Principal Optical Engine (OE) / Link Architect

Job Title

Principal Optical Engine (OE) / Link Architect

Role Summary

Lead the technical definition and architecture of optical link design for next-generation optical products, delivering OCI-MSA–ready Optical Engines. Work closely with Product Management to translate market requirements into detailed, actionable product requirements and guide cross-functional engineering teams on system-level trade-offs.

The role requires end-to-end responsibility for optical transceiver subsystems, link budgets, PIC–EIC integration, and compliance with relevant optical interconnect standards.

Experience Level

Senior — 10+ years of relevant industry experience (e.g., Transceiver Architect, Link Architect, Principal Optical System Architect).

Responsibilities

The principal responsibilities focus on product definition, system architecture, and standards alignment for high-speed optical engines.

• Develop, refine, and own Product Requirements Documents (PRDs) from Market Requirements Documents (MRDs).
• Architect complete optical transceiver sub-systems, balancing optical, electrical, thermal, and mechanical constraints to meet power, performance, and cost targets.
• Define and manage end-to-end optical link budgets; model impairments (dispersion, noise, crosstalk, penalties) and set FEC requirements.
• Lead system-level integration between Photonic ICs (PICs) and Electronic ICs (EICs), optimizing interactions among DSPs, TIAs, modulator drivers, and optical components.
• Drive modulation and signal-integrity decisions (e.g., PAM4, coherent) and coordinate with SI/PI teams for high-speed interface compliance.
• Represent the company in standards bodies and ensure alignment with OCI and MSA specifications.
• Perform technical and cost trade-off analyses for architectures, packaging technologies, component selection, and link allocation.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience required for immediate contribution.

• 10+ years of industry experience in transceiver, link, or optical system architecture roles.
• Demonstrated experience in optical transceiver design and form factors (e.g., OSFP, QSFP-DD, co-packaged optics).
• Deep hands-on expertise in PIC and EIC system architecture and their integration at the board/module level.
• Proven mastery of link budgeting, optical penalty modeling, and FEC trade-offs for high-speed datacom/telecom links.
• Familiarity with OCI ecosystem and developing products to meet Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) requirements.
• Strong product-definition skills: ability to produce detailed PRDs and translate MRDs into engineering specifications.
• Experience at tier-1 semiconductor or optical networking companies preferred (e.g., Intel, Broadcom, Marvell, Cisco).
• Excellent verbal and written communication; able to explain link-level technical concepts to engineering and business stakeholders.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with 2.5D/3D packaging (TSV, micro-bumping, flip-chip) related to optical engines.
• Deep understanding of thermal challenges in high-density, co-packaged, or pluggable optical systems.

Education Requirements

MS or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Photonics, Physics, or a related field (explicitly stated). Equivalent advanced degrees or closely related technical graduate education acceptable.

About the Company

Company: Xscape Photonics

Headquarters: Santa Clara, California, United States

Developer of integrated photonics solutions and instrumentation, specializing in photonic circuits, control systems, and test methodologies for optical communication and sensing applications. Works on device integration, control algorithms, and validation of photonic hardware and firmware.