Lumai develops PCIe-form-factor optical processors that perform core AI arithmetic in free-space 3D optical beams using low-cost components to enable high-performance, energy-efficient LLM inference.
THE OPPORTUNITY Lumai is redefining how the world computes. We are an ambitious, venture-backed UK startup pioneering a breakthrough AI accelerator for data centers which uses 3D optical compute. Our radical technology uses light to perform computation at orders of magnitude faster speeds and at far greater scales than ever before, all whilst consuming far less energy than traditional approaches. Lumai is unlocking performance and efficiency gains that could transform the economics of AI and compute infrastructure and reshape how intelligence scales globally. If you are passionate about bringing groundbreaking technology to market, and want to be part of a team pushing the boundaries of what is physically possible, Lumai is where you can make it happen. ABOUT LUMAI Founded in 2022, Lumai is a University of Oxford spinout using optical processing to accelerate large language models (LLMs) and other transformer-based AI systems. The team combines expertise in optical computing, machine learning, and physics. Lumai has already secured over $15 million in investment from leading deep-tech investors like Constructor Capital, IP Group, PhotonVentures and government grants, and is scaling rapidly to deploy the fastest optical compute currently available globally. THE ROLE We are looking for a technically deep and commercially astute Senior Solutions Architect to own the technical heart of our customer engagements as we bring the world's first optical compute inference platform to market. You will be the person who turns a customer's interest into a credible, technical opportunity. You will lead deep technical discovery with the most demanding customers in the industry - hyperscalers, neoclouds, frontier AI labs, and national laboratories - and translate what they need into a Lumai-based solution, mapping their requirements against Lumai’s current and roadmap solutions. You will work hands-on with our benchmark team to prove the solution against real customer workloads, and you will author the technical proposals and responses that allow a customer to make the argument for Lumai inside their own organisation. This is an early-stage role where you will help write the playbook. You will be as comfortable in a benchmarking discussion with a customer's ML engineers as you are presenting a solution to their technical leadership, and you will act as a vital channel back into our own product and engineering teams, ensuring the voice of the customer shapes what we build next. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Work with Lumai’s business development lead, owning the technical relationship - Conduct deep technical discovery with customer infrastructure and ML engineering teams - Translate customer requirements into a Lumai-based solution, mapping needs against both near-term and roadmap solutions - Define the shape of an engagement - benchmark, proof of concept, reference architecture, or statement of work - Works hands-on with Lumai's benchmark team to scope, run, and interpret benchmarks, and owns the presentation of results - Produce the technical case for Lumai - proposals, solution documentation, and responses to RFIs, RFPs, and tenders - Design and delivers demos and technical workshops for customer technical teams - Feed customer requirements, evaluation feedback, and roadmap reactions back into product and engineering, playing a critical role in driving the Lumai roadmap WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR Must-Have - Substantial experience in a solutions architecture, technical pre-sales, or senior field engineering role within AI infrastructure, high-performance compute, semiconductors, or a comparable deep-tech hardware domain - Strong working knowledge of AI inference at scale - how large language models are deployed - Familiarity with data centre architecture: rack power, thermal, networking, and integration with existing software stacks - Demonstrated ability to lead technical discovery with sophisticated customers and translate requirements into a solution - Comfortable operating in a fast-moving, sometimes ambiguous, pre-product environment Strong Preference For - Direct experience selling into, or working within, hyperscalers, neo-clouds, frontier AI labs, or national laboratories - Awareness of the competitive landscape and how Lumai's optical approach is positioned against it - Background or genuine curiosity in novel compute - photonics, optical computing, or other post-silicon architectures - Enough hands-on credibility with benchmarking and performance analysis that customer ML and infrastructure engineers respect your reading of results COMPENSATION & BENEFITS - Highly Competitive Salary: We are not saying our salary is a blank check, but let's just say it won't be a source of your stress - Share Option Scheme: We are all in this together! We believe in shared success while we build the Lumai of tomorrow - Pension Scheme: Plan for retirement with AVIVA - Private Health Insurance: We firmly believe that you come first, and a happy you is a healthy you! Look after yourself and your loved ones with AXA - Cycle to Work: Spread the cost of a bike, a bike and accessories or just accessories and save on tax - L&D Allowance: Stay at the forefront of your field with a £500 annual development budget - Subsidised On-site Lunches: Enjoy on-site healthy meals at half the price, as Lumai covers 50% of the cost - Holidays: Enjoy some deserved "me time" with 25 days paid holiday (plus bank holidays) per year - Socials: Be part of an inclusive community enjoying occasional all-company off-sites, lunches and socials INTERVIEW PROCESS Our process is four stages. An initial conversation with our HR team to understand what you want from the role and what we want from it. Two technical sessions with our Product and Leadership team. Finally, an HR-team session covering scope, terms, and any final questions. We aim to move fast on candidates