Senior Optical System Engineer

Arista Networks • Santa Clara, CA

7d

About The Position

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Senior Optical System Engineer to join our hardware engineering team focused on next-generation AI/datacenter optical interconnect technologies. In this role, you will lead the design, development, validation, qualification, and optimization of advanced optical sub-systems including silicon photonics PICs, optical engines, high-speed DSP-based optical links, and 1.6T/3.2T optical Interconnects.
The ideal candidate will have strong expertise in optical systems, CPO/OCI architectures, system-level interoperability, high-speed optical/electrical characterization, automated test development, and optical system qualification. This role requires close collaboration with photonics, DSP/ASIC, SI/PI, packaging, firmware, and manufacturing teams to support the development and production ramp of scalable, high-performance, and power-efficient optical interconnect solutions for hyperscale AI infrastructure.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a closely related field.
• Minimum 5 years of hands-on experience in optical system validation, optical transceiver qualification, or optical subsystem testing.
• Strong experience with silicon photonics PICs, optical transceivers, optical engines, high-speed DSP-based links, CPO/OCI architectures, LPO/LRO/XPO optical systems, and AI/datacenter optical interconnect architectures.
• Direct experience with 400G, 800G, and 1.6T optical systems, PAM4 modulation, high-speed Rx/Tx characterization, switch-level interoperability testing, firmware and EEPROM validation, BER/TDECQ/RIN measurements, receiver sensitivity testing, and wafer-level optical characterization.
• Strong familiarity with optical communication principles including NRZ/PAM4 modulation, dispersion, OSNR, jitter, equalization, signal integrity, and power integrity concepts.
• Proficiency with optical and electrical lab instrumentation including BERTs, DCAs, high-speed oscilloscopes, OSAs, tunable lasers, VOAs, network analyzers, high-speed probes and fixtures, and optical power meters.
• Strong experience with test automation and scripting using Python, MATLAB, and LabVIEW, along with familiarity with database-driven analytics and regression automation frameworks.
• Familiarity with optical and RF simulation tools such as Lumerical, HFSS, ADS, COMSOL, VPI, and Zemax.
• Strong understanding of IEEE 802.3 standards, QSFP-DD/OSFP modules, CMIS, optical module architectures, equalization techniques including CTLE, DFE, and FIR, as well as optical packaging and thermal considerations.
• Experience with interoperability testing, root-cause and debugging.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, debugging, and communication skills with the ability to work independently and collaboratively in cross-functional teams.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s or Ph.D. degree in Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field.
• Experience with silicon photonics, optical engine packaging, AI interconnect architectures, optical switching systems, co-packaged optics (CPO), Optical Compute Interconnect (OCI), and coherent optical systems.
• Experience with high-speed transceiver and optical engine testing at 100G, 400G, 800G, and 1.6T data rates.
• Familiarity with DSP tuning and equalization techniques including CTLE, DFE, FIR equalization, adaptive equalization, and PAM4 eye optimization.
• Familiarity with optical and RF simulation tools including Lumerical, HFSS, ADS, COMSOL, VPI, and Zemax.
• Exposure to AI cluster optical interconnect architectures, optical switching fabrics, XPO/LPO/LRO systems, and high-density optical engine architectures.
• Experience with database-driven analytics platforms, automated regression validation systems, and production test automation frameworks is highly desirable.
• Publications, patents, industry conference presentations, or contributions to IEEE, OIF, MSA, or CMIS standards activities are considered a strong plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead system-level design validation and qualification of advanced optical interconnect products including 1.6T/3.2T optical interconnect, silicon photonics PICs, optical engines, DSP-based optical links, and CPO/OCI systems.
• Develop and execute comprehensive validation plans for optical modules, high-speed electrical and optical interfaces, switch-level interoperability, and rack-level system qualification.
• Characterize and optimize key optical and electrical performance metrics including BER, TDECQ, jitter, OSNR, extinction ratio, receiver sensitivity, eye quality, link margin, and power efficiency.
• Perform module-level, simulation-level, and system-level qualification testing for IMDD and coherent optical systems.
• Lead high-speed optical and electrical debug activities for PAM4 links operating at 200G/lane, 400G/lane, and beyond.
• Develop, automate, and maintain optical/electrical test stations using Python, MATLAB, LabVIEW, and database-driven analytics tools.
• Collaborate closely with photonics, DSP/ASIC, SI/PI, packaging, firmware, manufacturing, and system architecture teams to optimize overall system performance and manufacturability.
• Support optical architecture development for AI clusters, XPO/LPO/LRO systems, co-packaged optics, optical switching systems, and optical compute fabrics.
• Contribute to industry standards activities including IEEE 802.3, OIF, CMIS, and MSA specifications.
• Analyze test results and generate detailed technical reports to support design reviews, customer qualification, and production deployment.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior