ABOUT LUMIAIRES
LumiAIres is a Scottish deep-tech company developing neuromorphic photonic chips for edge AI applications. Our technology operates at the intersection of photonics, neuromorphic computing, and artificial intelligence, enabling processing speeds and energy efficiencies that conventional silicon-based architectures cannot match.
We are headquartered in Glasgow and are actively deploying our technology across three high-growth sectors: Aerospace, Defence, and Autonomous Systems. Backed by a world-class founding team and currently executing a seed funding round, LumiAIres is at an inflection point and this role is central to our growth trajectory.
THE OPPORTUNITY
You will build and own LumiAIres' embedded electronics capability: the FPGA subsystems and control firmware that turn our photonic compute hardware into something customers can integrate. This is core to our product, as it is the same capability that underpins every chiplet generation and every customer programme. Your immediate focus is our current flagship programme, LUMINA, owning the FPGA-based subsystem and chiplet control firmware that bridge real-world sensor inputs, our photonic compute hardware, and customer platforms.
You will work at the interface between hardware and software, collaborating with our Full-Stack Software Engineer on the firmware, SDK, and hardware-abstraction-layer boundary, with our Photonic Design Engineer on chiplet integration, and with our Computational Photonics Engineer on the FPGA-based inference readout. This role is central to delivering the evaluation platform that enables customers to integrate LumiAIres technology ahead of full photonic deployment.
The role has two core technical pillars: FPGA programming for machine learning readout and inference, and firmware development on CMOS to control our photonic chiplet. As LumiAIres scales, it grows into ownership of the embedded platform across our product line and the team that builds it.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
The role is structured around three core pillars:
1. FPGA Architecture & Development
- Lead development of FPGA-based processing modules supporting neuromorphic photonic inference systems.
- Design and implement FPGA architectures for dimensionality reduction, the readout and inference pipeline, sensor interfacing, data acquisition, and real-time processing.
- Develop and maintain HDL code using Verilog, SystemVerilog, or VHDL.
- Create verification, simulation, and validation environments.
2. Firmware & Chiplet Control
- Develop firmware for photonic chiplet control including device configuration, hardware monitoring, thermal stabilisation, and electro-optic control interfaces.
- Design and validate communication interfaces between FPGA modules, the photonic chiplet, host processors, external sensors, and test equipment.
- Own the design, layout, and bring-up of the companion FPGA module board (PCB), including its interfaces to the photonic chiplet, sensors, and host.
3. Integration & Customer Enablement
- Support integration of photonic hardware into complete electronic systems.
- Work with the Full-Stack Software Engineer to define a clean SDK, API, and hardware-abstraction-layer boundary.
- Support laboratory testing, system validation, and customer demonstrations.
- Develop technical documentation and integration guides for customers.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
- A strong FPGA and embedded engineer with proven experience in FPGA architecture, implementation, and hardware debugging.
- A degree in electronic engineering, electrical engineering, embedded systems, computer engineering, or a related field.
- Fluency in Verilog, SystemVerilog, or VHDL, on Xilinx / AMD and/or Intel / Altera platforms.
- Experience with high-speed interfaces, hardware validation, embedded systems integration, and digital signal processing, using modern simulation and verification environments.
- Hands-on PCB design, layout, and bring-up experience — you will own the companion FPGA module board.
- Familiarity with AI accelerators, ML hardware, or edge computing is a strong advantage.
- Experience with PCIe, Ethernet, SPI, I²C, UART and LVDS, firmware for mixed electronic-optical systems, or embedded Linux is welcome.
- An interest in photonic hardware and electro-optic devices, and comfort in an early-stage environment where structure is built, not inherited.
CONTRACT & PROGRESSION
CONTRACT TYPE
18-Month Fixed Term Contract
LOCATION
Glasgow, Scotland (Hybrid)
SALARY
TBC per annum
REPORTS TO
CTO (currently the CEO)
POTENTIAL FOR PERMANENT ROLE
Yes — Glasgow or Paris (determined within the first 12 months)
START DATE
To be agreed
This role is offered initially as an 18-month Fixed Term Contract based in Glasgow. Given the software-portable nature of the embedded work, the permanent position offers location flexibility, to be determined within the first 12 months.
WHY LUMIAIRES
- Work at the frontier of photonic AI, technology with the potential to reshape how the world processes information.
- A founding team with deep expertise in photonics, neuromorphic computing, and commercial strategy.
- Exposure to global investors, strategic partners, and government stakeholders from day one.
- A genuinely values-led company building for the long term.
- Flexible, trust-based culture with real ownership and impact.
HOW TO APPLY
To express interest in this role, please send a CV and a short covering note outlining your FPGA and firmware experience, any systems integration work you have delivered, and your interest in photonic AI applications.
Applications and initial conversations are treated in strict confidence.
Pay: From £35,000.00 per year
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Glasgow (Glasgow)
