Optical Systems Engineer Lead - San Jose, United States
Originally posted 18 June 2026 by the employer.
About the role
As the Optical Systems Engineer Lead, you will drive the development of optical-transceiver-based interconnect solutions for data center and AI applications, overseeing the design, modeling, and optimization of high-speed optical links.
What you'll do
- 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.
- Guide and review signal integrity analysis and the implementation and simulation of digital equalization techniques such as FFE, DFE, MLSD, and pre-emphasis.
- Set and drive the definition of verification testing requirements for transceivers and components.
- Oversee analysis of the impact of impairments such such as noise, crosstalk, non-linearity, and reflections on system performance.
- Support the team in conducting numerical and analytical simulations to assess optical system behavior under realistic operating conditions and ensure models are correlated with experimental data.
What you'll need
- Demonstrated leadership experience in transceiver design and high-speed optical communication systems and components.
- Familiarity with direct-detection and coherent optical communication architectures.
- Expertise in modeling optoelectronic components (e.g., lasers, modulators, photodiodes, DAC, ADC, driver, TIA) using tools such as VPIphotonics, MATLAB, or Python.
- Familiarity with advanced DSP techniques, such as linear and decision-feedback equalization (FFE/DFE).
- Knowledge of modeling on common impairments in high-speed optical links.
- Hands-on experience with high-speed optical component measurements using oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, and other relevant equipment.
This role has been open 73 days — well above the 51-day median for Hardware Systems Engineering roles.
Hardware Systems Engineering · AI ML Hardware
|
Open roles in category
963
|
Median days open
51 d
|
Median salary
$156k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Lumilens | All employers we track in this specialty (963 roles · 102 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 29 | 963 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 38 | 6118 · 145 employers |
| Median days open | 73 d | 51 d (+22 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $156k |
Who's hiring in this category
- Intel Corporation · 73 open roles · median 36 d
- KLA Corporation · 65 open roles · median 44 d
- Teradyne · 57 open roles · median 30 d
- NVIDIA · 51 open roles · median 68 d
- Applied Materials · 50 open roles · median 66 d
- AMD · 47 open roles · median 50 d
How we counted: 963 open Hardware Systems Engineering (AI ML Hardware) roles from 102 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 18 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family row. Figures refresh nightly.