Principal Hardware Systems Technical Lead
LightmatterJob Title
Principal Hardware Systems Technical Lead
Role Summary
Lead technical execution for hardware systems in Lightmatter's silicon-photonics AI and interconnect products. Drive board- and system-level design, integration, verification, and production readiness across electrical, mechanical, packaging, firmware, and software teams.
Provide technical leadership and mentorship to the Hardware Systems organization while delivering complex machine learning/HPC infrastructure platforms.
Experience Level
Senior-level. The role expects 15+ years of relevant industry experience.
Responsibilities
Accountable for end-to-end hardware systems development and cross-functional delivery.
- Provide technical leadership and mentorship to hardware engineers.
- Own multiple complex projects across the full lifecycle from concept through production release.
- Collaborate with system architects and technical leads to define system requirements for photonic AI infrastructure.
- Define, develop, and review PCBAs to meet electrical, power, and interface requirements.
- Lead hands-on integration, bench bring-up, verification, EVT/DVT, and production validation.
- Coordinate cross-functional tradeoffs with firmware, photonics, packaging, and software teams.
- Maintain thorough engineering documentation: schematics, design reviews, test plans, and validation reports.
- Research components and technologies to support product roadmaps and improve development processes.
Requirements
Must-have technical skills, domain experience, and workplace requirements.
- Proven track record of taking multiple complex hardware systems from concept to production.
- Deep knowledge of voltage regulation modules (VRMs), high-speed SerDes, and interfaces/protocols such as PCIe, Ethernet, SPI/QSPI, I3C, I2C, and JTAG.
- Experience leading multi-disciplinary development, integration, and troubleshooting across electrical, mechanical, and firmware domains.
- Hands-on experience with integration, verification, EVT/DVT, and production release activities.
- Strong ownership mindset and ability to operate in ambiguous, dynamic environments.
- Ability to comply with U.S. export control laws and related requirements.
Nice-to-have:
- Experience designing hardware systems for AI/HPC data center infrastructure, optical transceivers, or silicon photonics products.
- Familiarity with Systems Engineering practices (requirements traceability, FMEA, EVT/DVT/PVT planning).
- Experience with advanced packaging technologies and high-density PCB design.
Education Requirements
Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related discipline. The posting specifies 15+ years of relevant industry experience. (No alternative-equivalent-experience language was provided.)
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.
