Sr. Product Engineer

Samtec; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Samtec, Inc. is seeking a Sr. Product Engineer to own product and manufacturing process integration for optical engines and modules, including NPI and qualification, across internal and partner sites.

You will drive TCI alignment, test, and production ramp for high-speed optical systems. The role requires deep system-level understanding of optical, electronic, firmware, mechanical, and thermal factors, with strong coordination among design, manufacturing, and ODM/CM partners in Taiwan, the US,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Electronics/Optoelectronics/Mechanical/Materials or related field.
• Ideally 5 years in product engineering, NPI, or process integration for optical transceivers or photonics.
• Strong understanding of optical module systems, VCSEL/DFB/EML lasers and PICs.
• Knowledge of module manufacturing processes and their impact on yield and reliability.
• Familiarity with NRZ/PAM4, BER/FEC, TDECQ, OMA, and high-speed interfaces.
• Experience with NPI, BOM/ECO management, yield analysis, and DOE.
• Excellent written and verbal English communication across teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead New Product Introduction from alpha/beta to EVT, DVT, qualification, PVT, and production release.
• Own product and manufacturing process integration across optical, electronic, mechanical, and firmware domains.
• Manage module manufacturing flow including PCB/SMT, die attach, wire bonding, optical engines, alignment, fiber attach, curing, and final test.
• Act as technical owner for ODM/CM-built products; run build-readiness reviews and review partner processes.
• Coordinate build plans and ensure readiness of materials, equipment, and documentation at sites and partners.
• Manage BOM, AVL, ECO/ECN, PCNs, and documentation revisions; assess technical impact for customers.
• Monitor FPY, final yield, retest, rework, scrap; drive cross-functional yield improvements.
• Lead root cause analyses for Tx/Rx optical performance, BER/FEC, TDECQ, and thermal behavior.
• Collaborate with R&D, HW/OE test, quality, manufacturing, supply chain, and ODM/CM partners to resolve issues.
• Support DOE, process characterization, tolerance analysis, and design/process optimization for cost and reliability.
• Establish and maintain manufacturing readiness and release documentation (SOP/WI, build reports, PCNs).

Skills

NPI management

Root cause analysis

Cross-functional communication

DOE participation

Programming/controls familiarity

Quality and reliability focus

Project coordination

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Electronics/Optoelectronics/Mechanical/Materials or related technical discipline

Tools

CMIS

IEEE 802.3

PCI Express

Job description

Samtec, Inc ???

Job title: Sr. PRODUCT ENGINEER

Summary/Objective: The Sr. Product Engineer owns product and manufacturing process integration, new product introduction (NPI), qualification, and production ramp for Samtec optical products, namely on-board optical engines and modules such as the FireFly™ family, in vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL)-based multimode and silicon photonics (SiPh) variants and including optical PCI Express, and pluggable optical transceivers built with original design manufacturer (ODM) partners. The role is the technical link between Samtec design teams, Samtec manufacturing sites, and original design manufacturer / contract manufacturer (ODM/CM) partners in Taiwan, and ensures each product is manufacturable, testable, reliable, and ready for volume production, whether it is built on a Samtec line or at a partner. It requires strong system-level understanding of optical, optoelectronic, electronic, high-speed electrical, firmware, mechanical, thermal, test, and manufacturing interactions.

Essential Functions/ Responsibilities:

