Optical Systems Engineer

About Lumilens

At Lumilens we are building the critical photonics infrastructure that powers tomorrow’s AI supercomputing. From chip-to-chip optical interconnects to scalable photonic engines, Lumilens is unlocking a new era of computing - faster, cooler, and massively more efficient.

We’re a well-funded startup backed by Mayfield and led by veterans who’ve built and scaled some of the most transformative technologies in the industry. At Lumilens, we’re developing high-speed photonics products purpose-built to power the future of AI infrastructure and high-performance computing.

This isn’t incremental innovation, it’s a ground-floor opportunity to rethink the optical layer from the silicon up. You’ll work alongside a team of world-class engineers solving some of the hardest challenges in scaling optical systems. Every line of code, every design decision, every breakthrough you help deliver will shape the infrastructure of tomorrow. If you're looking for mission, momentum, and the chance to make an outsized impact, jump on the rocket ship. We’re just getting started.

About the Role

As the Optical Systems Engineer Lead at Lumilens, you will drive the development of next-generation optical-transceiver-based interconnect solutions for data center and AI applications. You will provide technical leadership, overseeing the design, modeling, and optimization of high-speed optical links—spanning laser and modulator selection, receiver performance, fiber-coupling strategies, and system-level tolerance analysis—to deliver exceptional bandwidth, efficiency, and reliability. Collaborating across IC, packaging, and reliability teams, you will ensure system requirements are translated into robust, manufacturable transceiver architectures scalable to the demands of hyperscale and AI-accelerated computing. Your leadership will directly influence how future systems move data at unprecedented speeds and power efficiencies, and you will mentor and guide a team of engineers to achieve these goals.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team in the design of optical transceiver products from concept through implementation.

• Define system-level specifications and oversee the development of comprehensive end-to-end optical system models, including digital signal processing (DSP), drivers, transimpedance amplifiers (TIA), and optical components such as lasers, Mach-Zehnder modulators (MZMs), and photodetectors.

• Guide and review signal integrity analysis and the implementation and simulation of digital equalization techniques such as FFE, DFE, MLSD, and pre-emphasis for signal integrity optimization.

• Set and drive the definition of verification testing requirements for both transceivers and components.