Senior Optical Systems Validation Engineer - Optical Circuit Switch; OCS

Senior Optical Systems Validation Engineer
- Optical Circuit Switch (OCS) at Psi Quantum, Palo Alto, California (remote). A senior-level full time position in the 6150 - Biz Dev
- Optical Circuit Switch team, listed under hardware engineering.

We are seeking a Senior Optical Systems Validation Engineer to lead the validation of optical switching technology in representative data-center communication systems.

Working closely with photonics, hardware, firmware, and systems engineering, you will own the bring-up of optical link and bit-error-rate setups, define validation plans, and quantify performance under customer-relevant operating conditions. Your work will provide the evidence needed for product readiness, design decisions, and customer demonstrations, and help establish the team’s test capabilities, qualification methods, and technical approach to optical link validation.

This is a hands-on technical role for an engineer with relevant experience and a track record of independently building and debugging communication test systems.

Actual compensation may vary outside of these ranges and is dependent on various factors including, but not limited to, a candidate's qualifications, relevant education and training, competencies, experience, geographic location, business needs, and internal equity. Your recruiter can share more details about the salary range applicable to your location during the hiring process.

• Zone 1 - Bay Area and NYC
• Zone 2 - Examples include Los Angeles and Washington DC
• Zone 3 - Examples include Austin, Chicago, and Sacramento
• Zone 4 - Examples include Nashville and Phoenix/Tempe and many remote locations

• Translate customer requirements into optical link validation plans, including test configurations, coverage, operating conditions, acceptance criteria, and appropriate test durations.
• Select, bring up, and automate test setups using BER equipment, optical transceivers, evaluation platforms, and relevant communication endpoints.
• Build representative link configurations based on intended customer architectures, including relevant scale-up and scale-out applications.
• Measure link error performance and remaining optical power margin under steady-state and dynamic operating conditions, comparing reference links with links incorporating our switching subsystems.
• Investigate link failures and performance limitations, distinguish subsystem effects from transceiver, electrical-interface, firmware, and test-setup behavior, and coordinate investigations with the relevant engineering teams.
• Develop repeatable demonstrations and produce clear reports describing measured performance, limitations, and readiness for customer evaluation.

• Degree in Electrical Engineering, Photonics, Physics, Computer Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Relevant experience (5+ years preferred) in high-speed optical communications or interconnect validation, including independent ownership of hardware bring-up and qualification.
• Hands-on experience building and debugging optical link test setups using BER equipment, optical transceivers, and relevant optical or high-speed electrical instrumentation.
• Understanding of optical link budgets, receiver sensitivity, high-speed modulation, receiver synchronization, equalization, and forward error correction.
• Proficiency in Python or a comparable language for instrument control, test automation, and data analysis.
• Ability to translate link requirements into measurable, reproducible tests, critically interpret results, and communicate findings across engineering teams.

• Experience validating optical switching systems or data-center optical interconnects.
• Experience with transient measurements, receiver synchronization, or link recovery testing.
• Experience with Ethernet, Infini Band, or other relevant high-speed interconnect interfaces.
• Experience building network testbeds and using traffic generators to measure throughput, latency, and packet loss.
• Experience supporting customer evaluations or reproducing integration issues in the laboratory.