Applications Engineering Manager

Svitla Systems, Inc.; United States; On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote or office flexibility

Bonuses for writing articles and talks

Free tech webinars and meetups

Regular corporate online activities

Friendly, supportive team

Job summary

Svitla Inc. is seeking an Applications Engineering Manager to build and lead a photonics test applications team in San Jose, CA.

You will serve as the senior technical bridge between customer needs and the client’s photonics test products, owning team delivery and customer relationships to drive adoption and growth. The role fits an experienced applications engineer stepping into leadership, with deep lab work possible but a focus on team development, technical direction, and regional customer

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Photonics, Optical Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or related field (Master's preferred, or equivalent experience).
• 8+ years in optical R&D, design, testing, or applications engineering with customer-facing work.
• People-management or proven technical leadership readiness to manage a team.
• Background in high-speed optical communications test: optical transceivers, silicon photonics, and optical links.

Responsibilities

• Grow, coach, and manage a team of applications engineers.
• Act as the senior technical contact for customers using the photonics test products.
• Own the team's delivery: installation, calibration, troubleshooting, training, and customer enablement.
• Build lasting customer relationships that support adoption and account growth.
• Guide product development together with engineering and marketing.
• Manage key customer design-in activity.
• Coordinate with regional applications and sales teams, and pass market feedback to R&D and product marketing.

Skills

Leadership

Customer relationships

Test automation

C/C++/Python

Photonics testing

High-speed optics

Education

Bachelor's degree in Photonics/Optical/Physics/Electrical Eng

Master's degree preferred or equivalent experience

Tools

Optical spectrum analyzers

Power meters

BERTs

Job description

Svitla Inc. is looking for an Applications Engineering Manager to build and lead a photonics test applications team in San Jose, CA, on behalf of our client.

You'll be the senior technical link between the client's photonics test products and the customers who rely on them. That means owning two things: your team's delivery (installation, calibration, troubleshooting, training, and enablement) and the customer relationships that drive product adoption and account growth.

This role fits an experienced applications engineer who is ready to step into leadership. You can still go deep in the lab, but your main impact comes from developing your team, setting technical direction, and owning the regional customer relationship.

This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Full-time, on-site San Jose, CA

Requirements

Experience and education

• Bachelor's degree in Photonics, Optical Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field (Master's preferred, or equivalent experience).
• 8+ years in optical R&D, design, testing, or applications engineering, including customer-facing work.
• People-management experience, or proven technical leadership (mentor, team lead, project lead) and readiness to formally manage a team.
• Background in high-speed optical communications test: optical transceivers, silicon photonics, and optical links.

Technical Skills

• Strong command of photonics testing principles, equipment, and measurement techniques.
• Deep knowledge of high-speed Ethernet standards (IEEE 802.3bs/cd).
• Hands-on experience with optical sampling scopes, CDRs, BERTs, optical spectrum analyzers, and optical power meters.
• Structured troubleshooting from system level down to component level.
• Proficiency in C/C++, Python, or similar languages for test automation.

Leadership and communication

• Proven ability to lead, coach, and develop technical staff.
• Excellent communication skills and the confidence to represent the company to senior customer stakeholders.
• Track record of building long-term customer relationships in a technical environment.
• Experience coordinating across distributed regional teams.

Will be a plus

• Ability to juggle multiple priorities, engineers, and customers at once.
• Willingness to travel to customer sites, regional offices, and company events as needed.

Responsibilities

• Grow, coach, and manage a team of applications engineers.
• Act as the senior technical contact for customers using the company's photonics test products.
• Own your team's delivery: installation, calibration, troubleshooting, training, and customer enablement.
• Build lasting customer relationships that support adoption and account growth.
• Guide product development together with engineering and marketing.
• Manage key customer design-in activity.
• Coordinate with regional applications and sales teams, and pass market feedback to R&D and product marketing.

WE OFFER

• US and EU projects based on advanced technologies.
• Competitive compensation based on skills and experience.
• Flexibility in workspace, either remote or our welcoming office.
• Bonuses for article writing, public talks, and other activities.
• Free tech webinars and meetups organized by Svitla.
• Regular corporate online activities.
• Awesome team, friendly and supportive community!