Test Engineer - FAU Product Development Engineering

Job Overview

Join TE Connectivity’s Passive Optics organization as a Test Engineer supporting Fiber Array Unit (FAU) product development and manufacturing readiness. This role will focus on developing optical, electro‑optic, and mechanical test methods for FAU products used in advanced optical systems, including packaged optical assemblies, customer platform interfaces, PIC interfaces, PM fiber interfaces, and precision alignment architectures.

On‑site at our Rochester location.

• Product Validation & Test Strategy
• Develop validation plans for FAU products in partnership with optical PDE, mechanical PDE, Quality Engineering, MPDE, and lab teams
• Define optical and mechanical verification methods for package‑level and assembly‑level FAU performance
• Characterize FAU interfaces to customer platforms, packaged optical systems, and PIC‑based assemblies
• Translate customer requirements, design risks, and process risks into practical validation and verification plans
• Create test plans, procedures, reports, acceptance criteria, data summaries, and engineering documentation

• Develop and execute test methods for insertion loss, return loss, back reflection, coupling efficiency, alignment sensitivity, and optical loss contributors
• Support free‑space optical characterization, including beam pointing, beam quality, optical coupling, and polarization performance
• Characterize PM fiber‑based FAU performance, including polarization alignment, PER, coupling sensitivity, and stress‑related degradation
• Validate passive and active alignment approaches, including precision alignment of mounting bolsters and other critical FAU design features
• Define and execute mechanical verification methods for dimensional stability, mounting interfaces, assembly robustness, retention, and environmental performance
• Use optical, mechanical, and process data to support root cause analysis and performance improvement

• Develop and improve automated optical and mechanical test routines using instrument control, structured data collection, and repeatable measurement sequences
• Partner with MPDE to support production test platform development, including test flow, data capture, operator usability, repeatability, and engineering‑to‑production correlation
• Analyze validation, engineering build, and production test data to identify performance trends, process variation, measurement variation, and failure modes
• Support transfer of engineering test methods into scalable production verification approaches
• Use automation and data analysis to improve test efficiency, reduce manual variation, and support manufacturing readiness

• Define requirements for optical and mechanical test fixtures used for FAU validation, customer interface characterization, and production verification
• Work with mechanical PDE, MPDE, lab teams, and vendors to develop, debug, and qualify fixtures and test equipment
• Develop, configure, and improve hands‑on test equipment and measurement systems
• Partner with Quality Engineering on measurement system analysis, repeatability and reproducibility, calibration, and test method robustness

• Partner with optical and mechanical PDE teams early in the design cycle to influence design‑for‑test, test access, alignment datum strategy, and production verification feasibility
• Work with Quality Engineering and MPDE to define production verification methods, sampling strategies, and test execution plans
• Interface with customers to understand validation and verification expectations and support alignment on test methodology
• Communicate test results, validation approaches, measurement methods, and performance tradeoffs to internal and external stakeholders

• BS/MS in Optical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, or related technical field
• Min of 3 years experience in optical test engineering, product validation, precision assembly, fiber optics, optical components, or related engineering fields
• Hands‑on experience with…