---
title: 'Sensor Verification & Characterization Engineer (LiDAR) at Voyant Photonics'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/sensor-verification-characterization-engineer-lidar-voyant-photonics-new-york-e51meg85bktk'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-08'
---

# Sensor Verification & Characterization Engineer (LiDAR) at Voyant Photonics

- **Company:** Voyant Photonics
- **Location:** New York, NY
- **Compensation:** $120k–$160k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-20
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-08
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/voyant-photonics/fe14bcac-ec2e-4283-b9d2-570b910bcbff

## Job description

Sensor Verification & Characterization Engineer (LiDAR) About us: Voyant Photonics builds silicon photonic chips that steer and switch light at high speed. They power next generation, chip-scale FMCW LiDAR for robotics and autonomy, and optical circuit switches (OCS) for AI data centers. Based in NYC, we’re a hands-on team designing, building, and deploying frontier hardware to solve problems that matter, from how machines see to how AI scales.

## About the role

We're looking for a Sensor Verification & Characterization Engineer to join our Systems Team, reporting to the System Integration Lead. This role spans the full arc of sensor development: running early derisk experiments that shape specifications and validate our models; building verification benches for new subsystems; and characterizing full systems as they mature toward production. You'll work across multiple active programs, pushing our platform further down the product lifecycle while standing up verification for brand-new subsystems. What You'll Do:

- Design and execute verification and characterization tests for full sensor systems and subsystems, ensuring designs meet performance requirements and building a clear picture of system behavior across operating conditions.
- Plan and run rapid derisk experiments for new technologies and subsystems to inform specifications and architecture decisions, often before formal requirements exist.
- Correlate measurements against simulation and analytical models, feeding results back to design and modeling teams to improve predictive accuracy.
- Troubleshoot and debug system-level and subsystem-level issues, applying strong systems-engineering and first-principles physics reasoning to isolate root cause.
- Generate clear test reports and well-formed hypotheses to share findings and drive decisions with the broader engineering team, including recommendations on specification limits and design tradeoffs.
- Build, maintain, and automate test benches and lab equipment to support repeatable, efficient verification.
- Adapt quickly to changing requirements, shifting priorities, and new problems as our programs evolve.
- Bring creativity to solving design challenges under real-world constraints.
- Collaborate closely with hardware, photonics, optics, firmware, and controls engineers throughout the system lifecycle, from bring-up through production support.

## What We're Looking For

- BS in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field (MS or PhD a plus).
- 4+ years of hands-on experience in system or sensor test, verification, characterization, or early-stage technology derisking - though we're open to exceptional candidates at other experience levels who show strong potential and the right attitude.
- Hands-on experience with lab equipment (oscilloscopes, power supplies, function generators, spectrum analyzers, logic analyzers) and demonstrated experience automating test equipment.
- Proficiency in Python for test automation and data analysis.
- Experience designing experiments under uncertainty: choosing what to measure, estimating measurement uncertainty, and drawing defensible conclusions from limited data.
- Strong systems-level thinking and the ability to apply physics and engineering fundamentals to debug complex, ambiguous problems.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills — able to turn raw data and observations into clear reports and actionable hypotheses.
- A self-starter who can thrive with minimal formal process, and is comfortable defining and communicating structure where it doesn't yet exist.
- Comfortable moving between quick-turn exploratory experiments and disciplined, repeatable verification.
- Enthusiasm for tackling new and unexpected problems, and the flexibility to pivot as priorities shift.
- Must be able to work on-site.

## Nice to Have

- Experience with FMCW LiDAR, radar, or other optical/photonic sensing systems.
- Experience working alongside modeling or simulation teams to validate and refine physical models.
- Experience automating motorized stages, gimbals, or other opto-mechanical test setups.
- Familiarity with C/C++ for embedded or test applications.

Life at Voyant We build frontier hardware & software from our lab and office in Midtown Manhattan, where optical tables, lab benches and electronics sit alongside traditional office space. Our work is hands-on and primarily in person, but we don’t run on a rigid 9-to-5. We partner with customers across time zones, so some calls start early or run late, and we adjust schedules around them. We run a high-trust, high-accountability environment: you’ll own meaningful work, move quickly and often wear more than one hat. Voyant provides catered lunch every day at HQ, and we’re a diverse group of food lovers from around the world who enjoy sharing food, culture and technical ideas around the lunch table.

## Equal Opportunity Employer

Voyant Photonics is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital or partnership status, age, national origin, citizenship, veteran or military status, disability, medical condition, genetic information, caregiver status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

## About Voyant Photonics

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Voyant Photonics develops solid-state, chip-scale FMCW LiDAR sensors using silicon photonics for machine perception in autonomous vehicles, robotics, and smart infrastructure.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series A)
- **Headquarters**: New York City, New York, United States
- **Founded**: 2019
- **Founders**: Dr. Steven Miller (CTO), Dr. Chris Phare (CSO), Carlos Bhola (Executive Chairman)

## Core Business
- **Primary Industry**: Autonomous sensing / LiDAR / Silicon photonics
- **Target Customers**: B2B; OEMs and system integrators in automotive, robotics, industrial automation, and smart infrastructure
- **Mission**: To enable intelligent machines to operate in harmony with their environment by providing the spatial foundation that AI systems need to perceive the world.

