R&D lab technician

Nokia Corporation; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Nokia is seeking a hands-on Optical Lab Operations & Test Support Technician in San Jose to manage daily lab activities, equipment, test setups, documentation, calibration, and IT coordination. The role emphasizes organized lab space, asset tracking, and process improvements to support development of next-generation optical networking products.

Ideal candidates will have lab experience, strong coordination skills, and familiarity with Windows/Linux environments, plus basic scripting ability.

Qualifications

• Associate's degree or equivalent practical experience in electronics, optical, or computer engineering.
• Hands-on lab experience and ability to manage lab organization and equipment.
• Strong organizational, written and verbal communication skills.
• Familiarity with lab instrumentation and inventory management.
• Basic networking/IT troubleshooting skills and ability to support IT coordination.

Responsibilities

• Manage day-to-day lab operations and organization.
• Build and maintain optical and electrical test setups.
• Coordinate space allocation and resource scheduling.
• Assist engineering with setup, troubleshooting, and configuration changes.
• Coordinate calibration, repair, and asset tracking for lab equipment.
• Handle firewall, network access, IP allocation, and lab computer deployments.
• Maintain accurate lab asset inventories and procurement requests.
• Create/deploy lab documentation and setup procedures.
• Support lab expansion and infrastructure upgrade projects.

Skills

Lab operations

Test setup and troubleshooting

Documentation & asset tracking

IT coordination

Project coordination

Education

Associate's degree in Electronics / Electrical / Optical / Computer Engineering

Tools

Windows

Linux

Python

Networking

Job description

We are seeking hands-on Optical Lab Operations & Test Support Technician to manage the daily operation of our optical systems test laboratory in San Jose. This individual will be responsible for general lab organization for our team, equipment management, test setup and modification, documentation, calibration and repair of equipment, IT support coordination, and continuous improvement of our lab space and processes. Over time, this role can grow into a test technician position with responsibility for executing optical and electrical characterization of next-generation optical networking products.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage day to day lab operations and organization
• Build, modify, and maintain optical and electrical test setups
• Coordinate lab space allocation and test resource scheduling
• Support engineering team with setup integration, troubleshooting, and configuration changes
• Coordinate calibration schedules and repair for lab equipment
• Coordinate firewall requests, network access, IP address allocation, and lab computer deployments/upgrades
• Track lab assets and equipment utilization
• Generate purchase requests for laboratory equipment and supplies
• Maintaining a clean, safe, and efficient lab environment
• Organizing lab equipment and consumables
• Develop and maintain equipment inventories, asset tracking systems, and storage organization
• Create and maintain lab documentation
• Coordinate receipt, installation, and deployment of new equipment
• Manage consumables inventory and reorder processes
• Identify opportunities to improve laboratory efficiency and utilization
• Develop standardized setup practices and documentation
• Implement processes that reduce setup time and improve test repeatability
• Support lab expansion and infrastructure upgrade projects

Required Qualifications

• Associate's degree in Electronics, Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or equivalent practical experience
• Hands-on experience working in a lab environment
• Strong organizational and project coordination skills
• Familiarity with lab equipment, instrumentation, and inventory management
• Basic networking and IT troubleshooting skills
• Experience managing multiple tasks and priorities simultaneously
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in optical communications, photonics, telecommunications environments
• Familiarity with optical fiber handling and test equipment
• Experience with both Windows and Linux systems
• Basic scripting and test automation experience, e.g. Python