Samtec, Inc Careers

Job title: Sr. OE TEST ENGINEER 

Summary/Objective: The Sr. optoelectronic (OE) Test Engineer owns optical and optoelectronic test 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 characterizes lasers, photodiodes, and photonic components; develops optical test methods, limits, and automated stations for engineering validation and production; correlates optical measurements across the Samtec Taiwan lab, Samtec manufacturing sites, and original design manufacturer / contract manufacturer (ODM/CM) production test; and isolates optoelectronic failures. It requires strong understanding of lasers, photodiodes, transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs), laser drivers, photonic integrated circuits (PICs), optical coupling and fiber interfaces, temperature behavior, calibration, and the interaction between electrical drive conditions and optical performance.

Essential Functions/ Responsibilities: 

1. Develop optical and optoelectronic test plans, test limits, test flows, and validation methods for optical engines and transceivers, from engineering validation test (EVT) and design validation test (DVT) through production release.

2. Characterize optoelectronic and photonic components: VCSELs, distributed feedback (DFB), externally modulated laser (EML), and continuous-wave (CW) lasers, photodiodes (PDs), TIAs, laser drivers, PICs, lenses and micro-optics, fiber arrays, MT/MPO and expanded-beam interfaces, and wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) mux/demux components.

3. Evaluate laser characteristics: threshold and bias current, slope efficiency, modulation response, wavelength, side-mode suppression ratio (SMSR), relative intensity noise (RIN), chirp, temperature dependence, and aging behavior, as applicable to the device type.

4. Evaluate receiver characteristics: responsivity, dark current, bandwidth, noise, gain, saturation and overload, linearity, and receiver sensitivity.

5. Perform transmitter optical testing: average optical power, optical modulation amplitude (OMA) and outer OMA, extinction ratio, transmitter and dispersion eye closure quaternary (TDECQ), eye diagram, wavelength and spectrum, and lane-to-lane uniformity for multi-lane parallel optics.

6. Perform receiver testing: receiver sensitivity, stressed receiver sensitivity, overload, bit error ratio (BER), loss of signal (LOS) assert/deassert, and hysteresis.

7. Evaluate optical coupling and interfaces: active/passive alignment tolerance, insertion loss, return loss, polarization and wavelength dependence, MT/MPO connector performance, and temperature-dependent behavior.

8. Build, integrate, maintain, and troubleshoot optical test platforms: digital communications analyzer (DCA), optical spectrum analyzer (OSA), optical power meters, variable optical attenuators (VOAs), optical switches, bit error ratio testers (BERTs), multi-lane fiber test paths and fixtures, and temperature chambers; support the build-out of the Samtec Taiwan optical test lab (laser, photodiode, engine/transceiver, and environmental-stress stations).

9. Develop or support automated optical test, calibration, data logging, limit management, and test reporting.

10. Perform optical instrument correlation, measurement system analysis and gauge repeatability and reproducibility (MSA/GR&R), calibration control, golden-sample management, and measurement repeatability studies across the Samtec Taiwan lab, Samtec manufacturing sites, and ODM/CM production test.

11. Analyze the relationships among laser bias and modulation, driver and digital signal processor (DSP) settings, temperature, alignment, calibration, optical coupling, and final module performance.

12. Support failure analysis of optical components, optical engines, optical assembly processes, and system-level optoelectronic issues; improve optical test accuracy, repeatability, test time, and production capability, including test transfer to ODM/CM partners.

13. Mentor engineers and technicians and establish optical test lab practices, laser safety, and documentation.

14. Participate in reviewing and responding to suppliers' specification responses, waiver/deviation requests, test reports, root cause analysis (RCA) reports, process change notifications (PCNs), and related technical documents, with focus on optical, optoelectronic, and test impacts.

“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): 

These qualifications describe the ideal candidate profile; candidates with a strong partial match may also be considered during initial screening. 

1. Bachelor's degree or above in Optoelectronics, Photonics, Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline.

2. Ideally, 5+ years of optical/optoelectronic test, characterization, or device engineering experience on optical transceivers, optical engines, or photonic components.

3. A strong understanding of optoelectronic components: VCSELs, EML, DFB, and CW lasers, PDs, TIAs, laser drivers, PICs, lenses, fiber arrays, and WDM optics is preferred.

4. Strong working knowledge of optical communication measurements is preferred: optical power, OMA, extinction ratio, TDECQ, eye diagrams, wavelength, receiver sensitivity, overload, BER, and LOS.

5. Understanding of optical coupling, alignment tolerance, insertion loss, return loss, single-mode and multimode fiber interfaces, and temperature-dependent optical behavior.

6. Hands-on experience with DCA, OSA, optical power meters, VOAs, optical switches, BERTs, and temperature chambers.

7. Ability to analyze optoelectronic failures and separate component, optical path, electrical drive, calibration, process, instrument, and environmental causes.

8. Experience with test data analysis and automated test or instrument control is desirable; good written and verbal English communication skills.

Preferred Experience / Desired Skills: 

1. Experience with 400G, 800G, or 1.6T optical transceivers, on-board or mid-board optical engines, SiPh/PIC products, linear pluggable optics (LPO)/linear receive optics (LRO), or DSP-based modules.

2. Experience with VCSEL-based multimode parallel optics (MT/MPO, expanded beam) and with EML or CW-laser/SiPh single-mode products, including active alignment, fiber attach, optical calibration, and temperature characterization.

3. Knowledge of four-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4), BER/forward error correction (FEC), DSP equalization, laser driver behavior, and electrical/optical interaction.

4. Experience with IEEE 802.3 optical specifications, industry multi-source agreements, Common Management Interface Specification (CMIS), and optical module qualification (e.g., Telcordia GR-468-CORE).

5. Experience with optical test correlation, MSA/GR&R, measurement uncertainty, and production test deployment, including transfer to ODM/CM partners.

6. Self-motivated, well organized, and able to work independently and cross-functionally with teams in Taiwan, the United States, and partner sites.

7. Ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally as needed.

Training required 

1. On-the-job training as appropriate.

2. Product-, process-, test-, quality-, and safety-specific training as required by assigned responsibilities.

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