Optical Engineer, Release to Production (RTP) — Test Software & Transceiver NPI

Meta•Menlo Park, CA

1d•$173,000 - $245,000

About The Position

The Meta Hardware Design and Release to Production (HDRTP) team ensures that the hardware running in Meta's production fleet is stable, secure, performant, and delivers the most value. Within HDRTP, the Release to Production New Product Introduction (RTP-NPI) team finds, debugs, and remediates hardware failure modes before certifying new platforms for mass production, and then sustains them across the deployed lifecycle. We are looking for an Optical Engineer to drive optics validation within RTP-NPI — pairing deep optical-transceiver expertise with software engineering skills to build the Python-based test software infrastructure that qualifies optical communications modules and to lead optical transceiver NPI programs end to end. In this role, you will set technical direction for optics test automation, drive hands-on NPI execution with vendors and ODMs through EVT/DVT/PVT to mass production, and influence the optical networking industry and ecosystem.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, relevant technical field, or equivalent practical experience
Master's degree in Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Computer Science, or a related field
10+ years in development roles for optical networking hardware, with a proven track record of taking new products into volume production
Demonstrated experience in designing and building production-quality test software (not just scripts) in Python, including modular, reusable test frameworks
Hands-on experience with high-speed optical and electrical test, test automation, and lab instrumentation
Experience leading optical transceiver NPI programs with vendors and/or ODMs
Proficiency in Python software engineering: object-oriented design, abstraction layers, type hints, unit/integration testing, code review, and CI/CD discipline
Experience with advanced modulation formats and direct-detect and coherent systems (e.g., OOK, PAM-4, QPSK, 8-QAM, 16-QAM) and related concepts
Deep knowledge of pluggable optical transceivers and form factors (QSFP-DD, OSFP, QSFP112) and the CMIS management interface
Experience with optical integration including InP PICs, silicon-photonic PICs, PIC-IC integration, and 3D optical packaging technologies
Experience building instrument-control and test-automation frameworks (e.g., SCPI/VISA, PyVISA, vendor APIs) and abstracting heterogeneous instruments behind clean interfaces
Expertise in optical test and measurement: BER/FEC, pre-FEC/post-FEC analysis, eye diagrams, TDECQ, OSNR, optical spectrum, and link budgets

Nice To Haves

Data engineering for test and fleet health: schema design, database/warehouse persistence, dashboards, and statistical analysis of measurement data (e.g., NumPy, pandas, SQL)
Ability to set technical direction across a multi-quarter NPI program, define scope and priorities when requirements are incomplete, and align cross-functional and external partners (vendors, ODMs, TPM, Production Engineering)
Experience driving NPI milestones (EVT/DVT/PVT/MTF), production-readiness reviews, and transferring test infrastructure to contract manufacturers / ODM factory lines (including dual-ODM strategies)
Familiarity with additional languages is useful: C/C++, MATLAB, or Rust
Willingness to work hands-on in the lab and to travel to vendor, ODM, and manufacturing sites as needed to support NPI builds
Experience creating or influencing product requirements documents (PRDs), test plans, and data sheets
Familiarity with data center network architecture, fleet health/sustaining concepts, and high-volume manufacturing test flows
Track record of mentoring engineers, raising the engineering bar, and influencing without direct authority

Responsibilities

Architect, build, and maintain Python-based test software infrastructure and frameworks for automated qualification of optical transceivers and subsystems (EVT/DVT/PVT/characterization), spanning instrument drivers, switch/host abstractions, and results pipelines
Lead optics NPI programs end to end, working closely with optics vendors and ODMs from RFI/RFP through EVT/DVT/PVT to mass production (MP) ramp and sustaining
Find, debug, and remediate optical hardware failure modes before certifying modules for mass production; drive root-cause analysis and corrective action with vendors and ODMs
Stand up and own NPI test stations in Meta's lab regions: integrate modules, switches, and instruments, and debug at-scale, lights-out test execution
Define test and measurement methodologies for high-speed optical technologies, and translate them into reusable, well-tested automation
Develop instruments, automation, and integration (BERT, OSA, optical power/wavelength meters, scopes) and CMIS register-level module control
Ensure new optical platforms are supported by production and fleet-health tooling, and contribute to production-readiness documentation (PRD), Best Known Configuration (BKC), and Design-for-Test (DFT)
Drive data integrity and analysis: build robust data capture, storage, and visualization (e.g., interactive data exploration tools, data visualization and analytics platforms) so that test and fleet results are trustworthy, queryable, and actionable
Provide sustaining support after deployment — validate stability, security, and performance under production workloads, and refine understanding of failure characteristics at scale
Set engineering standards for the test software stack — code review, CI, version control, type checking, and documentation — and mentor engineers and technicians
Collaborate across SW, Thermal, Mechanical, EE, Signal Integrity, FPGA, TPM, and Production Engineering teams to integrate optics into systems
Interface with the industry, contribute to the RFI/RFP process, and shape product requirements, test plans, and data sheets