Jobs / United States / Lightmatter INC
Photonics Hardware Validation Engineer
Lightmatter INC · 🇺🇸 Mountain View, CA
Sponsorship verdict
Sponsorship possible
One solid signal, not two — worth applying, and worth asking about sponsorship early.
- Employer is on a government sponsor recordThe US Department of Labor certified 21 H-1B/E-3 labor condition applications for this employer between Oct 2025 and Jun 2026 (latest May 2026) — the step every H-1B hire needs first. USCIS also records 1 H-1B approvals in FY2023. Source: LCA disclosure data (US Department of Labor (OFLC)).
- The posting doesn’t mention sponsorshipSilence isn’t a refusal — ask the recruiter before investing much time.
- No salary bar for this routeH-1B has no fixed salary bar: the employer must pay at least the prevailing wage for the role and area. Cap-subject employers enter a lottery weighted by wage level. Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/12/29/2025-23853/weighted-selection-process-for-registrants-and-petitioners-seeking-to-file-cap-subject-h-1b, rules effective 2026-02-27.
- What Lightmatter INC paid sponsored hires in similar roles4 certified filings for “Sr. Photonics Test Engineer” (Robotics Engineers) in CA: $167k–$215k, median $177k. Most were filed at wage level III (75%) — 3 lottery entries, ≈46% projected selection odds for cap-subject employers. Source: US Department of Labor LCA disclosure data (Oct 2025 – Jun 2026).
- Confirmed live todayWhen a source last listed this job as open.
US H-1B: cap-subject employers enter a lottery weighted by wage level — Level I gets 1 entry, Level IV gets 4 (DHS projected selection odds ≈15% at Level I to ≈61% at Level IV). Universities and non-profit research employers are cap-exempt. The $100,000 fee for new petitions from abroad is currently blocked by a court order (appeal pending).
A verdict summarises public evidence; it is not legal advice and never a guarantee — the employer and the immigration authority decide. Sign in to factor in where you can already work.
Or apply yourself on the official page →
Sponsor Radar — Lightmatter INC
The US Department of Labor certified 21 H-1B/E-3 labor condition applications for this employer between Oct 2025 and Jun 2026 (latest May 2026) — the step every H-1B hire needs first. USCIS also records 1 H-1B approvals in FY2023. Source: LCA disclosure data (US Department of Labor (OFLC)).
Past sponsorship or register membership never guarantees sponsorship for this vacancy or for you. Full Sponsor Radar for Lightmatter INC →
About the role
Lightmatter is leading the revolution in AI data center infrastructure, enabling the next giant leaps in human progress. The company invented the world’s first 3D-stacked photonics engine, Passage™, capable of connecting thousands to millions of processors at the speed of light in extreme-scale data centers for the most advanced AI and HPC workloads. Lightmatter raised $400 million in its Series D round, reaching a valuation of $4.4 billion. We will continue to accelerate the development of data center photonics and grow every department at Lightmatter! If you're passionate about tackling complex challenges, making an impact, and being an expert in your craft, join our team of brilliant scientists, engineers, and accomplished industry leaders. Lightmatter is (re)inventing the future of computing with light! In this role, you will design, develop, and build photonic test systems that are critical to the characterization and validation of our products. You will collaborate closely with device, hardware, software, and digital and analog design teams to support the end-to-end development, validation, and qualification of photonic systems and their key components. Join a tight-knit team where each individual’s contributions directly impact the success of the company and our innovative products. At Lightmatter, you’ll have the opportunity to work with people who love to build and thrive in technically diverse environments where great ideas are valued and prioritized. We are hiring a Photonics Hardware Validation Engineer to join our Validation team to drive photonics testing, characterization and validation of our silicon photonics-based optical Interconnect Products. Responsibilities • You will need to understand our chip specifications well so that you can take responsibility for chip bring-up, testing, and validation of our next-generation Optical Interconnect products. This includes supporting the development of chip validation plans aligned to product specifications, xDVT, and interoperability testing. • You will be required to contribute to test plan development, test bench configuration planning, setup of lab test equipment, and troubleshooting of validation setups to enable successful chip bring-up and testing. • You will work within the product validation team on electro-optic, link-level testing in our lab using industry-standard practices and equipment. Qualifications • Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field. • Hands-on experience with standard bench test equipment for data communications, including electro-optic link testing and characterization. • Experience in the data communications field, specifically in electro-optic link-level testing and characterization in a lab environment. • Familiarity with PCB design, including hardware testing and debugging of electro-optic circuits. • Ability to work closely with Design Engineers, Software Engineers, and broader cross-functional teams to quickly gain knowledge of Lightmatter products and drive execution of chip bring-up and validation in our lab. • Basic scripting skills for automation of lab tests including analysis of results and report generation. • Solid understanding of electrical and optical blocks in transmitters and receivers to enable efficient chip bring-up and link testing. • Ability to troubleshoot and debug the electrical optical building blocks in a transceiver to triage bugs and root-cause performance gaps. Preferred Qualifications: • PhD is a plus • Experience with high-speed data communication systems, including NRZ and PAM4 signaling. • Familiarity with industry standards such as IEEE, OIF-CEI, or similar for data communication systems. • Proficiency in Python, MATLAB, or similar tools for scripting and