Staff Software Development Test Engineer, Lightmatter

Bay Area

$160-180k

+ Equity grants

SQL

AWS

Python

Git

Senior and Expert level

San Francisco Bay Area

Office located in Mountain View, CA and Palo Alto, CA

Light-powered AI computing

Open for applications

Light-powered AI computing

201-500 employees

B2BArtificial IntelligenceManufacturingDeep TechMachine LearningScience

Open for applications

$160-180k

+ Equity grants

SQL

AWS

Python

Git

Senior and Expert level

San Francisco Bay Area

Office located in Mountain View, CA and Palo Alto, CA

201-500 employees

B2BArtificial IntelligenceManufacturingDeep TechMachine LearningScience

Company mission

Lightmatter's mission is to build an engine that will power discoveries, drive progress, and redefine what computers and human beings are capable of.

Job

Company

Role

Who you are

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
Previous experience in laser test software development will be a great advantage
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, relevant technical field, or equivalent practical experience
8+ years of experience in developing test SW automation
Solid experience with Python or Labview to develop and deploy test sw solutions
Experience developing driver software that interfaces and controls hardware devices over USB, JTAG or GPIB etc
Experience in validating firmware and writing firmware tests to perform feature and system tests
Proven experience in deploying and maintaining manufacturing test programs to production facilities
Familiarity with Gage repeatability and reproducibility principles
Experience with software version control systems, such as git

Desirable

Experience working in HVM environment from NPI to Mass Production
Previous SW test development experience in the Laser/ Photonics Industry
Hands on experience with photonics test equipment including tunable lasers, power meters, fiber optics, etc
Knowledge of cloud and database technologies such as AWS/SQL will be a big plus

What the job involves

In this role as a part of the product engineering team you will be focused on test software development for various platforms for Lightmatter’s silicon photonics products
You will lead the effort in setting up the test software architecture for various test applications including photonics wafer, packager and laser testing
Design and develop the test software infrastructure including tools, frameworks, and reporting mechanisms in test software
Collaborate with test and design team members to develop effective testing strategies and quality metrics for new and existing test features
Implements driver-based API to interface with hardware/equipment
Implements command-based APIs to validate the firmware and implement test routines for test and characterization needs for Lightmatter’s laser and photonics systems
Release/maintain bug-free production-level test software for OSAT as needed
Help build algorithms to meet data logging requirements by working closely with the data engineering team

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 2025, Lightmatter has raised $850 million across six funding rounds and grown to a staggering valuation of $4.4 billion, a testament to growing industry demand for faster, more effective AI-building solutions. Lightmatter currently has three products on the market - Envise, Passage, and Idiom - and is poised to take on the incumbent chiplet industry with a photonics-based alternative.

Steph

Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle

Insights

Top investors

Glassdoor (4.2)

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

(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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