Principal Optical Link Engineer
Healthcare
Job Description
Principal Optical Link Engineer
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Location: Santa Barbara, CA | Salary: $190 - 240k + Bonus + Equity
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We’re working with an innovative photonics startup developing next-generation optical interconnects for AI and high-performance data centers.
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We’re looking for a Principal Optical Link Engineer to lead the development, characterization, and validation of high-speed optical links—from transmitter/receiver PICs through to complete link demonstrations.
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Key Responsibilities
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- Develop and characterize high-speed optical links at the PIC, evaluation-board, and system level.
- Test and troubleshoot lasers, modulators, photodiodes, optical amplifiers, and passive photonic components.
- Define and experimentally validate optical link budgets, including dispersion, polarization, sensitivity, and other impairments.
- Perform advanced measurements using AWGs, oscilloscopes, VNAs, BER testers, OSAs, tunable lasers, and optical power meters.
- Lead root-cause investigations across photonics, high-speed electronics, and DSP.
- Develop automated test and analysis frameworks using Python.
- Establish scalable characterization setups and measurement methodologies for multi-terabit links.
- Collaborate with PIC design, packaging, firmware, and DSP teams while mentoring engineers.
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Requirements
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- BS in Electrical Engineering, Optics/Photonics, Physics, or related field; MS/PhD preferred.
- 7+ years’ experience developing and validating high-speed optical communication links.
- Hands-on experience with 100G+/lane optical links; coherent experience is a plus.
- Strong PIC-level characterization experience.
- Excellent understanding of link budgets, OSNR, dispersion, polarization, jitter, equalization, and crosstalk.
- Strong Python/test automation skills.
- Experience with silicon photonics, InP photonics, or integrated optical engines.
- Strong communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
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