Sr. Engineer, Optical Test and Automation

Socket.dev; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 192,000; Full time

Job summary

Ayar Labs in San Jose, CA is seeking a Sr. Engineer in Optical Test & Automation to lead and optimize test stations, instrument integration, and data dashboards for co-packaged optics.

You will work with cross-functional teams to ensure repeatable, traceable measurements across development and manufacturing environments. The role requires hands-on experience in optical test systems, strong Python skills for automation, and a background in fiber optics and measurement techniques.

Qualifications

• BS in Optics, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering with 2+ years of industry experience.
• Experience building and sustaining optical test systems, including hands-on instrument integration and hardware troubleshooting.
• Proficiency in Python for instrument control, test automation, and quantitative data analysis.
• Working knowledge of fiber optics, optical coupling, and optical performance measurements such as insertion loss and return loss.
• Practical experience with calibration, measurement system analysis, and statistical methods for evaluating repeatability and stability.
• Experience organizing and maintaining traceable measurement datasets and connecting test software to databases or structured data systems.
• Ability to communicate technical findings clearly and collaborate with engineering teams and external partners.

Responsibilities

• Develop, bring up, and qualify optical test stations for fiber arrays, connectors, and packaged photonic interfaces.
• Integrate optical instruments, positioning hardware, and control software into automated measurement workflows.
• Establish and maintain calibration procedures, measurement uncertainty assessments, and GR&R studies.
• Apply statistical process control (SPC) and station monitoring to identify measurement drift, troubleshoot equipment issues, and maintain test consistency.
• Automate test-data capture and integrate results with engineering databases and dashboards, preserving device identity, test conditions, and equipment configuration.
• Analyze test results and maintain dashboards to track measurement stability, summarize performance trends, and flag anomalies for engineering review.
• Correlate test results across internal stations, suppliers, and manufacturing sites; investigate discrepancies and implement corrective actions.
• Improve test throughput and maintainability, and document procedures that enable reliable operation and transfer of test capabilities.

Skills

Python

Test automation

Data analysis

Instrumentation troubleshooting

Statistical methods

Communication

Education

BS in Optics/Physics/EE/ME

Tools

Fiber optic test equipment

Job description

Sr. Engineer, Optical Test & Automation Location: San Jose, CA office Ayar Labs is shattering AI data bottlenecks by moving data at the speed of light. As pioneers of co-packaged optics (CPO), we are using light instead of electricity to move data faster, further, and with a fraction of the energy needed to fuel the explosive growth of AI models. Backed by industry giants like NVIDIA, AMD and Intel and manufactured in partnership with the world's leading semiconductor ecosystem, Ayar Labs' co-packaged optics solution is key to unleashing next-generation AI scale-up architectures. Ayar Labs is seeking a hands-on Optical Test & Automation Engineer to join our Optical Packaging team in San Jose. You will develop and sustain optical test systems, analyze measurement data, and build dashboards to support the characterization, validation, and manufacturing readiness of our optical interfaces for co-packaged optics. This role combines optical instrumentation, software automation, and measurement system engineering. You will own test stations and the data they produce, ensuring that measurements are repeatable, traceable, and comparable across development and manufacturing environments. You will work closely with optical, validation, process, and manufacturing engineers, as well as external partners, to turn laboratory measurements into reliable test capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Develop, bring up, and qualify optical test stations for fiber arrays, connectors, and packaged photonic interfaces.
• Integrate optical instruments, positioning hardware, and control software into automated measurement workflows.
• Establish and maintain calibration procedures, measurement uncertainty assessments, and gauge repeatability and reproducibility (GR&R) studies.
• Apply statistical process control (SPC) and station monitoring to identify measurement drift, troubleshoot equipment issues, and maintain test consistency.
• Automate test-data capture and integrate results with engineering databases and dashboards, preserving device identity, test conditions, and equipment configuration.
• Analyze test results and maintain dashboards to track measurement stability, summarize performance trends, and flag anomalies for engineering review.
• Correlate test results across internal stations, suppliers, and manufacturing sites; investigate discrepancies and implement corrective actions.
• Improve test throughput and maintainability, and document procedures that enable reliable operation and transfer of test capabilities.

Required Qualifications

• BS in Optics, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and 2+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Experience independently developing and sustaining optical test systems, including hands-on instrument integration and hardware troubleshooting.
• Proficiency in Python or an equivalent programming environment for instrument control, test automation, and quantitative data analysis.
• Working knowledge of fiber optics, optical coupling, and optical performance measurements such as insertion loss and return loss.
• Practical experience with calibration, measurement system analysis, and statistical methods for evaluating repeatability and stability.
• Experience organizing and maintaining traceable measurement datasets and connecting test software to databases or structured data systems.
• Ability to communicate technical findings clearly and collaborate with engineering teams and external partners.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree or PhD
• Experience testing fiber‑array units, optical connectors, or silicon photonic packages.
• Experience deploying or correlating test systems across multiple sites or with outsourced semiconductor assembly and test providers (OSATs).
• Familiarity with precision motion control, vision systems, and automated optical alignment.
• Experience with software version control, configuration management, and automated monitoring of test‑system performance.

Salary Range: $170,000 - $192,000

Ayar Labs is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is strongly committed to all policies which will afford equal opportunity employment to all qualified persons without regard to age, sex, national origin, race, color, ethnicity, creed, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. It is the policy of Ayar Labs to provide reasonable accommodation when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with a disability, unless such accommodation would cause an undue hardship. Veterans are more than welcome and encouraged to apply.