Electrical Principal Engineer – Cables & Optics

Dell Technologies•Franklin, MA

9d•Onsite

About The Position

Join us as an Electrical Principal Engineer on our Cables & Optics team onsite in Santa Clara, CA to do the best work of your career and make a profound social impact. As an Electrical Principal Engineer in Cables & Optics, you will be responsible for driving the qualification, deployment, and technology strategy of high-speed optical and copper interconnect solutions for Dell's next-generation Network L11 platforms. As part of the Cables & Optics team, you will work closely with C&O technologists, system architects, hardware and software engineering teams, suppliers, and operations organizations to develop and deploy rack-scale connectivity solutions that enable AI, cloud, and high-performance networking infrastructure. You will lead the qualification and interoperability of optical transceivers, DACs, AECs, and AOCs across server-to-switch, switch-to-switch, and rack-to-rack deployments, collaborate with suppliers and internal teams to resolve complex system-level connectivity challenges, and help define technology roadmaps, qualification methodologies, and deployment best practices to ensure reliable and scalable network solutions.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in high-speed networking, optical transceivers, cable technologies, and datacenter infrastructure, with expertise in rack-scale and system-level connectivity solutions
Deep understanding of optical and copper interconnect technologies, including DAC, AEC, AOC, OSFP, QSFP-DD, co-packaged optics, and emerging technologies supporting AI and high-performance computing (HPC) networks
Proven experience defining qualification strategies, interoperability requirements, and deployment guidelines for server-to-switch, switch-to-switch, and rack-to-rack connectivity in large-scale datacenter environments
Strong technical leadership skills with experience driving cross-functional alignment across hardware, software, system architecture, suppliers, and operations teams, while influencing product and technology roadmaps
Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot and resolve complex system-level issues involving cables, optics, NICs, switches, and AI networking infrastructure, working closely with ODMs, silicon providers, and connectivity suppliers

Nice To Haves

BS in Electrical Engineering or a related field; MS or PhD preferred
Experience with AI, HPC, InfiniBand, Ethernet fabrics, and L11 rack-scale networking architectures, including liquid-cooled and high-density deployments
Established relationships and working knowledge of the datacenter connectivity ecosystem, including major optics, cable, switch, silicon, and NIC suppliers

Responsibilities

Drive L11-level qualification and interoperability of optical transceivers, DACs, AECs, ACCs, and AOCs across server-to-switch, switch-to-switch, and rack-to-rack networking deployments
Work closely with the Cables & Optics development team to validate new products, resolve technical issues, and ensure successful integration into Network L11 solutions
Perform system-level testing, troubleshooting, and root cause analysis of connectivity issues involving cables, optics, NICs, switches, and AI networking infrastructure
Collaborate with architecture, hardware, software, manufacturing, and supplier teams to ensure connectivity solutions meet performance, reliability, scalability, and deployment requirements
Define and drive L11 qualification methodologies, interoperability standards, and deployment best practices while influencing future connectivity technology adoption and roadmaps