Staff Hardware Test & Bring-Up Engineer
Company websitelightmatter.com (Lightmatter, opens in new tab)
Base salary $167K to $193K
Employer-published annual base salary, USD. Advertised base range in Mountain View, CA
You apply on the employer's own site. Six Figure Work does not handle applications.
- LocationMountain View, CA
- WorkplaceWorkplace not stated
- Status at last checkSource accepting applications when checked
- Last checked (1 h ago) · observed since
About this job
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!
We are seeking a Staff Hardware Test & Bring-Up Engineer to lead development of automated system-level tests from hardware bring up through mass production ramp. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to transition these technologies into high-volume manufacturing. We are looking for an engineer with a strong background in delivering test solutions for industry-leading products. You will be part of a growing interdisciplinary team with a lot of opportunities to learn and make a big impact.
Responsibilities
- Lead end-to-end hardware bring-up for ATE HW, and partner directly with equipment suppliers to debug hardware anomalies.
- Lead the initial electrical bring-up for our photonic ICs products mounted on system-level evaluation boards.
- Architect and build robust, automated system-level test software programs in Python or C/C++ running on the test bench.
- Collaborate with IC Design, DFT, and Firmware teams to define hardware test requirements and isolate silicon versus board-level bugs.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline with 8+ years of hands-on experience in physical hardware bring-up, PCBA functional testing, and custom ATE loadboard/socket integration for ASICs/SoCs.
- Expertise in validating multi-rail power-up/power-down sequences and troubleshooting dynamic load behaviors.
- Practical mastery of JTAG, QSPI/QPI, I2C, and SPI communication protocols.
- Experience driving hardware verification, integrating firmware diagnostic APIs, and executing direct register read/write routines.
- Advanced proficiency in Python or C/C++ for writing test executives, automating sequences over hardware bridges, and programmatic control of lab instrumentation.
- Expert hands-on command of standard bench equipment: digital multimeters (DMMs), Source Measure Units (SMUs), programmable power supplies, oscilloscopes, and logic analyzers.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master’s degree with 6+ years of industry experience.
- Experience with embedded microcontrollers or debugging low-level firmware drivers.
- Familiarity with boundary scan (BSDL) tools, DFT concepts (MBIST, Scan), or standard ATE architectures.
- Basic understanding of eFUSE programming circuits, ADC/DAC calibration routines, or precision thermal sensing.
We offer competitive compensation. The base salary range for this role determined based on location, experience, educational background, and market data.
Salary Range: total compensation goes beyond base salary, it also includes a new hire equity grant, annual performance-based equity, and other rewards that recognize your impact and contribution.
$167,000—$193,000 USD
Benefits
- Comprehensive Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
- Retirement Savings Matching Program
- Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
- Generous Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
- Paid Family Leave
- Short Term & Long Term Disability
- Training & Development
- Commuter Benefits
- Flexible, hybrid workplace model
- Equity grants (applicable to full-time employees)
Benefits eligibility may vary depending on your employment status and location. Lightmatter recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, veteran status, and other protected status as required by applicable law.
Export Control
Candidates should have capacity to comply with the federally mandated requirements of U.S. export control laws.
Source: Lightmatter on Greenhouse · View original posting (opens in new tab)
Pay in context
This role's base floor ($167,000) is above 43% of the 4,314 Software Engineering roles in California listed on this site; 33 others list the same floor. Their median floor is $176,100; the middle half runs from $149,100 to $203,000.
Only jobs on this site count, and each one publishes a base salary of $100,000 or more, so this compares six-figure jobs with each other, not with the whole market. Computed Nov 6, 2026.
This listingStaff Hardware Test & Bring-Up Engineer$167K to $193K
Sr. Staff Thermo-Mechanical Engineer$169K to $244K
Staff Embedded Software Engineer$175K to $220K
Staff Photonics Design and Layout Engineer$175K to $230K
Photonics Hardware Validation Engineer$177K to $240K
Package Layout Engineer$157K to $176K
Signal Integrity Engineer$157K to $176K
Chart as a table
| Role | Published base |
|---|---|
| Staff Hardware Test & Bring-Up Engineer (this listing) | $167K - $193K |
| Sr. Staff Thermo-Mechanical Engineer | $169K - $244K |
| Staff Embedded Software Engineer | $175K - $220K |
| Staff Photonics Design and Layout Engineer | $175K - $230K |
| Photonics Hardware Validation Engineer | $177K - $240K |
| Package Layout Engineer | $157K - $176K |
| Signal Integrity Engineer | $157K - $176K |
Observed changes
- First observed on the employer's board
- Began meeting the published-salary criteria
- Observed since
- Employer-stated posting date
- 2026-07-16
Where this pay comes from
Location as the employer wrote it: Salary Range: total compensation goes beyond base salary, it also includes a new hire equity grant, annual performance-based equity, and other rewards that recognize your impact and contribution.
USD 167,000 – 193,000 · interval unstated · pay_input_range · Salary Range: total compensation goes beyond base salary, it also includes a new hire equity grant, annual performance-based equity, and other rewards that recognize your impact and contribution.
- Method
- Structured pay field published by the employer
- Checked
- Rule set
- us-base-v2
The employer's job board publishes this pay as a dedicated data field. We read the field directly; no interpretation was needed.
What we verified
- The pay figures come from the employer's own listing, quoted exactly above.
- The pay is an annual base salary in US dollars with a minimum of at least $100,000.
- The role was publicly listed on the employer's job board when last checked.
We do not verify what the employer will actually offer, whether the employer is still recruiting for the role, or anything beyond what the employer published. Full methodology.