Company Overview:

Lucidean is pioneering the next generation of optical communications to unlock faster, more efficient AI data centers. Founded by leading photonics pioneers out of UC Santa Barbara, Lucidean’s game-changing link architecture and photonic integrated circuit designs are ideally suited to deliver coherent links in data center environments where incumbent technologies face fundamental barriers.

Role Overview: Senior Optical Controls Engineer

As a Senior Controls Hardware Engineer at Lucidean, you will own the architecture, design, and validation of high-speed control systems that enable optical-domain signal processing. Your work will ensure that optically implemented functions such as polarization control and phase tracking operate reliably at high speed under dynamic conditions and meet the performance requirements of next-generation optical transceivers.

This role sits at the intersection of firmware, electronics, and optics. In addition to hands-on technical contribution, you will guide and technically lead a firmware and controls development team, setting control architecture, reviewing implementations, and mentoring junior engineers.

Key Responsibilities:

· Architect and implement high-speed feedback optical control systems using commercial off-the-shelf electronics, including FPGAs, microcontrollers, ADCs, and DACs.

· Design and validate rapid control loops for optically implemented functions such as polarization control and phase control.

· Analyze control stability, bandwidth, and latency using time- and frequency-domain methods (e.g., step response, Bode analysis).

· Guide and review firmware and FPGA implementations developed by junior engineers.

· Define control interfaces, performance requirements, and validation methodologies.

· Collaborate closely with photonic integrated circuit designers to ensure PIC layouts and actuation mechanisms are compatible with controls hardware.

· Lead experimental bring-up, debugging, and long-term stability validation of optical control systems.

· Establish and enforce best practices for control code organization, version control, documentation, and experimental traceability to enable reliable debugging, review, and long-term maintainability.

Required Qualifications and Skills:

· Demonstrated experience implementing fast feedback loops (hundreds of kHz to MHz) on physical hardware, typically using FPGA-based or equivalent hard real-time implementations.

· Strong intuition for control stability, phase margin, loop bandwidth, and latency.

· Practical experience with PID control and frequency-domain analysis.

· Direct experience implementing or technically overseeing control systems in FPGA fabric, including timing-critical and latency-bounded control loops.

· Familiarity with ADCs, DACs, quantization noise, timing constraints, and mixed-signal systems.

· Ability to comprehend physical plants to first principles.

· Experience debugging unstable or drifting systems experimentally.

· Ability to guide, review, and mentor firmware engineers.

· Strong communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications and Skills:

· Experience with optical systems, photonic integrated circuits, and/or RF systems.

· Prior technical leadership in small, multidisciplinary teams.

Why Join Lucidean?

· Push the frontier of optical interconnect technologies for AI computing in exciting start-up.

· Work alongside a dedicated, diverse team focused on making a tangible impact.

· Contribute to and help shape a flexible and dynamic startup environment with a culture of continuous learning and development.

· Competitive salary, equity options, and a comprehensive benefits package.

Lucidean provides equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. Lucidean does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable laws.