Senior Optical Link Test Engineer (100G+)

Darwin Recruitment; Santa Barbara (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Darwin Recruitment is partnering with a photonics company in Santa Barbara to hire a Senior Photonics & High-Speed Optical Link Engineer. This hands-on role focuses on testing, characterization and validation of high-speed optical links built around photonic integrated circuits (PICs) across transmitters and receivers.

The ideal candidate has 7+ years of hands-on experience with 100G+ links, PIC-level testing, and strong RF/optical test skills, plus proficiency in Python for automation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Optics, Photonics, Physics or related discipline.
• Master’s degree or PhD preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop, characterise and validate high-speed optical communication links operating at 100G+ per lane.
• Test, debug and troubleshoot PICs at chip level for transmitter and receiver.
• Contribute to PIC design and iterate based on experimental findings.
• Perform high-speed electrical and RF testing, supporting integration with electronics.
• Measure OSNR, dispersion, polarization impairments, jitter, and crosstalk.
• Develop and maintain automated test setups and measurement scripts (Python).
• Document procedures and results; collaborate with design, packaging and systems teams.
• Mentor engineers and provide technical leadership on cross-functional projects.

Skills

100G+ links

PIC testing

Python

RF testing

OSNR

SNR

Data analysis

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor’s degree in EE/Optics/PHysics

Master’s or PhD preferred

Tools

AWGs

Oscilloscopes

VNAs

BER testers

OSAs

Job description

Darwin Recruitment is partnering with a photonics company in Santa Barbara to hire a Senior Photonics & High-Speed Optical Link Engineer. This hands-on role focuses on testing, characterization and validation of high-speed optical links built around photonic integrated circuits (PICs) across transmitters and receivers.

The ideal candidate has 7+ years of hands-on experience with 100G+ links, PIC-level testing, and strong RF/optical test skills, plus proficiency in Python for automation.