## Products & Services
- **Helium™**: A fully solid-state, medium-range 4D LiDAR with no moving parts. Uses a 2D array of surface emitters for on-chip beam steering. Key specs: 75m range, 0.3cm precision, 60° x 90° FOV, ultra-compact 3x4x4 cm form factor. Ideal for mobile robotics.
- **Carbon 30**: A compact, all-in-one coherent LiDAR for mid-range, high-precision sensing. Combines single-axis on-chip beam steering with a low-speed moving mirror. Available in 32, 64, and 128-line variants. Range: 75m (standard) or 150m (extended), 30° V x 120° H FOV. Up to 977,000 points/sec.
- **Carbon 60**: A wide-FOV coherent LiDAR optimized for dense near-field perception (60° V x 90° H). Designed for short-range, wide-angle coverage in applications like person tracking and mobile robotics.

All products are software-configurable, operate at 1550nm (eye-safe), and provide instantaneous velocity data per point — immune to sunlight interference and other LiDAR sensors.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of $41.6M across 5 rounds
- **Notable Investors**: UP Partners (led Series A), LDV Capital, Contour Venture Partners, and others
- **Growth Signals**: 150% YoY headcount growth (to ~52 employees); has hired talent from Tesla, Luminar, Aeva, Microsoft, and MIT Media Lab; new CEO Clément Nouvel (former CTO of Valeo’s LiDAR division) brought in to scale the company; presence expanding to France and Japan

## Competitive Advantages
- **True solid-state design**: Their monostatic architecture integrates FMCW LiDAR, beam steering, and coherent detection on a single silicon photonics die — no moving parts, no MEMS, no multi-chip assemblies.
- **Foundry-compatible manufacturing**: Uses datacom-grade photonic foundries for wafer-scale fabrication, enabling cost and performance scaling to millions of units — manufactured like processors, not like optics.
- **Instantaneous 4D data**: Each measurement returns both range and velocity simultaneously, with no compute overhead, reducing perception pipeline complexity.
- **Software-configurable**: Sensors can dynamically trade off range, resolution, FOV, and precision under real-time application control — one sensor for many use cases.

## Strategic Focus
- Scaling production and reducing per-unit cost to enable mass-market adoption in automotive and robotics
- Expanding into smart infrastructure (bridge monitoring, power lines, industrial facilities) and IoT metrology
- Building out commercial sales team and global presence (VP Sales from Ouster/Aeva, Sales Director for Europe, presence in Japan)
- Replacing mechanical and MEMS-based LiDAR with fully solid-state solutions across all market segments

## Why Work Here
- **Cutting-edge technology**: Work on the frontier of silicon photonics, FMCW LiDAR, and coherent detection — a true hardware + perception + AI challenge
- **High-growth trajectory**: 150% headcount growth in the last year, with strong funding and commercial traction — significant career growth potential
- **Small, focused team**: ~52 employees with a high density of PhDs and experienced engineers from Cornell, Columbia, MIT, and top LiDAR companies (Luminar, Aeva, Valeo) — learn from world-class peers
- **Real-world impact**: Your work directly enables autonomous vehicles, robots, and smart infrastructure to perceive the world safely and reliably
- **Culture**: Described as "laser-focused" and balancing innovation with execution; the team includes veterans from Tesla, Microsoft, and leading Tier 1 automotive suppliers
- **Work model**: Based in NYC with a collaborative in-person culture; roles span photonics, electrical engineering, software, systems, and sales
- **Career opportunities**: Actively hiring across technical and commercial roles — "We’re growing fast and always looking for passionate, talented people"

## Sources
1. [voyantphotonics.com](https://voyantphotonics.com/)
2. [voyantphotonics.com/about](https://voyantphotonics.com/about/)
3. [voyantphotonics.com/products](https://voyantphotonics.com/products/)
4. [voyantphotonics.com/careers](https://voyantphotonics.com/careers/)
5. [linkedin.com/company/voyantphotonics](https://www.linkedin.com/company/voyantphotonics)
6. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/voyant-photonics](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/voyant-photonics)

## Other roles at Voyant Photonics

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- [Principal PIC (Photonic Integrated Circuit) Design Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-pic-photonic-integrated-circuit-design-engineer-voyant-photonics-new-2wnhfg389yrp) — New York, NY
- [Principal ASIC Engineer (Mixed-Signal)](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-asic-engineer-mixed-signal-voyant-photonics-new-york-ry7vapnea5zp) — New York, NY
- [Mechanical Design Engineer, Frontier AI Hardware](https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-design-engineer-frontier-ai-hardware-voyant-photonics-new-york-46mtegnzfprf) — New York, NY
- [Senior Silicon Photonics Design Engineer (Remote)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-silicon-photonics-design-engineer-remote-voyant-photonics-remote-1shz8qffvrdh)
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- [Senior Project Manager, Global Supply Chain (LiDAR & Optical Circuit Switches)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-project-manager-global-supply-chain-lidar-optical-circuit-switches-fx0qq66r9xqr) — New York, NY
- [Silicon Photonics Control & Calibration Engineer - Optical Circuit Switches (OCS)](https://feeny.ai/job/silicon-photonics-control-calibration-engineer-optical-circuit-switches-ocs-qwsypyh2e400) — New York, NY