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Salary: USD 140,000 - 165,000 / annual
Lightmatter is building the world's first 3D-stacked photonics engine (Passage™) to enable extreme-scale AI and HPC data centers. The company recently raised $400M in Series D at a $4.4B valuation and is accelerating development across all departments.
In this role, you will join a multidisciplinary team pioneering next-generation photonic interconnect products. You'll own well-defined pieces of the embedded software stack end-to-end, working closely with photonic, analog, digital, and systems engineers.
Key responsibilities include:
- Implement and tune active laser control and stabilization algorithms on embedded targets, working from architecture defined with the cross-functional design team
- Own delivery of firmware components for photonic transceiver diagnostics, telemetry, and monitoring from requirements through bring-up, test, and release
- Contribute to control plane and diagnostics architecture discussions across the multidisciplinary team
- Integrate transceiver management and telemetry with data center administration interfaces (CMIS, OpenBMC, DMTF standards)
- Bring up new hardware alongside hardware engineers and debug embedded systems using GDB, JTAG, logic analyzers, and oscilloscopes
- Characterize and debug laser behavior using optical test and measurement equipment; build automated test and data collection scripts
- Adapt existing practices and devise new approaches where precedent is limited, working independently with review at critical checkpoints
- Write clear documentation and communicate findings with engineers outside your specialty
Your work will be visible in every product shipped. This is an opportunity to grow deep expertise in a domain where very few engineers have experience.
REQUIREMENTS:
- BS degree with 5+ years of experience, MS with 3+ years, or PhD (equivalent practical experience considered)
- Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or related technical field
- Experience contributing embedded software to a product that shipped to customers or hardware that reached production/field deployment
- Proficiency in C or C++; comfort with Python for tooling, test, and analysis
- Solid understanding of hardware-software integration, including common embedded peripherals and buses (I2C, SPI, UART, GPIO)
- Experience developing firmware in resource-constrained environments; experience in both bare-metal and RTOS systems preferred (FreeRTOS, Zephyr, or other modern RTOS)
- Hands-on lab experience debugging embedded systems with GDB, JTAG, logic analyzers, or oscilloscopes
- Working knowledge of Git and experience with CMake or comparable build system
- Demonstrated ability to take ownership of defined problems, work through ambiguity, and deliver on commitments in fast-moving environment
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Coursework, research, or industry experience in closed-loop control (designing, simulating, or deploying control algorithms)
- Experience developing firmware for optical transceivers, photonic systems, or precision analog/mixed-signal hardware
- Familiarity with CMIS, OpenBMC, DMTF/Redfish, or similar platform management environments
- Exposure to optical communication systems, laser physics, or thermal and wavelength stabilization techniques
- Familiarity with optical test and measurement and methodologies for characterizing optical components and systems
- Experience building test automation, hardware-in-the-loop test benches, or CI for firmware
- Track record of learning unfamiliar technical domains quickly and becoming the go-to person for questions
