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Salary: USD 185,000 - 220,000 / annual
Lightmatter is a venture-backed photonics infrastructure company that has raised $400M in Series D funding at a $4.4B valuation. The company invented Passage™, a 3D-stacked photonics engine designed to connect thousands to millions of processors at the speed of light for advanced AI and HPC workloads in data centers.
You will join as a Staff Photonics Design & PDK Modeling Engineer, serving as the architect of Lightmatter's internal Process Design Kit (PDK). This is a high-impact individual contributor role bridging photonics device design and system-level verification. You will own the development and maintenance of the component library, ensuring strict synchronization between physical layout, logical netlists, and behavioral models.
Key responsibilities include:
- Develop and maintain a library of parametric cells (pcells) using Python-based frameworks, ensuring alignment between physical layout, logical netlists, and behavioral models
- Create and verify physics-based behavioral models for passive and active photonic devices
- Design test structures and develop test plans for device figure-of-merit (FOM) extraction; collaborate with test engineers to obtain silicon data
- Validate models against lab measurements through data fitting and statistical analysis to align model parameters with real-world silicon performance
- Implement regression testing and continuous integration (CI) pipelines to ensure PDK updates do not break legacy designs or connectivity logic
- Actively collaborate with design, analog, digital, and architecture engineers to deliver high-impact tape-outs
You will work heavily in Python and EDA tools, applying software engineering rigor to photonic hardware design challenges. The role offers the opportunity to shape the foundational infrastructure for next-generation AI data center systems.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Master's degree + 5 years of experience OR PhD + 3 years of experience in Electrical Engineering, Photonics, Physics, or related field
- Deep understanding of photonic device physics and hands-on experience in device simulation
- Experience building behavioral models for circuit simulators (e.g., Lumerical INTERCONNECT, Cadence, Synopsys OptSim, or custom Python solvers)
- Proficiency in Python for modeling, automation, and data analysis; comfortable with object-oriented programming and scientific libraries (NumPy, SciPy)
- Python-based layout experience
- Demonstrated strong problem-solving skills for problems without obvious solutions
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Proficiency with Python-based layout tools such as gdstk, GDSFactory, and KLayout
- Experience with Python-native circuit simulation ecosystems (e.g., SAX, Photontorch, Simphony)
- Experience with VerilogA/Spectre equivalent circuit modeling for photonics devices
- Prior experience using foundry-provided PDKs, adhering to design rules and constraints; strong understanding of DRC and LVS
- Experience with large-scale designs using industry-standard environments such as Cadence Virtuoso
- Experience taping out and testing large-scale photonic integrated circuits, including familiarity with relevant testing equipment and methodologies
- Strong project execution skills, ability to manage multiple design priorities, adhere to timelines, and meet critical milestones
