Digital Architect - Boston, MA
$146,000 - $222,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 13 July 2026 by the employer.
About the role
Lightmatter is hiring a Digital Architect for high-speed photonic mixed-signal communication chips to define digital circuits supporting a photonic-based communication fabric. In this role, you will architect system-level digital designs that integrate complex AMS and photonic circuits while enabling interfaces with firmware and software.
What you'll do
- Own the digital architecture from initial concept through high-volume production. - Architect and specify system-level digital designs integrating complex AMS and photonic circuits, including high-speed drivers and receivers, SerDes, ADC/DAC, photonic modulators, and detectors. - Work closely with test and validation engineers to validate hardware against simulation prediction. - Collaborate with RTL and DV teams to enable block-level implementation and verification. - Author, review, and validate architectural specifications.
What you'll need
- 3+ years of experience and a Master’s degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering. - Knowledge of power-efficient digital design flow for high-speed AMS electronics, preferably on photonic communication channels. - Understanding of digital circuit design in a high-speed analog/photonic link, including device bring-up, control, and digital signal processing.
Nice to have
- Power user of multiple development tools, including CAD tools, SPICE simulators, IBIS-AMI simulators, and programming languages such as MATLAB or Python.
Skills: photonic-based communication fabric, high-speed AMS circuits, SerDes, ADC/DAC, photonic modulators
This role has been open 98 days — well above the 76-day median for Optical/Photonics IC Design roles.
Optical/Photonics IC Design · Photonics
|
Open roles in category
132
|
Median days open
76 d
|
Median salary
$195k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Lightmatter | All employers we track in this specialty (132 roles · 29 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 15 | 132 |
| Median days open | 95 d | 76 d (+19 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $195k |
Skills observed across this category: photonic-based communication fabric, high-speed AMS circuits, SerDes, ADC/DAC, photonic modulators
Who's hiring in this category
- Coherent Corp · 17 open roles · median 90 d
- GlobalFoundries · 16 open roles · median 76 d
- Lightmatter (this employer) · 13 open roles · median 95 d
- Lumentum · 10 open roles · median 77 d
- Marvell Technology · 8 open roles · median 42 d
- Intel Corporation · 7 open roles · median 60 d
How we counted: 132 open Optical/Photonics IC Design (Photonics) roles from 29 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 20 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there. Figures refresh nightly.