project milestones.

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 recognise your impact and contribution.

$200,000 — $225,000 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, colour, 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.