Lead Systems Test Engineer, Free-Space Optics & Automation

CACI International, Inc.; Los Gatos (CA); On-site; USD 104,000 - 218,000; Full time

Job summary

CACI International, Inc. is seeking a Systems Test Engineer to lead the integration, verification, and validation of free-space optical communication systems across IRAD, DVT, and production stages.

You will own system-level test strategies, automate test infrastructure with Python, and collaborate with systems, optics, electrical, mechanical, software, and manufacturing teams to ensure performance requirements are met.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a relevant field.
• 10+ years in systems integration and electro-optical testing.
• Expert Python skills for automation, data analysis, and reporting.
• Deep knowledge of free-space optical communications, BER, and link budgets.
• Hands-on optical bench integration, alignment, and troubleshooting.

Responsibilities

• Lead hardware, software, and optomechanical integration of FSO systems.
• Develop and execute system-level verification plans and production test methods.
• Create Python automation for instrument control, data acquisition, and reporting.
• Perform optical bench alignment, calibration, and troubleshooting.
• Conduct FSO performance testing including link margin, BER, and acquisition.
• Plan TVAC and vibration testing, instrumentation, and data analysis.
• Lead bring-up, root-cause analysis, and corrective-action verification.
• Develop test fixtures, harnesses, and automated test procedures.
• Maintain test plans, requirements traceability, and anomaly documentation.
• Transition DVT/qualification methods into production to improve coverage and yield.
• Support IRAD efforts by developing new test methods for FSO tech.
• Mentor engineers in systems testing and Python automation.

Skills

Python automation

Optical bench alignment

FSO knowledge

Test planning

Root-cause analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent (EE/Optical/Systems)

Tools

PyVISA

NumPy

SciPy

Pandas

Matplotlib

pytest

Job description

CACI International, Inc. is seeking a Systems Test Engineer to lead the integration, verification, and validation of free-space optical communication systems across IRAD, DVT, and production stages.

You will own system-level test strategies, automate test infrastructure with Python, and collaborate with systems, optics, electrical, mechanical, software, and manufacturing teams to ensure performance requirements are met.