Senior Optical Manufacturing Test Engineer - Software Automation

Job Title

Senior Optical Manufacturing Test Engineer - Software Automation

Role Summary

Develop and maintain automated manufacturing test software and validation frameworks for photonic components, modules, and systems. The role combines hands-on production testing with software development to support new product introduction (NPI) and volume manufacturing.

Work closely with optical design, hardware, manufacturing, and quality teams to perform calibration, characterization, troubleshooting, and production-level test ownership.

Experience Level

Senior — demonstrated experience (7+ years) in software testing and test automation for optical transceiver products and manufacturing environments.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include owning manufacturing test software, developing automated test frameworks, and validating Layer 1 and Layer 2 systems.

• Define, develop, and maintain test software for high-volume manufacturing of optical components.
• Own manufacturing test lifecycle: version control, change management, regression testing, test logs, and QMS compliance.
• Maintain up-to-date test documentation and specifications; manage test cases, results, and defect tracking.
• Perform functional, regression, and performance testing on Layer 1 and Layer 2 network systems; validate hardware/software integration with optical interfaces and switches.
• Configure and use traffic generators (e.g., IXIA) to simulate network conditions and evaluate performance.
• Develop, maintain, and execute automated test cases and frameworks in Python; continuously improve test methodologies.
• Integrate test software with cloud monitoring and reporting tools and with test-data storage solutions.
• Collaborate on troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and defect resolution across software and hardware teams.
• Analyze test yield and implement continuous improvement plans to improve yield, cycle time, throughput, and reduce scrap.
• Plan and execute qualification testing with quality teams; ensure DFM and DFT guidelines are met.
• Generate comprehensive test reports and develop automated troubleshooting tools, templates, and data-analysis workflows for manufacturing testers.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills, tools, and experience required to perform the role.

• 7+ years hands-on experience in software testing and test automation for optical transceiver products, including silicon photonics and production environments.
• Proven experience with Python and/or C# for test automation; ability to write or adapt scripts (LabVIEW, Visual Basic, shell scripting a plus).
• Experience with database integration and test-data logging: SQL and NoSQL systems for analysis and reporting.
• Strong knowledge of unit and integration testing, automated test frameworks, and version control workflows (GitHub, Bitbucket, SVN).
• Experience with Layer 1 and Layer 2 networking protocols, network switches, and traffic generators (IXIA or equivalent).
• Practical skills in yield analysis, SPC, GR&R, tester correlation, and statistical data analysis for manufacturing.
• Familiarity with hardware communication protocols: NI-VISA, SCPI, RS-232, TCP/IP and with Windows Forms/WPF and OOP concepts.
• Experience with reliability testing, quality management systems, and production test best practices.
• Ability to manage multiple test projects and priorities in a fast-paced environment and work across geographically distributed teams.
• Effective English communication skills for written reports and presentations; ability to mentor and train peers.
• International travel required.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, or a related technical field, plus approximately 7 years of hands-on experience in software testing and test automation for optical transceiver products including silicon photonics. (Education and experience were specified together in the source.)

About the Company

Company: Lumilens

Headquarters: San Jose, CA, USA

Lumilens develops integrated photonics and optical interconnect solutions for high-speed data communication and chip-to-chip interfaces, focusing on optical front-end hardware and co-packaged optics for advanced semiconductor systems.