Optical Engineer, RTP, Test Automation and Optics NPI

Meta•Menlo Park, CA

55d•$144,000 - $204,000

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 help validate optics within RTP-NPI — pairing optical-transceiver expertise with Python scripting skills to automate the testing that qualifies optical communications modules and to support optical transceiver NPI programs. In this role, you will develop optics test automation, execute hands-on NPI activities with vendors and ODMs through EVT/DVT/PVT to mass production, and contribute to Meta's data center network and the optical networking industry and ecosystem.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Computer Science, or a related field
6+ years in development roles for optical networking hardware, with experience taking new optical products from development through volume production or similar experience
5+ years in the development and validation of optical communication components (lasers, transmitters, receivers, and transceivers), including hands-on experience with high-speed optical and electrical test and measurement equipment, control, data acquisition, and test automation
Proficiency in writing Python scripts to automate test and measurement, including instrument control and data acquisition

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with data center network architecture and high-volume manufacturing test flows
Data handling for test results: schema design, database persistence, dashboards, and statistical analysis of measurement data (e.g., NumPy, pandas, SQL)
Experience with optical integration including InP PICs, silicon-photonic PICs, PIC-IC integration, and 3D optical packaging technologies
Willingness to work hands-on in the lab and to travel to vendor, ODM, and manufacturing sites as needed to support NPI builds
Experience with version control (Git/Mercurial) for managing test codes
Experience with system-level optical communication hardware and components
Experience creating or influencing product requirement documents (PRDs), test plans, and data sheets
Knowledge of pluggable optical transceivers and form factors (QSFP-DD, OSFP, QSFP-28) and the CMIS management interface
Experience with advanced modulation formats and direct-detect and coherent systems (e.g., OOK, PAM-4, QPSK, 8-QAM, 16-QAM) and related concepts
Ability to drive tasks to completion within a multi-quarter NPI program and collaborate effectively with cross-functional and external partners (vendors, ODMs, TPM, Production Engineering)
Experience with optical test and measurement: BER/FEC, pre-FEC/post-FEC analysis, eye diagrams, TDECQ, OSNR, optical spectrum, and link budgets
Experience using instrument-control libraries and APIs (e.g., SCPI/VISA, PyVISA, vendor APIs) to automate laboratory instruments
Familiarity with debugging, code reuse and shared libraries, and writing clean, maintainable code

Responsibilities

Write and maintain Python scripts that automate qualification testing of optical transceivers and subsystems (EVT/DVT/PVT/characterization), using the team's existing test frameworks, instrument drivers, and switch/host abstractions
Test and characterize optical modules and subsystems for data center applications, with a focus on next-generation, high-speed optical technology
Support optics NPI programs, working closely with optics vendors and ODMs from EVT/DVT/PVT through mass production (MP) ramp
Help find, debug, and remediate optical hardware/firmware failure modes before modules are certified for mass production; contribute to root-cause analysis and corrective action with vendors and ODMs
Set up and operate NPI test stations in Meta's labs: integrate modules, switches, and instruments, and debug at-scale, lights-out test executions
Develop tests and measurement methodologies for high-speed optical technologies and implement them as Python test automation
Develop instrument automation and integration (BERT, OSA, optical power/wavelength meters, scopes) and CMIS register-level module control
Contribute to data capture, storage, and visualization so that test results are trustworthy, queryable, and actionable
Collaborate across SW, Thermal, Mechanical, Electrical Engineering, and signal integrity teams to integrate optics into systems
Interface with the industry and contribute to the RFI/RFP process for optical solutions
Communicate complex optical hardware requirements to non-experts both internally and to industry-facing stakeholders