Senior Principal Validation Engineer, VCSEL Optical Interconnect Test Platforms

Job Title

Senior Principal Validation Engineer, VCSEL Optical Interconnect Test Platforms

Role Summary

Lead validation strategy and delivery for VCSEL-based optical interconnect test platforms and benches across multiple Marvell labs (Italy, Vietnam, Canada, US). Collaborate with analog, DSP, digital, firmware, packaging, optics and PCB teams to bring up, characterize and validate electro-optical products from first silicon through tape-out.

Accountable for bench and instrument architecture, hardware design and bring-up, measurement methodology, automation, vendor qualification and building a multi-site validation organization.

Experience Level

Senior - requires extensive experience. Typical guidance from the posting: 15+ years with a Bachelor's degree, or 10+ years with a Master's/PhD.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include defining and executing validation, bench and test-platform plans and delivering lab capabilities across sites.

• Define validation program direction, bench architecture, instrument selection and roadmap; drive calibration and correlation across labs.
• Design and develop electrical and optical test platforms: evaluation boards, PCBs, test fixtures and adapters; manage fabrication, assembly and bring-up.
• Develop and validate measurement techniques for optical links and high-speed electrical interfaces (optical power, spectrum, eye/waveform, BER, noise/jitter, link margin).
• Bring up, debug and characterize electro-optical chiplets and products; execute validation plans from first silicon through product tape-out.
• Automate benches and data flows in Python for instrument control, data collection, analysis and cross-site correlation.
• Evaluate and qualify instruments and optics vendor samples; correlate results across vendors and locations.
• Produce test plans, characterization reports, bench and board design guidelines and application collateral.
• Recruit, coach and mentor engineers; act as the technical authority and main vendor contact.

Requirements

Must-have technical capabilities, lab experience and leadership for the role.

• Expert-level experience with high-speed electrical lab measurements: real-time and sampling oscilloscopes, BERT, VNA/TDR, AWG, spectrum analyzers and solid lab technique.
• Expert-level optical lab measurement experience: optical power meters, optical spectrum analyzers, high-speed photoreceivers, fiber handling and optical alignment.
• Bench automation and data analysis in Python; instrument control via SCPI/VISA/GPIB. Familiarity with MATLAB, JMP or R is useful.
• Working knowledge of high-speed board design: schematics/layouts, SI/PI, transmission-line and EM fundamentals, PCB materials, fabrication and assembly; experience with OrCAD/Allegro or equivalent.
• Strong fundamentals in communication systems and analog/digital circuit design; excellent troubleshooting and root-cause analysis skills.
• Proven technical leadership and experience defining strategy and building multi-site teams; ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders.
• Fluent English and ability to collaborate with teams across Italy, Vietnam, Canada and the US.
• May require eligibility to access export-controlled technology; non-U.S. applicants may be subject to export license review.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with VCSELs, photodetectors, optical modules, electro-optical interconnect characterization or chiplet/die-to-die interfaces.
• Experience qualifying external optics suppliers or building a lab/validation organization from scratch.
• Knowledge of DSP communication theory and data networking physical-layer specifications.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's, Master's or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Optical Engineering or a related field. Posting guidance: 15+ years of related experience with a Bachelor's, or 10+ years with a Master's/PhD.

About the Company

Company: Marvell Technology

Headquarters: Santa Clara, California, United States

Marvell’s semiconductor solutions serve as essential building blocks of the data infrastructure connecting our world, driving innovation across enterprise, cloud, AI, and carrier architectures. The company focuses on creating transformative technology that shapes the future.