Senior Manufacturing Engineer

VIAVI (NASDAQ: VIAV) is a global provider of network test, monitoring and assurance solutions for telecommunications, cloud, enterprises, first responders, military, aerospace, and railway. VIAVI is also a leader in light management technologies for 3D sensing, anti-counterfeiting, consumer electronics, industrial, automotive, government and aerospace applications. We are the people behind the products that help keep the world connected at home, school, work, at play, and everywhere in between.

VIAVI employees are passionate about supporting customer success and we welcome people who bring their best every day to the company – to question, to collaborate and to push for solutions that will delight our customers.

Join the founding members of a new Operations Engineering NPI team in Indianapolis, chartered with bringing VIAVI's next generation of fiber optic test instruments — OTDR modules, handheld fiber testers, optical power meters and sources, and automated fiber certification platforms — from R&D into volume manufacturing. As the Senior Manufacturing Engineer, you own how these products get built: the process flow, the tooling and fixturing, the work instructions, and the qualification that proves the line can produce them repeatably and  will work in close partnership with R&D in Indianapolis and VIAVI's prime fiber optic design center in St.

Etienne, France, and with our internal and contract manufacturing factories.

Note to Applicants:
This is a factory process and industrialization role. It is NOT a product design, field service, or production supervision position.

• Photonics Process Training:
  Structured ramp-up on fiber handling, splicing, connectorization, and optical cleanliness control if you are coming from an adjacent electromechanical or electro-optical background.
• Greenfield Ownership:
  Define the process architecture, documentation standards, and tooling strategy for a portfolio, rather than inheriting someone else's.
• Global Exposure:
  Direct working relationships with an international R&D organization and with contract manufacturing partners.

• Manufacturing Process Definition:
  Define the build process:
  Own end-to-end manufacturing process design for new fiber optic instruments — process flow, assembly sequence, station definition, routings, and work content — from PCBA integration through optical subassembly, final assembly, calibration, and pack-out.
• Optical assembly processes:
  Develop and qualify processes for fiber handling and routing, bend radius control, splicing and connectorization, optical connector integration (SC/LC/FC, UPC/APC), adhesive dispense and cure, and optical subassembly alignment.
• Contamination control:
  Establish connector end-face inspection and cleaning protocols to industry standards and the broader cleanliness discipline that fiber optic assembly yield depends on.
• Line design and capacity:
  Define line layout, station ergonomics, cycle time, line balance, and labor content; model capacity against forecast volumes and identify the constraints before they bite.
• Design for Manufacturing and Assembly:
  Partner with R&D in Indianapolis and St. Etienne from concept phase forward, providing structured DFM/DFA feedback on part design, tolerance stack-up, fastening and joining methods, optical accessibility, and assembly sequence. Participate in design reviews as the manufacturing voice; quantify the cost and yield impact of design choices rather than asserting them. Drive design changes that reduce part count, assembly time, scrap risk, and the need for skilled manual operations.
• Tooling, Fixturing, and Equipment:
  Specify, design, procure, and qualify assembly tooling, fixtures, jigs, and…