Senior Photonic Systems Test Architect

Salience Labs Ltd; Abingdon; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Salience Labs Ltd in the United Kingdom is seeking a senior Lab Test Engineer to own the system test capability for photonic switching hardware. You will define test strategies, build measurement setups and automate data capture in a fast, lab-driven environment.

You will mentor engineers, coordinate with Photonics, Electronics, Firmware and Product teams, and drive test readiness through structured plans and data-led decisions in pursuit of high-bandwidth, low-latency AI infrastructure goals.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of hands-on lab experience with optical, photonic or mixed signal electronic setups.
• Ability to build, debug and optimise measurement systems, and automate test workflows.
• Comfortable with test coverage, data quality and repeatability underpinning decisions.
• Ability to plan rigorously, track progress, and flag risks early.
• Background in photonics, optics, MEMS, mixed signal electronics, semiconductor test or high-speed transceiver validation.
• Experience with automated test frameworks and scripting for test automation and data analysis tooling.
• Fluency in Python (NumPy) and familiarity with VISA/SCPI protocols.

Responsibilities

• Define and own the system level test strategy for Salience’s photonic switching platform, covering test planning, setup definition, execution and reporting
• Build and maintain complex optical and electronic measurement setups with strong attention to stability, repeatability and safety
• Automate test sequences and data capture pipelines to minimise manual overhead and accelerate learning cycles
• Develop and communicate a clear view of test readiness, critical paths and parallelisable work
• Create plans, timelines and prioritisation frameworks that reflect real engineering constraints
• Optimise existing test processes by identifying wasted effort, anticipating failure modes and preparing setups ahead of hardware arrivals
• Collaborate closely with Photonics, Electronics, Firmware and Product teams to ensure test outputs align with system level performance requirements for high bandwidth, low latency switching
• Drive a culture of disciplined execution with a clear understanding of the commercial end goal
• Mentor and guide other engineers in test practice, automation and lab discipline
• Shape and lead the function with competence, judgement and reliability, even before any formal line management is introduced

Skills

Python (NumPy)

Test automation

Data analysis

Measurement systems

Lab environments

Scripting

Tools

VISA/SCPI

Job description

Salience Labs Ltd in the United Kingdom is seeking a senior Lab Test Engineer to own the system test capability for photonic switching hardware. You will define test strategies, build measurement setups and automate data capture in a fast, lab-driven environment.

You will mentor engineers, coordinate with Photonics, Electronics, Firmware and Product teams, and drive test readiness through structured plans and data-led decisions in pursuit of high-bandwidth, low-latency AI infrastructure goals.