Senior Optical Engineer: PICs Lead (Flexible Work)

Ciena Corporation; Lombardia; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Ciena Corporation in Milan is seeking an experienced Senior Optical Engineer to design, test, and optimize photonic technologies across the product lifecycle. You will develop PICs and optical modules, create automated test workflows in Python, and collaborate across hardware, software, and manufacturing teams to ensure robust product integration.

The role requires 5+ years in photonics, strong expertise with PIC design tools, and hands-on optical characterization capabilities, with English

Qualifications

• Master's or PhD in Optics, Photonics, Physics or related field.
• 5+ years designing, testing, and optimizing photonic systems.
• Proficiency with PIC design tools (Lumerical, VPIphotonics) or equivalent.
• Python proficiency for automation and data analysis.
• Experience with optical characterization equipment (OSA, Power Meters, Tunable Lasers).
• Strong communication in English.

Responsibilities

• Design, simulate, and optimize PICs and optical modules for telecommunications and photonics.
• Develop and implement discrete optical test setups for component, subsystem, and system-level testing.
• Define, execute, and document optical test plans, methodologies, and data analysis.
• Utilize Python scripting to automate test environments and data processing.
• Support transition of optical products from R&D into manufacturing for scalability and quality.
• Collaborate with hardware, software, systems, and manufacturing teams to resolve challenges.
• Analyze optical performance data and provide design optimization recommendations.
• Identify risks and drive root-cause analysis for complex issues.
• Contribute to process improvements in design and testing methodologies.

Skills

PIC design

PIC simulation

Lumerical

VPIphotonics

EDFA

Raman

SOA

Python

Test equipment

Fiber optics

Teamwork

English

Education

Master's or PhD in Optics, Photonics, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or related field

Tools

Lumerical

VPIphotonics

Git

Agile

Job description

Ciena Corporation in Milan is seeking an experienced Senior Optical Engineer to design, test, and optimize photonic technologies across the product lifecycle. You will develop PICs and optical modules, create automated test workflows in Python, and collaborate across hardware, software, and manufacturing teams to ensure robust product integration.

The role requires 5+ years in photonics, strong expertise with PIC design tools, and hands-on optical characterization capabilities, with English