Principal Test Engineer - Fremont, CA, United States
Originally posted 21 April 2026 by the employer.
About the role
The Principal Test Engineer leads the testing and performance characterization of in-house developed silicon photonic integrated circuits (PICs), including R&D characterization and small-volume production support during NPI phases. The position takes full ownership of the development, setup, and optimization of optical and electrical test platforms.
What you'll do
- Lead the testing of new PICs, providing test summaries while maintaining data traceability. - Lead the configuration, setup, and qualification of test systems for silicon photonic ICs, including optical and electrical characterization platforms. - Perform hands-on debugging and root cause analysis for test anomalies and data inconsistencies. - Continuously evaluate and implement automation solutions to increase test efficiency and reduce operator intervention. - Drive improvement projects aimed at enhancing test robustness and repeatability. - Characterize PICs independently using laboratory equipment such as fibers, lasers, detectors, DC probes, and source-meter units.
What you'll need
- Bachelor’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Physics, or a related field. - Minimum of 10 years of hands-on laboratory experience in photonics, semiconductor, or optoelectronic device testing. - Deep familiarity with lab instrumentation such as Lasers, Power Meters, Optical Spectrum Analyzers, Vector Network Analyzers (VNA), and Probe Cards. - Proven expertise in automated test development, including scripting (Python, LabVIEW, or similar) for optical and electrical measurements.
Skills: silicon photonic ICs, optical characterization, electrical characterization, test automation, Python, LabVIEW