Hardware Systems Technical Lead

Job Title

Hardware Systems Technical Lead

Role Summary

Technical lead for the Hardware Systems organization responsible for designing, integrating, and delivering board- and system-level solutions using silicon photonics for AI/HPC data center products.

The role partners with system architects and cross-functional teams (IC, packaging, mechanical, firmware, software) to drive products from concept through production, and mentors engineers on the team.

Experience Level

Senior - 12+ years of relevant industry experience.

Responsibilities

Accountable for end-to-end hardware systems development and cross-functional delivery.

• Collaborate with system architects and technical leads to define system requirements and architecture for photonic AI infrastructure.
• Own hardware systems throughout full lifecycle: concept, prototyping, verification (EVT/DVT), and production release.
• Define, develop, and review PCBAs to meet electrical, power, and interface requirements.
• Lead hands-on integration, bench bring-up, verification, validation, and production troubleshooting.
• Drive cross-functional coordination with firmware, photonics, packaging, mechanical, and software teams to resolve dependencies and tradeoffs.
• Maintain engineering documentation: schematics, design reviews, test plans, and validation reports.
• Research components and technologies for current and next-generation product goals and contribute to the technology roadmap.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to engineering team members.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills, experience, and compliance capability.

• 12+ years of relevant industry experience delivering complex hardware systems from concept to production.
• Deep knowledge of VRMs, high-speed SerDes, and interfaces/protocols including PCIe, Ethernet, SPI/QSPI, I3C, I2C, and JTAG.
• Proven experience leading multi-disciplinary integration and troubleshooting across electrical, mechanical, and firmware domains.
• Experience with hands-on integration, verification, and validation activities (bench bring-up, EVT/DVT, production release).
• Strong documentation practices for schematics, test plans, and validation reports.
• Demonstrated ownership and ability to operate in ambiguous, fast-paced environments.
• Ability to comply with U.S. export control laws and related export-control requirements.
• Nice-to-have: experience with AI/HPC data center hardware, optical transceivers or silicon photonics, advanced packaging, high-density PCB design, and Systems Engineering practices (requirements traceability, FMEA, EVT/DVT/PVT planning).

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related technical discipline is stated as the expected academic background (source lists Bachelor's in EE or related). No other degrees or certifications were specified.

About the Company

Company: Lightmatter

Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Lightmatter develops photonic AI data-center infrastructure and optical chips for extreme-scale AI and HPC. The company invented the Passage 3D‑stacked photonics engine to provide high-bandwidth, low-latency interconnects across large-scale processors and raised $400M in Series D financing at a reported $4.4B valuation.