Optical System Architect

Ciena•New Providence, NJ

1d•Remote

About The Position

Join Ciena’s xPO System Architecture and Simulation team driving next-generation optical interconnect innovation for AI-scale systems. This role shapes the architecture of emerging Near-Packaged Optics (NPO) and Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) solutions, ensuring industry-leading performance across integrated photonics, packaging, and system-level design.

Requirements

Master’s degree (+) in Optics/Photonics, Physics, or Electrical Engineering with industry experience in simulation, measurement, or system architecture
Knowledge of high-speed photonics and optical system design with emphasis on integrated photonics
Understanding of signal integrity principles and intensity modulation/direct detection (IMDD) transceiver design
Proficiency in Python programming
Ability to synthesize complex technical findings into clear communication

Nice To Haves

PhD in Optics/Photonics, Physics, or Electrical Engineering
Familiarity with IEEE and Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) standards
Experience with signal integrity and power integrity analysis
Knowledge of digital signal processing and numerical analysis
Background in silicon photonics
Experience with high-speed test and measurement tools such as vector network analyzers (VNAs), bit-error-rate testers (BERTs), and oscilloscopes

Responsibilities

Define architectures for current and future xPO interconnect products
Evaluate high-level system requirements and translate them into subcomponent specifications for engineering teams
Lead system-level modeling and simulation efforts to enable end-to-end performance validation
Correlate simulated and measured performance data to refine internal models
Advance internally developed Python-based link simulation tools
Collaborate across photonic integrated circuits (PICs), electrical integrated circuit (EICs), packaging, and other engineering groups to optimize system design
Present system insights and results to internal and external stakeholders