SlipstreamJobs tracks this role from the company's public career site. Apply directly on the employer's site.
Lightmatter is a venture-backed company revolutionizing AI data center infrastructure through photonics technology. The company recently raised $400M in Series D funding at a $4.4B valuation and invented Passage™, a 3D-stacked photonics engine enabling ultra-high-speed processor interconnection for advanced AI and HPC workloads.
As Head of Chip Architecture, you will lead the chip architecture function, guiding and mentoring a cross-disciplinary team of photonics, digital, and analog architects. You'll define advanced chip architectures for co-packaged optics and datacenter/AI compute optical interconnects, driving co-optimization of SerDes, analog front ends, and optical transceivers to achieve best-in-class performance, energy efficiency, and cost.
Key responsibilities include: leading architecture teams through development, tapeout, and validation cycles; providing technical leadership across engineering; representing architecture in executive reviews and customer negotiations; serving as primary technical liaison for key customers and partners on current and future chip roadmaps; driving technical selling by articulating competitive advantages and performance metrics; partnering with Product and Sales on next-generation photonic products; researching emerging optical interconnect technologies and aligning roadmaps with market trends; and developing new IP for publication and conference presentation.
You'll work at the intersection of technical depth and business impact, translating complex photonics concepts for both technical and non-technical stakeholders, and representing Lightmatter as an industry ambassador at premier conferences.
Required qualifications: Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, or related field with 10+ years of relevant experience and team leadership; proven managerial experience with strong track record growing high-performing teams; deep technical knowledge in photonic/AMS chip co-design; demonstrated success developing, taping out, and bringing up state-of-the-art photonic/AMS chips; proven track record taking at least two chip architectures from concept to high-volume production; experience as primary technical contact with major external customers/partners; ability to translate complex concepts into compelling business propositions; strong project planning and execution skills; cross-functional collaboration capability; and deep understanding of market trends in optical interconnects.
