Photonics Hardware Validation Engineer

The job

LIVE Employer public job feed (private-sector employer) Source: the employer's public careers feed · Data: listed 2026-07-09

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!

In this role, you will design, develop, and build photonic test systems that are critical to the characterization and validation of our products. You will collaborate closely with device, hardware, software, and digital and analog design teams to support the end-to-end development, validation, and qualification of photonic systems and their key components.

Join a tight-knit team where each individual’s contributions directly impact the success of the company and our innovative products. At Lightmatter, you’ll have the opportunity to work with people who love to build and thrive in technically diverse environments where great ideas are valued and prioritized.

We are hiring a Photonics Hardware Validation Engineer to join our Validation team to drive photonics testing, characterization and validation of our silicon photonics-based optical Interconnect Products.

Responsibilities

• You will need to understand our chip specifications well so that you can take responsibility for chip bring-up, testing, and validation of our next-generation Optical Interconnect products. This includes supporting the development of chip validation plans aligned to product specifications, xDVT, and interoperability testing.
• You will be required to contribute to test plan development, test bench configuration planning, setup of lab test equipment, and troubleshooting of validation setups to enable successful chip bring-up and testing.
• You will work within the product validation team on electro-optic, link-level testing in our lab using industry-standard practices and equipment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field.
• Hands-on experience with standard bench test equipment for data communications, including electro-optic link testing and characterization.
• Experience in the data communications field, specifically in electro-optic link-level testing and characterization in a lab environment.
• Familiarity with PCB design, including hardware testing and debugging of electro-optic circuits.
• Ability to work closely with Design Engineers, Software Engineers, and broader cross-functional teams to quickly gain knowledge of Lightmatter products and drive execution of chip bring-up and validation in our lab.
• Basic scripting skills for automation of lab tests including analysis of results and report generation.
• Solid understanding of electrical and optical blocks in transmitters and receivers to enable efficient chip bring-up and link testing.
• Ability to troubleshoot and debug the electrical optical building blocks in a transceiver to triage bugs and root-cause performance gaps.

Preferred Qualifications:

• PhD is a plus
• Experience with high-speed data communication systems, including NRZ and PAM4 signaling.
• Familiarity with industry standards such as IEEE, OIF-CEI, or similar for data communication systems.
• Proficiency in Python, MATLAB, or similar tools for scripting and automation.
• Strong documentation skills to develop clear test plans, reports, and technical presentations.
• Prior experience in leading or mentoring junior engineers in lab validation and testing workflows.

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

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. 

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Field: Engineering, Construction and Energy Sub-niche: Manufacturing and hardware engineering All jobs at Lightmatter Jobs in California Jobs in Mountain View, CA California state guide

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About the role

This is a — role in the Engineering, Construction and Energy field (Manufacturing and hardware engineering) at Lightmatter.

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The city

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The state economy in brief

California is in the West region (Pacific division) and has 39,287,376 residents (the 1st largest of the 50 states and DC by population), with a median age of 37.9. Its economy produced about $4,438,822 million in the latest four quarters (BEA), 1st among states and DC, equal to $112,983 per resident.

Jobs and the labour market

The unemployment rate was 5.1% in 2026M09, which is 49th lowest of 51 (1st is the lowest). Employers had job openings equal to 3.6% of employment, 37th highest of 51, a measure of how hard it is to hire. The median wage across all occupations is $58,240 a year ($28.00 an hour), 14% above the national median ($58,240 against $50,980).

What people do and what it pays

The occupations with the most jobs in California are Home Health and Personal Care Aides (970,150 jobs, median $34,320); Fast Food and Counter Workers (449,840 jobs, median $42,280); Retail Salespersons (376,460 jobs, median $38,440); Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand (355,500 jobs, median $44,710); Registered Nurses (338,940 jobs, median $140,270). Among occupations with at least 2,000 jobs, the best paid are Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers (median $353,900); Psychiatrists (median $353,500); General Internal Medicine Physicians (median $313,890). Compared with the nation, the state is most specialised in farming, fishing, and forestry (4.1 times the national share of workers) and healthcare support (1.5 times the national share of workers).

Cost of living, taxes and workplace rules

Prices are above the national average in California: the regional price parity is 110.7 against 100 for the whole country (51st lowest of 51). Median gross rent is $2,036 a month and the median household income $99,122, so a year of rent equals 24.6% of income; the median home value is $734,700. The state minimum wage is $16.90 (the higher of state and federal rates applies to most workers). State income tax on wages: Graduated, top rate 13.30%. It is not a right-to-work state, so union contracts can require fees from covered workers. It runs a state paid family and medical leave programme.

People and commuting

27.0% of residents were born abroad and 37.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Among workers, 65.7% drive alone, 2.9% use public transit and 17.2% work from home; 19.4% commute 45 minutes or more.

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The employer

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FAQ

What is the Photonics Hardware Validation Engineer job at Lightmatter?

A private-sector role in engineering, construction and energy (manufacturing and hardware engineering) listed 124 days ago. The full description is on this page and on the employer's page.

Where is this job?

Mountain View, CA.

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How much does it pay?

The listing does not publish pay, and we could not match the title to one official occupation.

What is the cost of living there?

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How old is this listing?

It was posted on 2026-07-09 (124 days ago). Jobs older than 90 days are not shown.

Are there similar jobs?

Yes: browse manufacturing and hardware engineering jobs in California.

Sources and terms

• Job data: Lightmatter careers page public feed (listing dated 2026-07-09). The job disappears from this site when it disappears from the source.
• Wages and projections: BLS OEWS (May 2025) and Employment Projections 2025–35.
• City and county figures: Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024, BEA, BLS QCEW and LAUS, NASA POWER climatology; distances from Census Gazetteer coordinates.

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Sources

• BLS OEWS (wages and employment by occupation, May 2025)
• BLS Employment Projections 2025–35
• BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
• BLS JOLTS
• BLS State and Metro Area Employment
• Census Bureau American Community Survey (via Census Reporter)
• BEA GDP by state and Regional Price Parities
• IRS 2026 tax adjustments
• U.S. Department of Labor, minimum wage by state
• Tax Foundation state income tax rates 2026
• USAJOBS
• USCIS
• U.S. Department of State, visas
• NASA POWER climatology
• GeoNames / Census Gazetteer (coordinates)