Senior Staff or Principal Laser Design Engineer (III-V Epitaxy, DFB and DBR Lasers) at Lightmatter
Job Description
Lightmatter is hiring a senior staff or principal laser design engineer in Boston or Mountain View (a Toronto version is also posted). The engineer owns the design of high-power laser epitaxy and devices, including DFB, DBR and external-cavity lasers, from the III-V layer stack to cavity and device architecture, for Lightmatter’s integrated laser modules. The role works with characterisation teams and epitaxy and foundry partners, contributes to heterogeneously integrated lasers and SOAs on silicon, and encourages publishing at photonics conferences.
At a glance
- Role: Sr Staff/Principal Laser Design Engineer
- Location: Boston, Massachusetts or Mountain View, California, USA
- Posted: 10 September 2026
- Experience: PhD + 5 years, or MS + 8 years
- Pay: $212,000 to $320,000 base
- Apply: open until filled (re-checked 13 October 2026)
About the laser design role
- Design high-power III-V epitaxial structures and DFB, DBR and external-cavity lasers
- Optimise cavities for power, wavelength control, narrow linewidth, SMSR, low RIN and back-reflection tolerance
- Contribute to monolithic and heterogeneously integrated lasers and SOAs on silicon photonics
- Model devices with physics-based and travelling-wave simulation
- Work with epitaxy and foundry vendors to move designs into volume manufacturing
- Mentor engineers and present at photonics conferences
Work authorisation
Lightmatter’s posting says candidates must be able to comply with US export control laws.
What Lightmatter is looking for
- A PhD in photonics, electrical engineering, applied physics or materials science with 5+ years, or an MS with 8+ years
- Deep expertise in III-V laser and epitaxy design
- A track record designing DFB, DBR or external-cavity lasers
- Laser simulation tools such as Harold, PICWave, VPIphotonics or Lumerical, and Python
- Owning complex designs across programmes as a subject-matter expert
Nice to have
- Heterogeneous III-V on silicon integration
- SOA design
- High-power datacom lasers
- Taking a laser from prototype to volume production
- Publications in photonics
Pay and location
Lightmatter lists a base salary range of $212,000 to $320,000, plus equity and benefits.
How to apply
Apply through the official Lightmatter job posting. Lightmatter’s posting does not give a closing date, so the role is open until filled; ResearchJobs.in will re-check this listing on 13 October 2026. Check the posting for location and work-authorisation details before you apply.
See all our research engineer jobs, or browse more research jobs on ResearchJobs.in.
Hiring institution: Lightmatter
Official advertisement: boards.greenhouse.io
How to prepare for this application
- Design record: list lasers you designed that reached wafers, with measured results.
- Epitaxy: be ready to discuss quantum-well design and high-temperature performance.
- Simulation: name the tools you used and how well they predicted measurements.
- Publishing: the role values conference papers; include yours.
About Lightmatter
Lightmatter builds photonic chips for AI data centres. Its Passage product is a 3D-stacked photonics engine that links thousands of processors with light instead of copper wires.
