Principal System Engineer

Avicena Tech; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Avicena Tech in Sunnyvale, California, is seeking a Principal System Engineer to lead a team developing ultra-low power, high-bandwidth opto-electronic interconnects for chip-to-chip communications.

You will characterize optical transmitters and receivers, build and maintain test beds for full-component and system characterization, and define DOEs for advanced interconnects. You will work closely with ASIC, packaging, and PCB teams to ensure robust, scalable optical links.

Qualifications

• MS or PhD in electrical engineering or physics.
• 6+ years of experience in optical/electrical engineering.
• Experience with QSFP/NPO/CPO or related modules is a plus.
• Strong knowledge of optical link metrics (SNR, BER, link budget).

Responsibilities

• Lead a team to characterize optical transmitters and receivers.
• Develop and maintain testing beds for full-component and system characterization.
• Define DOEs using LED on ASIC transmitters and receivers.
• Evaluate SNR, BER, crosstalk, power consumption and link budget.
• Collaborate with PCBA design engineers on test boards and PCB guidance.

Skills

Optical transceiver design

TIA & photodetectors

Python scripting

High-speed PCB signals

Test instrument proficiency

Education

MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering or Physics

Tools

VNAs

Oscilloscopes

Spectrum analyzers

Schematic capture

PCB layout tools

Job description

Job Title

Principal System Engineer

Avicena is a privately held company developing microLED based ultra-low power high bandwidth interconnects for chip-to-chip communications. This technology will revolutionize High-Performance (HPC) and Cloud computing, as well as other industries where low power interconnects are critical like camera sensors, autonomous vehicles, and aerospace. Avicena is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California with a development center in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company was founded in 2019 by leading technologists from the optical networking industry with a track record of delivering breakthrough products. (www.avicena.tech)

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of engineers to characterize optical transmitters, optical receivers and link performance of highly parallel opto-electronic interfaces


• Develop and maintain optical transmission system testing bed for full characterization of optical components and modules as well as system performance measurements


• Define and run link DOEs using uLED on ASIC transmitters, fiber bundle as transmission and PD on ASIC as receivers


• Characterize various aspects of both existing and potential future optical components such as evaluating signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), receiver sensitivity, bit-error-rate (BER), crosstalk, power consumptions and link budget of the transmission system


• Work with PCBA design engineers to design, fabricate and bring up test boards. Experience in schematic capture, circuit simulation and PCB design guidance

Desired Qualifications And Experience

• MS or PhD in electrical engineering or physics with 6+ years of experience


• Expertise with optical transceiver circuits such as Trans-impedance Amplifier (TIA), laser/led drivers and photodetectors


• Familiarity with datacenter class optical module designs for Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable Octal Small Form Factor Pluggable (QSFP)/(OSFP) form factor pluggable modules or emerging Near-Packaged Optics (NPO) or Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) approaches.


• Experience with optical transceiver test methodologies


• Familiarity with industry standards including IEEE Ethernet standards, OIF standards and MSAs

Preferred

• Ability to work cross-functionally with ASIC, packaging and optical design teams and provide clear technical inputs


• Strong verbal and written communication skills, and ability to articulate and engage with both technical and non-technical stakeholders at all levels


• Ability to code scripts in python for validation and data analysis


• Working knowledge of high-speed test instruments such as VNAs, sampling and real time oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzers


• Hands-on lab experience especially with probed/free space coupled (using stages) optical systems