Quantum Photonics Validation Engineer

Cisco Systems, Inc; Santa Monica (CA); On-site; USD 151,000 - 216,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid time off and holidays

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a Photonic Validation Engineer within the Outshift Quantum Research team in Santa Monica, CA.

You will design verification protocols, develop test plans, and build scalable test infrastructure for quantum hardware platforms, collaborating with researchers, engineers, and leaders across optics, hardware, and software domains. You will author FAT/SAT runbooks, automate data collection, and establish rigorous benchmarks to ensure long-term stability and repeatability

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 8+ years related experience, or advanced degree with fewer years.
• 2+ years in test development, test automation, or hardware validation for optoelectronic systems.
• Experience writing Python or MATLAB for test automation, data analysis, and control of hardware.
• Experience with standard optical characterization equipment.
• Experience producing test protocols, FAT/SAT procedures, and validation reports.
• Ability to read engineering drawings, schematics, and assembly procedures.

Responsibilities

• Define and implement verification protocols for photonic and electronic performance metrics.
• Author FAT/SAT plans, runbooks, and comprehensive performance reports.
• Bridge between hardware, optics, software, and systems engineering to diagnose issues.
• Establish assembly and test infrastructure to scale quantum hardware delivery.
• Develop test plans, validation matrices, and automated scripts for subsystems and full systems.
• Build DAQ and instrument control setups using Python, LabVIEW, or MATLAB.
• Set baseline benchmarks for quantum and classical metrics and ensure repeatability.
• Perform functional and parametric testing on subsystems and multi-subsystem setups.
• Document and track non-conformances and issues for engineering review.

Skills

Test automation

Hardware validation

Python

MATLAB

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in related field

Tools

Altium Designer

Cadence Allegro

HFSS

Keysight ADS

HyperLynx

Job description

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a Photonic Validation Engineer within the Outshift Quantum Research team in Santa Monica, CA.

You will design verification protocols, develop test plans, and build scalable test infrastructure for quantum hardware platforms, collaborating with researchers, engineers, and leaders across optics, hardware, and software domains. You will author FAT/SAT runbooks, automate data collection, and establish rigorous benchmarks to ensure long-term stability and repeatability