Optical Engineer

Overview

Berkeley Lab’s (LBNL) Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) Division has an immediate opening for an Optical Engineer to join our team. In this role, you will serve as a senior optical network engineer within ESnet’s Network Services group, with primary responsibility to apply a wide-range of expertise to the design, deployment, and operation of ESnet’s international DWDM optical transport infrastructure, tightly integrated with ESnet’s IP/MPLS backbone and science services.

The position requires strong working knowledge of advanced routing protocols, such as BGP, IS-IS, Segment Routing and IP network services, as well as the ability to perform general network connectivity troubleshooting and end-to-end problem resolution across optical, IP, and application layers in a large-scale production environment. You will work closely with ESnet engineers, operations teams, scientific user sites, Regional Optical Networks (RONs), international partners, vendors, and carriers to deliver reliable, high-performance transport services that support mission-critical science.

• Competitive salary and benefits
• Opportunity to work with cutting-edge technologies and collaborate with experienced professionals
• Professional development and growth opportunities, including training and certification programs
• Flexible work arrangements, including remote work options

• Design, deploy, and operate large-scale DWDM optical transport systems, including link engineering, loss budgets, OSNR analysis, amplifier planning, and ROADM architectures.
• Commission and maintain optical systems using industry best practices, including OTDR analysis, fiber characterization, and performance validation.
• Act as a technical authority for ESnet transport platforms, providing expert guidance on system behavior, limitations, and optimization.
• Integrate optical transport systems with ESnet’s IP/MPLS backbone and advanced network services.
• Provide escalation support for optical-related incidents and participate in an on-call rotation in support of 24×7 operations.
• Troubleshoot complex, end-to-end network issues spanning optical, IP, and application layers across multiple administrative domains.
• Lead transport-related projects from concept through deployment, including scope definition, scheduling, vendor coordination, and implementation.
• Develop optical designs, capacity plans, and cost estimates to support infrastructure planning and procurement.
• Evaluate new transport technologies, platforms, and features; contribute to ESnet’s optical technology roadmap.
• Maintain accurate technical documentation, designs, and operational procedures.
• Network with key contacts outside own area of expertise.
• Determine methods and procedures on new assignments and may coordinate activities of other personnel.
• Exercise judgment in selecting methods, techniques and evaluation criteria for obtaining results.
• Collaborate closely with internal stakeholders including routing, operations, science engagement, software engineering, and business operations teams.
• Coordinate with external partners such as vendors, carriers, and R&E peers to provision, modify, and optimize network services.
• Provide technical mentoring and guidance to less-experienced engineers and contribute to the development of operational processes and training materials.

• Exposure to or experience supporting long-haul and subsea fiber systems, including collaboration with providers on spectrum availability, wet-plant capabilities, and system constraints.
• Experience working with international or inter-domain optical systems and partners.
• Familiarity with large-scale capacity planning across heterogeneous optical infrastructures.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, and 8 years of relevant networking experience, with significant depth in optical transport systems. Or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated experience designing, deploying, and operating DWDM optical networks in production environments.
• Strong understanding of WAN and LAN technologies and protocols, including IPv4/IPv6, BGP,…