Sr Staff Integrated Photonics Laser Systems Architect - Boston, MA
$212,000 - $320,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 11 September 2026 by the employer.
Architect the Guide multi-wavelength laser platform and Data-SOA optical amplifiers for photonic interconnects.
About the role
As a Senior Staff Laser Architect on the Laser System Architecture & Engineering (LSAE) team, you will define the architecture of Guide, the laser platform supplying multi-wavelength optical power to photonic interconnects, and Data-SOA, the semiconductor optical amplifier boosting modulated data signals. You will set technical direction for Guide and Data-SOA roadmaps, translating product and customer requirements into detailed laser module and amplifier specifications.
What you'll do
- Define and own the Guide laser architecture and Data-SOA optical link architecture from concept through high-volume production. - Deliver laser module architecture specifications covering laser source technology, channel count, wavelength grid, optical power splitting, and electrical, thermal, and mechanical interfaces. - Collaborate with the Passage team to align Guide and Passage product architectures. - Partner with electronics, photonics, mechanical, and thermal engineering teams to specify systems, control algorithms, PICs, and PMICs. - Validate architectures, models, and specifications via hands-on testing of dies, prototype assemblies, and packaged modules. - Work with test engineers to define production test and validation protocols, and collaborate with external vendors to ensure delivery of key processes and components.
What you'll need
- PhD in Photonics, Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related technical field. - 8+ years of hands-on experience in optical devices, PICs, and semiconductor physics. - Proven track record of architecting laser or optical transceiver solutions from concept to volume manufacturing. - Expertise in mathematical modeling and simulation utilizing Python for link budget modeling, corner evaluation, and Monte Carlo simulations.
Nice to have
- Experience architecting lasers for datacom applications, such as external or integrated laser sources feeding CPO or optical I/O engines. - Experience with semiconductor optical amplifiers in datacom links, including gain, noise figure, saturation, pattern effects, cross-gain modulation in WDM, and III-V/silicon heterogeneous SOA integration. - Solid foundation in semiconductor laser physics (comb sources, DFB, ECLs, RIN, linewidth, and thermal/wavelength locking) alongside silicon photonics integrated circuits. - Experience with wavelength locking, thermal tuning, and power-control loops co-simulated against physical models. - Experience with silicon photonics circuit simulations. - Experience taking products into a high-volume manufacturing environment, including laser reliability and eye-safety qualification. - Contributions to optical standards bodies (OIF, IEEE 802.3, MSAs), publications, or patents.
Skills: semiconductor laser, epitaxy design, III-V, DFB, DBR, device physics
This role has been open 39 days — well below 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: semiconductor laser, epitaxy design, III-V, DFB, DBR, device physics
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.