Photonics Characterization Intern- Winter 2026 - Boston, MA, United States
$53 - $65 USD yearly
Originally posted 11 September 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role involves the design and development of Lightmatter's photonic processors and interconnects, specializing in silicon photonics for advanced optical components.
What you'll do
- Participate in electro-optic testing of photonics chips/devices using various optical instruments.
- Conduct tests and characterization of silicon photonics components, including micro-rings, optical phase shifters, and Mach-Zehnder interferometers.
- Operate optical equipment such as lasers, electro-optic modulators, semiconductor optical amplifiers, PIN receivers, optical spectrum analyzers, optical vector analyzers, and optical filters.
- Utilize semiconductor test equipment, including vector network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, source-meter units, arbitrary waveform generators, and high-speed oscilloscopes.
- Design and execute testing protocols for silicon photonics chips and subsystems.
- Develop and implement automated testing and system interfacing through Python scripting.
What you'll need
- Recent PhD graduate OR PhD candidate in Photonics with a strong understanding of Silicon Photonics and demonstrated experience in electro-optic component testing.
- Experience developing and implementing automated testing systems using Python scripting.
- Ability to translate data into actionable strategies.
- Analytical, process-oriented, and capable of working independently to solve complex technical problems in a lab environment.
Nice to have
- Microcontroller programming
- Experience with high speed instruments
- Understanding of high speed communications and VNA and optical link
- Understanding of high speed PCBs and/or micro electronics
- Experience working in a graduate level photonics or electrical engineering lab.
Skills: photonics characterization, electro-optic testing, silicon photonics, micro-rings, Mach-Zehnder interferometers
This role has been open 41 days — well below the 76-day median for Optical/Photonics IC Design roles.
Optical/Photonics IC Design · Photonics
|
Open roles in category
137
|
Median days open
76 d
|
Median salary
$197k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Lightmatter | All employers we track in this specialty (137 roles · 30 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 14 | 137 |
| Median days open | 97 d | 76 d (+21 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $197k |
Skills observed across this category: photonics characterization, electro-optic testing, silicon photonics, micro-rings, Mach-Zehnder interferometers
Who's hiring in this category
- Coherent Corp · 16 open roles · median 92 d
- GlobalFoundries · 16 open roles · median 78 d
- Lightmatter (this employer) · 15 open roles · median 97 d
- Lumentum · 10 open roles · median 79 d
- Marvell Technology · 9 open roles · median 41 d
- Intel Corporation · 8 open roles · median 65 d
How we counted: 137 open Optical/Photonics IC Design (Photonics) roles from 30 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 22 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.