Demo

Principal Field Application Engineer

Lightmatter
Mountain View, CA Full Time
POSTED ON 7/18/2026
AVAILABLE BEFORE 8/24/2026
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 now looking for an outstanding Field Application Engineer - High-speed I/O Specialist to join our team. The role’s primary responsibility is to work collaboratively with customers in architecting the next generation of devices enabled by Lightmatter’s photonic interconnect technology Passage. In this role, you will work closely with Tier 1 Semiconductor companies that are defining the next generation of silicon in the data center. You will be working cross functionally within Lightmatter as you define an optimal technical solution. Additionally, you will be collaborating with customers who are domain experts in high-speed serial links (SerDes) and protocols. You should be comfortable supporting deep technical discussions focused on high-speed serial I/O design. Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work independently are essential to being successful in the role.

Responsibilities

  • Provide the full technical support of the customer HSIO design, including the early technical assessment, design scheme discussion, hardware design review, hardware debug support and other critical trouble shootings
  • Develop and deliver technical proposals to customers, based on customer’s technical requirements and system architecture
  • Work as the field expert on HSIO area, to provide the in-depth training and guidance of the HSIO design to the FAE team, to create and share the related technical articles and reference designs
  • Work collaboratively with Lightmatter Engineering in supporting customer design wins and communicating progress updates to customer engineering leads

Requirements

  • BS or MS in Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or Computer Science (or equivalent experience).
  • 10 years of work related experience in a high-tech electronics industry with high-speed serial I/O design, including transceiver architecture, CDR, DFE or other
  • In-depth knowledge of the signal integrity, power integrity simulation and the related hardware design. Be familiar with the SI/PI EDA simulation tools and models, eg. Keysight ADS.
  • Customer facing skill-set and background as well as the ability to communicate effectively with customers
  • Action-oriented with strong analytical and problem-solving skills
  • Previous experience developing and delivering technical presentations to both executive management and cross-functional engineering teams and external clients
  • Built trusted working relationships across teams, improving coordination and execution speed
  • Experience working with silicon photonics and/or optical transceiver
  • In-depth knowledge of semiconductor and laser technology

Preferred Qualifications

  • Familiar with the digital signal processing theory and the related tools, like Matlab Simulink.
  • Analog signal and mixed signal design, ADC, DAC design experience
  • C, C and other software experience
  • Experience working in customer facing role acting as the domain expert for silicon photonics/optics
  • Experience deploying or supporting customers who are deploying optics in a data center environment at scale

We offer competitive compensation. On target earnings range is listed below. The final compensation will be determined based on location, experience, educational background, and market data.

Sales Compensation: $250,000 USD - $300,000 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.

Salary.com Estimation for Principal Field Application Engineer in Mountain View, CA
$215,932 to $248,479
If your compensation planning software is too rigid to deploy winning incentive strategies, it’s time to find an adaptable solution. Compensation Planning
Enhance your organization's compensation strategy with salary data sets that HR and team managers can use to pay your staff right. Surveys & Data Sets

What is the career path for a Principal Field Application Engineer?

Sign up to receive alerts about other jobs on the Principal Field Application Engineer career path by checking the boxes next to the positions that interest you.
Income Estimation: 
$79,271 - $104,411
Income Estimation: 
$94,266 - $116,554
Income Estimation: 
$181,083 - $218,117
Income Estimation: 
$222,110 - $256,974
Income Estimation: 
$224,976 - $270,947
Income Estimation: 
$205,834 - $254,869
Income Estimation: 
$242,530 - $287,120
Income Estimation: 
$168,845 - $197,281
Income Estimation: 
$222,241 - $259,827
Employees: Get a Salary Increase
View Core, Job Family, and Industry Job Skills and Competency Data for more than 15,000 Job Titles Skills Library

Job openings at Lightmatter

  • Lightmatter Mountain View, CA
  • Lightmatter is leading the revolution in AI data center infrastructure, enabling the next giant leaps in human progress. The company invented the world's f... more
  • 2 Days Ago

  • Lightmatter Boston, MA
  • Lightmatter is leading the revolution in AI data center infrastructure, enabling the next giant leaps in human progress. The company invented the world's f... more
  • 3 Days Ago

  • Lightmatter Mountain View, CA
  • Lightmatter is leading the revolution in AI data center infrastructure, enabling the next giant leaps in human progress. The company invented the world’s f... more
  • 4 Days Ago

  • Lightmatter Boston, MA
  • Lightmatter is leading the revolution in AI data center infrastructure, enabling the next giant leaps in human progress. The company invented the world’s f... more
  • 9 Days Ago


Not the job you're looking for? Here are some other Principal Field Application Engineer jobs in the Mountain View, CA area that may be a better fit.

  • Arm San Jose, CA
  • Job ID 2026-16758 Date posted 06/04/2026 Location San Jose, California Category Sales Job Overview Arm is looking for a Principal Field Application Enginee... more
  • 2 Months Ago

  • skhynixamerica San Jose, CA
  • Job Title: Principal Engineer, HBM Field Application Office Location: San Jose, CA Job Type: Full-Time Work Model: Onsite About SK hynix America At SK hyni... more
  • 2 Days Ago

AI Assistant is available now!

Feel free to start your new journey!