Principal Product Manager, Lightmatter
Photonics
$226-317k
Plus new hire equity grant and annual performance-based equity
3+ days a week in office (Mountain View, CA)
Light-powered AI computing
Be an early applicant
Light-powered AI computing
201-500 employees
Be an early applicant
$226-317k
Plus new hire equity grant and annual performance-based equity
3+ days a week in office (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
- Strong, hands-on understanding of the AI/ML systems architecture — including ML model fundamentals, training and inference workload characteristics, XPU and accelerator architectures, and datacenter-scale system design
- 15+ years of related industry experience with 10+ years in product management, product marketing, applications engineering, or business development roles driving high-complexity semiconductor or systems products to market
- Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field
- Proven ability to drive products through the full development cycle: business case → definition → development → design-in → production → EOL
- Experience with datacenter products and technologies, including compute infrastructure, optical networking, provisioning, and operations at scale.
- Strong end-to-end understanding of semiconductor chip development and the AI hardware ecosystem
- Data-driven decision-maker with strong ability to synthesize technical and market data into product strategy
- Effective cross-functional communicator who can bridge engineering depth and executive-level clarity
- Candidates should have capacity to comply with the federally mandated requirements of U.S. export control laws
Desirable
- Advanced degrees in optics/photonics or computer architecture
- Deep technical knowledge of silicon photonics and/or optical interconnect technologies
- Broad professional network across photonics, AI/ML, semiconductor, and cloud infrastructure segments
- Self-starter with strong bias for action in a fast-paced, high-ambiguity environment — comfortable managing competing priorities and driving to results quickly
- "No task too big or small" attitude with a genuine willingness to roll up sleeves wherever needed
What the job involves
- As Principal Product Manager, Photonics, you will lead product definition, positioning, and execution for some of Lightmatter's most strategic products, including photonics computing. You will drive design wins with leading AI XPU companies, cloud providers, and AI infrastructure builders, positioning Lightmatter at the center of the next generation of AI compute and networking
- Reporting directly to the VP of Product Management, you will work closely with engineering, sales, solution architects, operations, finance, and the executive team to accelerate Lightmatter product adoption in this fast-growing market
- Lead product definition, SKU strategy, and market positioning & messaging for Lightmatter's products, including full MRD/PRD ownership
- Define and own the product roadmap for Lightmatter’s photonic computing platform, grounded in a deep understanding of ML workloads, model architecture, and hardware & software co-design trade-offs
- Engage directly with AI/ML experts, cloud architects, and compute platform teams to validate product-market fit and shape the technical roadmap around real customer needs
- Translate ML workload-level requirements into photonics computing product requirements in collaboration with engineering
- Drive rollout to lead customers and manage full product lifecycle from early development through production and EOL
- Develop pricing guidelines, margin analysis, and revenue forecasts establishing competitiveness and profitability in support of corporate financial goals
- Represent Lightmatter at key industry forums and speaking events as a product leader and subject matter expert
- Produce high-quality outbound technical and marketing collateral in conjunction with product marketing and documentation teams
- Brief top industry press, analysts, and investors on Lightmatter product strategies, competitive advantages, and market positioning
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.
Salary benchmarks
We don't have enough data yet to provide salary benchmarks for this role.
Submit your salary to help other candidates with crowdsourced salary estimates.
Share this job
View 14 more jobs at Lightmatter