1. 1. Lead New Product Introduction (NPI) from engineering builds (alpha/beta) through engineering validation test (EVT), design validation test (DVT), qualification, production validation test (PVT), and production release, following Samtec's optics new product development (NPD) phase-gate process.
2. 2. Own product and manufacturing process integration across optical, optoelectronic, electronic, mechanical, thermal, firmware, test, and manufacturing functions.
3. 3. Own the module manufacturing flow --- printed circuit board (PCB) and surface-mount technology (SMT) assembly, die attach, wire bonding, optical engine assembly, active/passive alignment, fiber attach, adhesive cure, mechanical assembly, firmware programming, calibration, final test, burn-in, and reliability screening --- and drive design-for-manufacturing and design-for-test feedback into the design.
4. 4. Act as Samtec's technical owner for ODM/CM-built products: run build-readiness reviews, review partner process flows, control plans, and yield data, and manage technical issues and engineering changes with the partner.
5. 5. Coordinate build plans and ensure readiness of materials, equipment, fixtures, manufacturing processes, test systems, documentation, and resources at Samtec sites and partners.
6. 6. Manage product configuration and engineering changes: bill of materials (BOM), approved vendor list (AVL), engineering change order/notice (ECO/ECN), hardware, firmware, calibration, test program, and manufacturing documentation revisions; own and coordinate issuance of product/process change notifications (PCNs), including technical impact assessment and supporting documentation for customers and relevant stakeholders.
7. 7. Monitor and analyze first-pass yield (FPY), final yield, retest, rework, scrap, and station-level performance; lead cross-functional yield improvement.
8. 8. Lead root cause analysis of product and process issues involving transmit/receive (Tx/Rx) optical performance, bit error ratio (BER)/forward error correction (FEC), transmitter and dispersion eye closure quaternary (TDECQ), optical modulation amplitude (OMA), receiver sensitivity, power, thermal behavior, control-interface behavior under Common Management Interface Specification (CMIS) or Samtec interface definitions, mechanical tolerance, and manufacturing variation.
9. 9. Work closely with research and development (R&D), hardware (HW) and optoelectronic (OE) test, quality, manufacturing, process engineering, supply chain, suppliers, and ODM/CM partners to resolve technical and production issues.
10. 10. Support design of experiments (DOE), process characterization, tolerance analysis, and design/process optimization to improve product performance, manufacturability, reliability, and cost.
11. 11. Establish and maintain manufacturing readiness and release documentation: process flow, standard operating procedure (SOP)/work instruction (WI), build reports, issue lists, production transfer requirements, and the production release package.

The responsibilities as defined are intended to serve as a general guideline for this position. Associates may be asked to perform additional tasks depending on strengths and capabilities.

Experience / Qualifications (Ideal Candidate Profile):

1. 1. Bachelor's degree or above in Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Optoelectronics, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
2. 2. Ideally, 5 years in product engineering, NPI, or process integration for optical transceivers, optical engines, photonics, or high-speed electronics products.
3. 3. A strong understanding of optical module system architecture and components: VCSEL, distributed feedback (DFB), and externally modulated laser (EML) lasers, photodiodes (PDs), transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs), drivers, digital signal processors (DSPs) and retimers, microcontroller units (MCUs), power integrated circuits (ICs), photonic integrated circuits (PICs), and optical engines is preferred.
4. 4. Strong working knowledge of module manufacturing processes and the interaction between process variation, product performance, yield, and reliability is preferred.
5. 5. Working knowledge of non-return-to-zero (NRZ)/four-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4), BER, FEC, TDECQ, OMA, receiver sensitivity, high-speed electrical interfaces, thermal management, and module control interfaces.
6. 6. Experience with NPI, BOM/ECO management, yield analysis, DOE, root cause analysis, and cross-functional problem solving.
7. 7. Ability to communicate effectively across engineering, manufacturing, quality, suppliers, and ODM/CM organizations; good written and verbal English communication skills.

Preferred Experience / Desired Skills:

1. 1. Experience with 400G, 800G, 1.6T, or next-generation optical transceivers in QSFP-DD, OSFP, or OSFP-XD form factors, linear pluggable optics (LPO)/linear receive optics (LRO) or DSP-based, and/or on-board or mid-board optical engines, including optical PCI Express.
2. 2. Hands-on experience with optical module assembly processes: die attach, wire bonding, active/passive alignment, fiber attach, adhesive cure, calibration, and final test.
3. 3. Knowledge of CMIS, IEEE 802.3, PCI Express, industry multi-source agreements, and optical module qualification requirements (e.g., Telcordia GR-468-CORE).
4. 4. Experience managing ODM/CM partners and component suppliers through NPI and volume production, including production transfer.
5. 5. Strong analytical, project management, organizational, communication, and presentation skills.
6. 6. Self-motivated and able to work independently and cross-functionally in a fast-paced environment with teams in Taiwan, the United States, and partner sites.
7. 7. Ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally as needed.

Training required

1. 1. On-the-job training as appropriate.
2. 2. Product-, process-, test-, quality-, and safety-specific training as required by assigned responsibilities.