Senior Principal Photonics Test Engineer - San Jose, California, United States

Originally posted 19 May 2026 by the employer.

About the role

Serve as the technical authority for photonics test engineering across the product portfolio, defining end-to-end test architectures and driving advanced test development for silicon photonics devices, subsystems, and optical modules from early R&D through high-volume manufacturing.

What you'll do

- Define and own the end-to-end test architecture and test roadmap, covering wafer-level testing, package-level validation, optical engine and module characterization, and production and reliability testing. - Lead the development of advanced wafer probe and package-level test solutions for silicon photonics devices and subsystems. - Architect and implement automated test flows for engineering characterization, validation, and production. - Design, develop, and implement optical test plans and procedures for co-packaged optics modules, including silicon photonics engines, laser sources, photodetectors, and optical fiber connectors. - Debug and resolve yield issues, electrical and optical performance failures, and process- or test-induced variations using test and yield analytics frameworks. - Define test specifications, acceptance criteria, and pass/fail limits based on IEEE, OIF, and internal standards, while providing technical input in Design-for-Test (DfT) reviews.

What you'll need

- MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Optics, Physics, Semiconductor Engineering, or a related field. - 10+ years of experience in optical testing, photonic device characterization, or optical transceiver module test. - Strong understanding of silicon photonics devices (modulators, photodetectors, multiplexers, grating couplers, edge couplers), optical probing and fiber coupling, Electro-Optical (EO) characterization, high-speed optical testing, and BER measurement. - Proven experience leading the development of wafer-level and package-level optical test systems. - Programming skills in Python, MATLAB, LabVIEW, or C/C++ for test automation. - Knowledge of optical communication standards including IEEE 802.3, OIF-CEI, and CMIS. - Familiarity with statistical analysis methods, data visualization tools, and debugging yield issues.