Photonics Architect - Boston, MA
$212,000 - $321,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 30 September 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role involves defining the micro-architecture for a photonic-based communication fabric, contributing to high-bandwidth low-latency photonic interconnect/switch fabric. You will contribute to the Passage photonics engine, connecting processors in extreme-scale data centers.
What you'll do
- Propose innovative photonic designs including modulators, receivers, multiplexers, lasers, and amplifiers.
- Work with the photonic engineering design team to provide performance, power, and area estimates for photonic devices.
- Collaborate with the analog engineering team to deliver a high-bandwidth photonic interconnect solution.
- Author, review, and validate architectural specifications.
What you'll need
- PhD in electrical engineering, physics, applied physics, or a related discipline.
- In-depth knowledge of photonic devices and semiconductor physics.
- Experience with integrated silicon photonics components.
- Experience with photonic simulation tools: FDTD, numerical, Verilog-A, VPI Photonics.
- Demonstrated strong problem-solving skills for complex technical challenges.
Skills: Photonics Architect, photonic devices, silicon photonics, interconnect, optical
This role has been open 3 days — well below the 66-day median for Optical/Photonics IC Design roles.
Optical/Photonics IC Design · Photonics
|
Open roles in category
133
|
Median days open
66 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 (133 roles · 33 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 18 | 133 |
| Median days open | 80 d | 66 d (+14 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $195k |
Skills observed across this category: Photonics Architect, photonic devices, silicon photonics, interconnect, optical
Who's hiring in this category
- Lightmatter (this employer) · 18 open roles · median 80 d
- GlobalFoundries · 16 open roles · median 66 d
- Coherent Corp · 15 open roles · median 74 d
- Lumentum · 9 open roles · median 61 d
- Keysight Technologies · 7 open roles · median 30 d
- Marvell Technology · 7 open roles · median 150 d
How we counted: 133 open Optical/Photonics IC Design (Photonics) roles from 33 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 4 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.