Photonics Hardware Validation Engineer

Job Title

Photonics Hardware Validation Engineer

Role Summary

Design, develop, and build photonic test systems to characterize and validate silicon photonics-based optical interconnect products. Work closely with device, hardware, software, and analog/digital design teams to support chip bring-up, validation, and qualification.

Contribute to test plan creation, lab test bench configuration, and troubleshooting to enable reliable electro-optic and link-level testing in a product validation environment.

Experience Level

Mid-level (Mid-Career). The posting does not specify years of experience; similar roles typically expect ~3–7 years of relevant lab validation or test engineering experience.

Responsibilities

Core responsibilities focus on chip bring-up, validation test execution, and lab infrastructure.

• Develop and execute chip validation plans aligned to product specifications, xDVT, and interoperability tests.
• Plan and configure test benches; set up and maintain lab test equipment for electro-optic and link-level testing.
• Perform chip bring-up, measurement, characterization, and qualification of optical interconnect products.
• Troubleshoot validation setups, debug failures, and triage electrical/optical performance issues to identify root causes.
• Run link-level testing in the lab following industry-standard practices and produce technical test reports.
• Collaborate with design, software, and cross-functional teams to resolve issues and drive product readiness.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and practical lab experience required to perform validation and bring-up.

• Hands-on experience with bench test equipment for data communications and electro-optic link testing/characterization.
• Experience in data communications lab environments performing electro-optic link-level testing.
• Familiarity with PCB design and hardware testing/debugging of electro-optic circuits.
• Basic scripting skills to automate lab tests, analyze results, and generate reports (Python, MATLAB, or similar preferred).
• Solid understanding of electrical and optical transmitter/receiver building blocks to enable efficient bring-up and link testing.
• Proven ability to troubleshoot transceiver electrical/optical subsystems and triage performance gaps.
• Strong documentation skills for clear test plans, results, and technical presentations.
• Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams and mentor junior engineers is desirable.
• Candidates must have the capacity to comply with U.S. export control laws.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field is required. A PhD is listed as a plus. (The posting did not state an "equivalent experience" clause.)

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.