Principal Coherent Systems Engineer

Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc.; Germany (OH); Hybrid; USD 104,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Nokia in Germany is seeking a Coherent Optical System Architect to join the Optical Systems Group. You will lead design, characterization, and optimization of next-generation coherent MODEMs and photonic integrated circuits, working from off-the-shelf components to prototype PICs.

You will analyze SNR/OSNR, trade off optical, electrical, and digital capabilities, and collaborate with PIC, high-speed analog ASIC, and system engineering teams. Expect field trials and internal documentation.

Qualifications

• PhD in Electrical Engineering or Applied Physics with minimum of 3 years industrial experience in optical communications, photonics, high speed electronics or systems.
• Fundamental understanding of optical communication systems, DWDM transmission systems, fiber transmission penalties, photonic integrated components, electronic (integrated) circuits, and signal analysis and processing.
• Hands-on experience with system-level optical communication hardware and components.
• Extensive understanding of coherent communications systems, including QPSK, 16QAM, and 64QAM, and coding/forward error correction algorithms.
• Experience characterizing RF/mm-wave interconnects, amplifiers, and components.
• Characterization of RF/mm-wave systems, such as S-parameter measurements, jitter measurements, and ADC/DAC performance and ENOB.
• Hands-on experience with high-speed optical and electrical test, measurement equipment control and data acquisition.
• Programming experience in Matlab, Python, VB.net, or C desired.

Responsibilities

• Define and own the optical design, optimization methods, and stabilization techniques for next‑generation MODEMs and PICs.
• Experimentally characterize optical systems from off‑the‑shelf components to prototypes.
• Collaborate with coherent ASIC, optical, high‑speed analog ASIC, and systems engineering teams.
• Push optical systems to higher baud rates and validate performance through rigorous testing.
• Document electrical and optical performance specifications for next‑gen platforms.

Skills

Optical comms fundamentals

DWDM systems

Photonic integration

Electronic circuits

Signal analysis & processing

Coherent modulation formats

RF/mm-wave characterization

High-speed test & measurement

MATLAB or Python programming

Education

PhD in Electrical Engineering or Applied Physics

Tools

MATLAB

Python

VB.net

C

Job description

Nokia is seeking a Coherent Optical System Architect to join our Optical Systems Group (OSG). The engineer will be responsible for contributing to the development of leading coherent MODEMs based on Infinera's next-generation coherent photonic integrated circuits (PICs). The ideal candidate will be prepared to work with early prototype hardware to get an initial look at product performance and provide rapid feedback to the PIC and high-speed analog ASIC teams. Performance characterization will include MODEM SNR, OSNR tolerance, systematic breakdown of the MODEM impairment penalties, sensitivity studies and model alignment. OSG works closely with many parts of the company and the candidate should anticipate frequent interactions with the coherent ASIC team on coherent signal processing issues and ADC/DAC ENOB, with optical, high-speed analog ASIC, and systems engineering teams. A key component of this role is the ability to understand and make tradeoffs between optical, electrical, and digital capabilities in order to optimize the overall system performance.

Your responsibilities

Nokia’s next generation communications platform will be defined, developed, characterized, and optimized on your optical testbed. Your experimental data will fuel our design, starting with off-the-shelf components, evolving to prototype PICs, and eventually taking the form of the final integrated embedded systems or coherent pluggable modules. This requires ownership of the optical design, optimization methods, and stabilization techniques. One particular component of your research will be pushing our optical systems to higher baud rates.

Frequently used diagnosis capturing coherent waveforms on a high-speed oscilloscope and performing coherent signal processing on waveforms, and measuring bit-error rate performance in the presence of optical noise and other impairments. Of particular interest will be pushing to faster baud rates.

Through frequent interaction with the control & firmware teams, you will assist in optimizing performance-critical aspects such as powerup self-calibration, receive acquisition, real-time performance monitoring, and in-service performance optimization. These algorithms will be tested during the implementation stage to ensure they operate properly.

Results will be presented internally and documented as electrical and optical performance specifications for next-generation platforms.

Some customer-facing interactions may be required, such as field trials using prototype equipment, or debugging unusual field failures that cannot be resolved through the normal customer service process.

Your skills and experience

• PhD. in Electrical Engineering or Applied Physics with minimum of 3 years of industrial experience in optical communications, photonics, high speed electronics or systems.
• Fundamental understanding of optical communication systems, DWDM transmission systems, fiber transmission penalties, photonic integrated components, electronic (integrated) circuits, and signal analysis and processing.
• Hands-on experience working with system-level optical communication hardware and components.
• Extensive understanding of coherent communications systems, including experience with QPSK, 16QAM, and 64QAM, as well as coding and forward error correction algorithms.
• Experience characterizing high-speed RF and mm-wave interconnects, amplifiers, and components.
• Characterization of RF/mm-wave systems, such as S parameter measurements, jitter measurements, and ADC/DAC performance and ENOB
• Hands-on experience with high-speed optical and electrical test, and measurement equipment control and data acquisition.
• Programming experience in Matlab, Python, VB.net, or C desired.

At Nokia, we want every candidate to be able to perform their best. If you need any adjustments or support during the recruitment process, please let us know. All requests are treated confidentially.

Job Info

• Job Category Applied R&D
• Posting Date 08/14/2026
• Job Schedule Full time
• Job Type Experienced
• Job Identification 38381
• Will NSA/CAPS approval be required? (E.g., accessing a US Customer Network?) No
• Locations Thurn-und-Taxis-Str. 10, Nuremberg, 90411, DE (Hybrid)
• Regular or Temporary Regular

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