Principal Field Application Engineer - Optical Connectivity

Job Title

Principal Field Application Engineer - Optical Connectivity

Role Summary

Principal FAE responsible for driving design wins and leading customer co-development for Semtech's high-speed analog ICs for optical and copper data-center interconnect. The role engages Tier-1 hyperscaler engineering teams to secure immediate revenue and to define next-generation 1.6T/3.2T connectivity solutions.

Experience Level

Senior — 8+ years of Field Application Engineer (FAE) experience preferred.

Responsibilities

Deliver technical leadership to accelerate customer design-ins, lead co-development projects, and influence product strategy.

• Drive design wins for high-speed drivers, TIAs, redrivers, and related analog ICs with Tier-1 data center customers.
• Accelerate customer design cycles by diagnosing and removing technical barriers to shipping product.
• Lead co-development for next-generation (1.6T, 3.2T+) interconnect technologies with customer engineering teams.
• Create joint innovation programs, proofs-of-concept, and validate solutions in customer labs.
• Provide pre-sales and post-sales technical support, troubleshooting, and system-level validation guidance.
• Advise on hardware design, PCB layout, impedance control, signal integrity, firmware integration, and system qualification.
• Support customer qualification with equipment manufacturers, network operators, and cloud providers.
• Produce application notes, white papers, and design guides to document best practices and technical findings.
• Influence product management and R&D priorities using customer insights; act as strategic technical advisor to sales and product leadership.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience for immediate impact; preferred items noted separately.

• Must-have: Expert-level signal integrity knowledge for high-speed channels, including modulation, channel modeling, and equalization for 800G–3.2T systems.
• Must-have: Experience with optical transceiver architecture, design, validation, and manufacturing processes.
• Must-have: Hands-on high-speed PCB design experience (layout, impedance control, SI validation) and proficiency with test equipment (network analyzers, BER testers, high-bandwidth oscilloscopes).
• Must-have: Familiarity with LPO/LRO/CPO architectures and with IEEE 802.3 and OIF standards.
• Must-have: Proven success leading customer co-development projects and securing significant revenue-impacting design wins.
• Must-have: Strong communication skills and ability to influence technical and business stakeholders without formal authority.
• Nice-to-have: Direct experience with laser/modulator drivers, TIAs, redrivers, or DSPs.
• Nice-to-have: Active participation in standards bodies (IEEE 802.3, OIF) or prior experience at hyperscalers, optical module vendors, or data center equipment manufacturers.
• Nice-to-have: Established relationships with Tier-1 hyperscaler engineering teams and Bay Area ecosystem partners.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related technical field required. Master's degree or Ph.D. preferred.

About the Company

Company: Semtech

Headquarters: Camarillo, California, USA

Semtech Corporation is a high-performance semiconductor company providing IoT systems and Cloud connectivity solutions. The company focuses on delivering innovative technology solutions that support a smarter, more connected, and sustainable planet, with a dedication to quality across infrastructure, industrial, and consumer markets.