Optical Switch Engineer - Onsite

Job Title:

Optical Switch Engineer

Location:

Menlo Park, CA
Work Model: 100% Onsite (Client Site)
Company:
Industry‑leading global technology company operating hyperscale networks

About the Role

We are seeking a highly skilled Optical Switch Engineer to support optical switching platforms, automation workflows, and data center network operations for a global hyperscale technology organization. The ideal candidate has strong hands-on experience with optical hardware, switching platforms, automation tooling, and troubleshooting complex network/optical environments at scale.

This role requires close partnership with hardware, software, operations, and capacity planning teams, along with a strong desire to learn proprietary platforms, tools, and automation systems.

Candidates with experience designing or operating environments with tens of thousands of devices or massive-scale optical systems are strongly encouraged to apply.

High-Level Qualifications

• 5+ years experience in optical networking or transport engineering

• 2+ years automating network operations and workflows (mandatory)

• 1+ year Data Center Network (DCN) Engineering experience (mandatory)

• Hands-on experience with Fiber spool, PDUs, switches, and related core network hardware

• Experience with IXIA, Calient, and/or Telescent optical switching platforms

• Repository management experience (Git or equivalent tools)

• Deployment automation experience (Ansible or similar)

• Strong programming/scripting skills in Python (OOP) or Go/Bash

• Knowledge of data center fabric architectures and telemetry systems

• Experience with gNMI-based monitoring technologies

• Bachelor’s degree in EE, CE, Telecommunications, or equivalent experience

• Vendor certifications or formal optical training (Ciena, Infinera, Nokia, Juniper, Cisco)

Detailed Responsibilities

1. Optical Switching & Physical Layer Work

• Hands-on expertise with IXIA, Calient, and/or Telescent optical switch platforms

• Multi-vendor cabling and optics expertise

• Strong foundation in physical layer components:
- Fiber cleaning/inspection
- Cabling standards (TIA/EIA, ISO/IEC)
- OTDR, power meters, light meters
- Transceiver compatibility & diagnostics (DOM/DDM)

2. Automation Workflows

• Build, enhance, and maintain automation for optical switching and network workflows

• Develop API integrations, scripts, and configuration automation

• Use configuration management systems to automate provisioning, monitoring, and diagnostics

• Deploy automation at hyperscale across thousands of devices

3. Troubleshooting & Diagnostics

• Diagnose issues in DWDM and PON systems

• Use OTDR and related tools for fault isolation

• Analyze optical signal loss, BER issues, and transceiver telemetry

• Resolve high-capacity optical link performance issues

4. Installation & Configuration

• Configure network devices for IPv4, IPv6, DHCP, DHCPv6, DNS

• Implement firewalls (stateful/stateless) based on security requirements

• Perform physical and logical installation of network and optical equipment

5. Maintenance & Operational Support

• Monitor network performance using SNMP, Net Flow, sFlow, ICMP, IPSLA, RPM probes, syslog

• Update firewall rules and network configurations

• Provide pre‑ and post‑migration support

• Conduct root cause analysis and resolve complex incidents

6. Performance Optimization

• Apply QoS for optimized traffic prioritization

• Implement NAT/NAT
64 as needed

• Optimize bandwidth usage and network efficiency

7. Disaster Recovery & Backup

• Implement ECMP and redundancy strategies

• Configure backup and failover mechanisms

• Ensure rapid recovery through monitoring and automated fallback

8. Testing, Validation & Commissioning

• Use IXIA for throughput, latency, resiliency, and failover validation

• Perform lab and production acceptance testing for:
- Optical transport systems
- PON OLT/ONT platforms
- Fiber automation workflows

• Conduct pre‑production and regression testing

Soft Requirements (Preferred)

• Ability to design & implement spine‑leaf architectures

• Familiarity with SLAAC, IPFIX/Net Flow

• Strong understanding of server and switch architecture

• Experience planning and designing IPv4/IPv6 address architectures

• Knowledge of routing protocols: BGP/MP‑BGP, EVPN‑VXLAN, OSPF

• Experience with network migrations, documentation, dependency mapping

• Security experience: MACsec, IPSec, RADIUS/PI servers

• Familiarity with NIST framework and industry security standards

• Understanding of compliance standards (IEEE 802.1X/MAB)

Outcome & Deliverables

• Final deliverables will be determined (TBD) based on project scope, migration plans, and operational requirements.

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