Principal Optical Engineer

NOKIA; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Nokia is seeking a Principal Optical Engineer in San Jose, CA to own calibration, sustaining, and optical integration for high-speed coherent linecards. You will drive bring-up, manufacturing enablement, and performance sustainment across prototypes, EVB, and factory lines.

Ideal candidates have 7+ years in optical engineering, strong calibration/integration expertise, and hands-on lab automation with Python.

Qualifications

• Master's or Ph.D. in Optical Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Own optical calibration architecture, procedures, and tooling across development, NPI, and manufacturing.
• Lead sustaining for optical performance: production/yield issues, field returns, root-cause analysis, and durable corrective actions.
• Drive optical integration from prototypes through linecard integration and manufacturing enablement.
• Analyze test and calibration data; produce reports with findings, risk assessment, and recommendations.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to design, debug, and optimize coherent optical performance.
• Mentor optical engineers and communicate status, risks, and trade-offs to project leads.

Skills

Optical calibration

Sustaining/debug

Optical integration

DSP knowledge

Lab automation

Python

Education

Master's degree

PhD in Optical Engineering

Tools

OSA

Oscilloscopes

Optical spectrum analyzers

Power meters

Optical switches

Attenuators

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Principal Optical Engineer to join Nokia's optical team. You will own calibration, sustaining, and optical integration for our high-speed coherent linecard products-supporting the current generation in development and production, while helping define methods and practices for the next generation of coherent optics. You will work across prototypes/EVB bring-up, linecard integration, manufacturing enablement, and ongoing performance sustainment, partnering with DSP, hardware, firmware, test, and manufacturing teams.

• Own optical (and related electro-optic) calibration architecture, procedures, and tooling for coherent modules/linecards across development, NPI, and manufacturing; correlate calibration results with system KPIs (e.g. BER/FEC margin, OSNR tolerance, EVM/Q).
• Lead sustaining for optical performance: production/yield issues, field returns, failure analysis support, root-cause analysis, and durable corrective actions with cross-functional owners.
• Drive optical integration from first prototypes/EVB through linecard integration and manufacturing process enablement; develop and document bring-up and optimization flows that scale from lab to factory.
• Analyze test and calibration data; produce clear reports with findings, risk assessment, and recommendations.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to design, debug, and optimize coherent optical performance; troubleshoot system issues to maintain performance, reliability, and manufacturability.
• Contribute calibration/integration learnings from the current product generation into next-generation coherent platforms.
• Serve as a technical leader and mentor for optical engineers; communicate status, risks, and trade-offs to project leads and management.
• Stay current with advancements in coherent optics and fiber communications and apply relevant methods to team practice.

You have:

• Master's or Ph.D. in Optical Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field-or equivalent industry experience.
• Minimum of 7+ years of experience in optical engineering, with a focus on high-speed optical systems / coherent transceivers / linecards.
• Proven expertise in optical calibration, sustaining/debug, and/or optical integration of coherent modules or linecards.
• Strong knowledge of optical components, systems, and coherent transmission technologies.
• In-depth understanding of coherent transceivers and DSP blocks at Tx & Rx (e.g. pre-emphasis, equalization, carrier phase recovery, timing recovery, QAM modulation) and how they interact with calibration and optical front-end behavior.
• Hands-on experience characterizing and troubleshooting high-speed coherent optics with lab equipment such as OSA, wave/spectrum analyzers, real-time oscilloscopes, optical switches/attenuators, and power meters.
• Excellent problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and ability to own issues from first symptom to verified fix. Strong communication and teamwork across optical, DSP, hardware, firmware, test, and manufacturing stakeholders.
• Demonstrated technical leadership or mentoring of engineers (formal or informal) on a shipping or advanced-development optical product.
• Experience in Python coding and object-oriented programming for lab automation, calibration, and data analysis.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience taking coherent optics products from prototype NPI manufacturing, including factory calibration and yield improvement.
• Familiarity with ODVT / design verification and how calibration gates interact with release criteria.
• Proficiency with optical simulation/modeling tools.
• Familiarity with industry standards (e.g. OIF, IEEE, ITU) for coherent interfaces. Familiarity with Git workflows (GitHub, Bitbucket, etc.).
• Experience with databases or data pipelines for test/calibration data (SQL, NoSQL, or time-series).

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Our recruitment process

We act inclusively and respect the uniqueness of people. Our employment decisions are made regardless of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law. We are committed to a culture of inclusion built upon our core value of respect.

If you're interested in this role but don't meet every listed requirement, we still encourage you to apply. Unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences enrich our teams, and you may be just the right candidate for this or another opportunity.

The length of the recruitment process may vary depending on the specific role's requirements. We strive to ensure a smooth and inclusive experience for all candidates. Discover more about the recruitment process at Nokia.