Staff Photonics Design & PDK Modeling Engineer

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!

We are hiring a Photonics PDK Modeling Engineer to join our team. In this role, you will develop our internal Process Design Kit (PDK). You will act as the architect of our component library, bridging the gap between photonics device design and system-level verification. You will develop robust compact models for active and passive components, ensuring that our simulation environment accurately predicts the behavior of our physical layouts. You will work heavily in Python, EDA tools, applying software engineering rigor to the challenges of photonic hardware design.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain a library of pcells using Python-based frameworks. Ensure strict synchronization between physical layout, logical netlists, and behavioral models.
• Create and verify physics based behavior models for passive and active devices.
• Design test structure, develop test plans for device FOMs extraction. Work with test engineers to get silicon data.
• Validate models against lab measurements. Perform data fitting and statistical analysis to align model parameters with real-world silicon performance.
• Automated Verification: 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

Qualifications

• Master’s +5 years experience or PhD +3 years experience in Electrical Engineering, Photonics, Physics, or related field.
• Deep understanding of photonic device physics and experience in device simulation.
• Experience building behavioral models for circuit simulators (e.g., Lumerical INTERCONNECT, Cadence, Synopsys OptSim, or custom Python solvers).
• Experienced 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 device
• Prior experience in using foundry-provided process design kits (PDKs), adhering to specific design rules and constraints, well understanding of DRC, LVS, etc.
• Experience working on large-scale designs using industry standard environments such as Cadence Virtuoso
• Experience in taping out and testing large-scale photonic integrated circuits, including familiarity with relevant testing equipment and methodologies.
• Possess strong project execution skills, demonstrating the ability to effectively manage multiple design priorities, adhere to project timelines, and meet critical 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 recognize your impact and contribution.

$185,000 - $220,000 USD

• 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
• 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.

Lightmatter follows a hybrid work model

Mountain View, CA

Toronto, Canada

Remote

U.S. Standard Demographic Questions

We invite applicants to share their demographic background. If you choose to complete this survey, your responses may be used to identify areas of improvement in our hiring process.

How would you describe your gender identity? Select...

How would you describe your racial/ethnic background? Select...

How would you describe your sexual orientation? Select...

Do you identify as transgender? Select...

Do you have a disability or chronic condition (physical, visual, auditory, cognitive, mental, emotional, or other) that substantially limits one or more of your major life activities, including mobility, communication (seeing, hearing, speaking), and learning? Select...

Are you a veteran or active member of the United States Armed Forces? Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Lightmatter’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.