Photonics Field Applications Engineer (FAE)

OpenLight; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 215,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

incentive stock options (ISOs)

generous insurance support

401k matching

unlimited vacation

spot bonuses

a positive work environment

Job summary

OpenLight is seeking a Photonics Field Applications Engineer to support AI infrastructure, hyperscale datacenters, high-speed networking, and LiDAR applications. You will engage customers, conduct product demonstrations, and develop solutions across 800G to 3.2T platforms.

The role bridges customers, sales, product management, and engineering, driving successful deployments and product adoption with up-to-date photonic technologies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Optical Engineering, Photonics, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Applied Physics, or related technical discipline.
• 5+ years in Field Applications Engineering, Systems Engineering, Optical Networking, Silicon Photonics, or Optical Module Development.
• Experience supporting hyperscalers, cloud providers, AI infra companies, networking OEMs, or LiDAR/sensing customers.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary technical liaison for strategic customers and partners.
• Deliver technical presentations, product demonstrations, and solution training.
• Understand customer architectures, requirements, and roadmaps to align solutions with business objectives.
• Build trusted relationships with engineering, operations, procurement, and executive stakeholders.
• Provide on-site and remote technical support through evaluation, design-in, qualification, and production phases.
• Support customer integration of photonic and optical networking products.
• Troubleshoot optical, electrical, and system-level performance issues.
• Act as the voice of the customer within engineering and product teams.
• Translate field requirements into product enhancements and roadmap recommendations.
• Influence future product development based on customer feedback and market needs.
• Collaborate with R&D on demos, proofs-of-concept, and evaluations.
• Identify expansion opportunities and drive technical wins.
• Represent the company at conferences, meetings, webinars, and trade shows.

Skills

Customer engagement

Technical presentations

Solution training

Architectures and roadmaps

Stakeholder management

Field support

Education

Bachelor's degree in Optical/Photonic/Electrical Physics

Job description

We are seeking a highly motivated and customer-focused Photonics Field Applications Engineer to support leading-edge optical technologies for AI infrastructure, hyperscale datacenters, high-speed networking, and LiDAR applications. The ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise in photonics, optics, and networking with exceptional interpersonal skills to engage customers, identify opportunities, solve complex technical challenges, and accelerate product adoption.

This role serves as the primary technical interface between customers, sales teams, product management, and engineering, helping drive successful deployment of next-generation photonic solutions for 800G, 1.6T, 3.2T, and emerging optical networking platforms.

What You Will Do

Customer Technical Engagement

• Serve as the primary technical liaison for strategic customers and partners


• Deliver technical presentations, product demonstrations, and solution training


• Understand customer architectures, requirements, and roadmaps to align solutions with business objectives


• Build trusted relationships with engineering, operations, procurement, and executive stakeholders


• Provide on-site and remote technical support throughout evaluation, design-in, qualification, and production phases

Solution Development

• Support customer integration of photonic and optical networking products


• Assist customers with high-speed optical interconnects, silicon photonics solutions, optical engines and transceivers, fiber-optic assemblies, AI cluster networking architectures, and LiDAR sensing systems


• Troubleshoot optical, electrical, and system-level performance issues

Technical Leadership

• Act as the voice of the customer within engineering and product teams.


• Translate field requirements into product enhancements and roadmap recommendations.


• Influence future product development based on customer feedback and market needs


• Collaborate with R&D teams on technology demonstrations, proof-of-concepts, and customer evaluations

Business Development Support

• Support sales and account teams during customer engagements


• Participate in technical proposal development, RFQs, and RFP responses


• Identify expansion opportunities and drive technical wins


• Represent the company at industry conferences, customer meetings, webinars, and trade shows


• 5+ years in Field Applications Engineering, Systems Engineering, Optical Networking, Silicon Photonics, or Optical Module Development


• Experience supporting hyperscalers, cloud service providers, AI infrastructure companies, networking OEMs, or LiDAR and sensing customers


• Familiarity with leading AI networking ecosystems and optical interconnect architectures


• Experience selling into key target markets with a track record of technical influence


• Existing customer contacts at strategic growth targets preferred


• Ability and willingness to travel internationally


• Flexibility to work across global time zones


• Excellent soft skills with a demonstrated ability to build trusted engineering-level relationships


• Ability to travel up to 30-50% domestically and internationally


• Bachelor's degree in Optical Engineering, Photonics, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Applied Physics, or a related technical discipline

About OpenLight

OpenLight is growing as customer adoption and industry momentum continue to accelerate. The rapid growth of AI and cloud infrastructure is driving unprecedented demand for faster, more energy-efficient optical connectivity. We are addressing this challenge through a platform approach that simplifies the development of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and accelerates industry adoption.

As part of our team, you will contribute to technologies that enable AI and hyperscale data centers, high-speed optical communications, advanced sensing applications, next-generation photonic integration, and more. Our team is collaborative and fast-moving, and you will have the opportunity to make meaningful contributions across technology, operations, and business growth.

OpenLight continues with a hybrid schedule, with a standard of three days/week in office; you select the days you're in, based on what's best for your work priorities.

OpenLight's salary for technical roles is dependent on the skills and experience of the individual, their primary work location, and other parameters; annual salary will generally be somewhere between $140,000-$215,000.

In addition to cash compensation, OpenLight offers

• incentive stock options (ISOs)


• generous insurance support


• 401k matching


• unlimited vacation


• spot bonuses


• a positive work environment