Senior Optical Systems Validation Engineer - Optical Circuit Switch (OCS)
$167,800 USD yearly
Originally posted 10 November 2026 by the employer.
About the role
Lead the validation of optical switching technology in representative data-center communication systems. You will own the bring-up of optical link and bit-error-rate setups, define validation plans, and quantify performance under customer-relevant operating conditions.
What you'll do
- Translate customer requirements into optical link validation plans, including test configurations, coverage, operating conditions, acceptance criteria, and appropriate test durations.
- Select, bring up, and automate test setups using BER equipment, optical transceivers, evaluation platforms, and relevant communication endpoints.
- Build representative link configurations based on intended customer architectures, including relevant scale-up and scale-out applications.
- Measure link error performance and remaining optical power margin under steady-state and dynamic operating conditions, comparing reference links with links incorporating switching subsystems.
- Investigate link failures and performance limitations, distinguish subsystem effects from transceiver, electrical-interface, firmware, and test-setup behavior, and coordinate investigations across engineering teams.
- Develop repeatable demonstrations and produce reports describing measured performance, limitations, and readiness for customer evaluation.
What you'll need
- Degree in Electrical Engineering, Photonics, Physics, Computer Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
- Experience in high-speed optical communications or interconnect validation, including independent ownership of hardware bring-up and qualification (5+ years preferred).
- Hands-on experience building and debugging optical link test setups using BER equipment, optical transceivers, and relevant optical or high-speed electrical instrumentation.
- Understanding of optical link budgets, receiver sensitivity, high-speed modulation, receiver synchronization, equalization, and forward error correction.
- Proficiency in Python or a comparable language for instrument control, test automation, and data analysis.
- Ability to translate link requirements into measurable, reproducible tests, critically interpret results, and communicate findings across engineering teams.
Nice to have
- Experience validating optical switching systems or data-center optical interconnects.
- Experience with transient measurements, receiver synchronization, or link recovery testing.
- Experience with Ethernet, InfiniBand, or other relevant high-speed interconnect interfaces.
- Experience building network testbeds and using traffic generators to measure throughput, latency, and packet loss.
- Experience supporting customer evaluations or reproducing integration issues in the laboratory.
More semiconductor jobs: PsiQuantum jobs · Hardware design jobs · California jobs
First seen in our index 0 days ago, well below the 47-day median for Hardware Systems Engineering roles.
Hardware Systems Engineering · AI ML Hardware
|
Open roles in category
1134
|
Median days since first seen
47 d
|
Category median salary (all employers)
$148k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, and who else is hiring
| Metric | PsiQuantum | All employers we track in this specialty (1134 roles · 108 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 21 | 1134 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 42 | 6610 · 157 employers |
| Median days since first seen | 69 d | 47 d (−22 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | n/a | $148k |
Who's hiring in this category
- Intel Corporation · 87 open roles · median 35 d
- KLA Corporation · 66 open roles · median 61 d
- NVIDIA · 59 open roles · median 76 d
- Teradyne · 59 open roles · median 52 d
- ASML · 58 open roles · median 19 d
- Applied Materials · 57 open roles · median 42 d
How we counted: 1134 open Hardware Systems Engineering (AI ML Hardware) roles from 108 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 10 Nov 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there, and is counted in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family row. Days are counted from when our index first saw each posting, not from the employer's original posting date.