Application Engineer – High-Speed Interconnects

3M•Washington, DC

1d•$145,676 - $178,049•Remote

About The Position

This position provides an opportunity to transition from other private, public, government or military experience to a 3M career. As a Customer Facing Application Engineer – High-Speed Interconnects, you will have the opportunity to apply your technical expertise and customer engagement skills to support innovative interconnect solutions across data center, networking, and other high-performance connectivity applications. In this role, you will make an impact by serving as a technical interface between 3M and customers for high-speed interconnect solutions, including both copper and optical fiber, with a primary emphasis on optical fiber technologies. You will support customer design-in activities for fiber optic connectivity, optical transport, and high-speed communication systems. You will provide technical consultation to customers, sales teams, and channel partners on product selection, application fit, system integration, and performance optimization. You will drive adoption of 3M interconnect solutions by understanding customer architectures, technical requirements, and next-generation roadmap needs. You will collaborate with product development, R&D, manufacturing, quality, and marketing teams to communicate customer needs and influence future product direction. You will lead technical discussions, product demonstrations, evaluations, and troubleshooting efforts for customer applications involving optical and copper interconnects. You will support qualification activities by developing test plans, analyzing results, and ensuring customer requirements are met with validated data. You will assist customers in resolving field and application issues through hands-on technical problem-solving and cross-functional coordination. You will contribute to technical documentation, application notes, customer presentations, and training materials to support product deployment and market adoption. You will monitor industry trends, competitive technologies, and emerging standards in optical fiber interconnects, copper connectivity, and high-speed data communication. You will ensure technical claims in customer-facing literature and communications are accurate, well-supported, and aligned with product performance.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or higher (completed and verified prior to start) from an accredited institution
Three (3) years of experience in a customer-facing technical, applications engineering, systems engineering, or product support role in a private, public, government, or military environment
Two (2) years of experience with high-speed interconnect technologies, including optical fiber and/or copper connectivity solutions
Current, valid Driver’s License.
Must be legally authorized to work in country of employment without sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H1B status).

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field from an accredited institution
Five (5) or more years of experience in fiber optics for communications systems
Strong knowledge of optical fiber interconnects, transceiver connectivity, cable assemblies, and data center optical infrastructure
Experience with copper interconnects for high-speed communication systems
Familiarity with data center systems architecture, networking, AI infrastructure, and high-performance computing environments
Experience interpreting industry standards, qualification requirements, and test methods related to fiber optic and electrical interconnect components
Experience with laboratory test equipment and performance characterization of optical or electrical interconnect systems
Ability to analyze customer requirements and translate them into application guidance and product recommendations
Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills in customer and field environments
Experience developing and delivering technical presentations to customers, internal stakeholders, and external partners
Strong communication skills, including oral, written, and presentation skills
Ability to work effectively across global, cross-functional teams

Responsibilities

Serving as a technical interface between 3M and customers for high-speed interconnect solutions, including both copper and optical fiber, with a primary emphasis on optical fiber technologies
Supporting customer design-in activities for fiber optic connectivity, optical transport, and high-speed communication systems
Providing technical consultation to customers, sales teams, and channel partners on product selection, application fit, system integration, and performance optimization
Driving adoption of 3M interconnect solutions by understanding customer architectures, technical requirements, and next-generation roadmap needs
Collaborating with product development, R&D, manufacturing, quality, and marketing teams to communicate customer needs and influence future product direction
Leading technical discussions, product demonstrations, evaluations, and troubleshooting efforts for customer applications involving optical and copper interconnects
Supporting qualification activities by developing test plans, analyzing results, and ensuring customer requirements are met with validated data
Assisting customers in resolving field and application issues through hands-on technical problem-solving and cross-functional coordination
Contributing to technical documentation, application notes, customer presentations, and training materials to support product deployment and market adoption
Monitoring industry trends, competitive technologies, and emerging standards in optical fiber interconnects, copper connectivity, and high-speed data communication
Ensuring technical claims in customer-facing literature and communications are accurate, well-supported, and aligned with product performance
Responsibilities of this position include that corporate policies, procedures and security standards are complied with while performing assigned duties.
Safety is a core value at 3M. All employees are expected to contribute to a strong Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) culture by following safety policies, identifying hazards, and engaging in continuous improvement.