Embedded Software Engineer, Lightmatter
Lasers
$140-160k
+ New hire equity grant + Annual performance-based equity
Office located in Mountain View, CA
Light-powered AI computing
Job no longer available
Light-powered AI computing
201-500 employees
Job no longer available
$140-160k
+ New hire equity grant + Annual performance-based equity
Office located in Mountain View, CA
201-500 employees
Company mission
To build an engine that will power discoveries, drive progress, and redefine what computers and human beings are capable of.
Role
Who you are
- BS and 2+ years of experience, or MS and 1+ years of experience
- Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or a related technical field
- Experience developing and shipping embedded or host-side control software
- Working understanding of hardware-software integration
- Practical knowledge of communication and control in embedded systems, peripherals, and buses (e.g., I2C, SPI, UART)
- Experience developing software or firmware on Linux
- Proficiency in Python and/or C++
- Proficiency with Git and familiarity with build systems such as CMake
- Candidates should have capacity to comply with the federally mandated requirements of U.S. export control laws
Desirable
- Experience building test infrastructure, hardware-in-the-loop test setups, or instrument automation frameworks
- Familiarity with CMIS or similar transceiver management interfaces
- Hands-on experience with debugging tools such as GDB, JTAG, and logic analyzers
- Exposure to control systems, signal processing, or feedback loop tuning
- Experience developing firmware or host software for transceivers, optical modules, or similar mixed-signal systems
- Familiarity with OpenBMC, DMTF, or similar datacenter management environments
- Exposure to optical communication systems, laser physics, or optical test and measurement
What the job involves
- In this role, you'll focus on host control software for lasers and own test infrastructure and embedded host controllers that we can lend into other programs for CMIS-based laser control
- You'll work alongside experienced engineers across photonics, analog, digital, systems, and networking to build the software foundation that powers laser bring-up, characterization, and qualification across multiple product lines
- This is an excellent opportunity to grow your embedded systems expertise while owning infrastructure that has direct, visible leverage across the company
- Develop and own host control software for lasers, including bring-up, configuration, and runtime control interfaces
- Build and maintain test infrastructure and embedded host controllers that can be reused across programs for CMIS-based laser control
- Collaborate across a multidisciplinary team including Photonic, Analog, Digital, Systems, and Network experts to support laser characterization, qualification, and integration
- Contribute to the diagnostics and monitoring stack for photonic transceivers
- Implement and tune portions of active laser control and stabilization algorithms with guidance from senior engineers
- Develop integrations with DataCenter administration capabilities using environments such as CMIS, OpenBMC, and DMTF
- Debug and troubleshoot embedded systems using tools such as GDB, JTAG, and logic analyzers
- Support bring-up and debug of lasers using optical test and measurement equipment
- Partner with hardware and test engineering teams to define interfaces and ensure host controllers meet the needs of multiple programs
Our take
Neural networks and CPUs are vital to AI solutions, but manufacturers have largely failed to maintain innovation in recent years. Lightmatter solves this problem by offering a next-generation computing platform powered by photonics (light waves).
Lightmatter offers a forward-facing platform for AI-building that acts as an alternative to traditional solutions. It works by replacing wired CPUs with a combination of photonics and new algorithms. Lightmatter's solution is not only faster, but it is considerably more sustainable, and it has the potential to drive the next generation of AI development.
As of early 2026, Lightmatter had raised $850 million across six funding rounds and grown to a staggering valuation of $4.4 billion. This showcases the growing demand for faster, more effective AI-building solutions. With products already on the market and a roadmap to tackle even more components in the years ahead, the future for Lightmatter certainly looks bright.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 6 rounds)
Oct 2024
$400m
SERIES D
Dec 2023
$155m
SERIES C
Total funding: $822m
Company benefits
- Commuter benefit
- Happy hour -Spend time together and build friendships
- Generous vacation policy and holidays
- 401(K)
- Opportunity to learn from your peers and teach them what you know across electronics, photonics, machine learning, and more
Company HQ
Old Mountain View, Mountain View, CA
Leadership
Nicholas Harris
(CEO & Co-Founder)Previously worked as an R&D Product Engineer at Micron Technology, and as a Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT.
Thomas Graham
(Head of ML & Co-Founder)Was an M&A Analyst at Morgan Stanley, and worked as an Agency Business Development Manager at Google.
Darius Bunandar
(Chief Scientist & Co-Founder)Worked as a Research Collaborator at Caltech, and was a PhD Candidate at MIT.
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