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MatX

Optical Network Engineer

Mountain View, CA$250k–$475kfull-timemidAdded today

About this role

MatX seeks a senior optical network engineer to design and qualify next-generation optical interconnects for AI data centers, managing the full lifecycle from component characterization through system deployment across pluggables, NPO, and CPO technologies.

What you'll do

  • Validate and productize high-speed optical connectivity solutions for AI accelerators, including vendor qualification for 1.6T and 800G modules
  • Characterize optical modules across integration approaches (DSP, LRO, LPO, NPO, CPO) and perform link budget analysis with metrics like TDECQ and OMA
  • Develop expertise in transceiver components including CW lasers, silicon photonics PICs, EML, and DSP for failure mode analysis
  • Define optical interconnect strategy for AI cluster topologies at scale (10K to 1M+ XPUs) and optimize end-to-end link budgets
  • Manage technical vendor relationships and drive NPI qualification plans, yield improvement, and reliability testing with manufacturing partners
  • Collaborate with SerDes architects, PCB engineers, thermal/mechanical teams, and software teams on system-level integration

What they're looking for

  • Optical module qualification and testing (400G, 800G, 1.6T)
  • PAM4 signal theory and SerDes architecture
  • Optical test equipment operation (BERT, OTDR, spectrum analyzers, sampling oscilloscopes, TDECQ testers)
  • Link budget modeling (MATLAB, Python, GNPY)
  • OIF-CEI and IEEE 802.3dj compliance standards
  • Silicon photonics and transceiver component design
  • Fiber plant and cabling infrastructure knowledge
  • Vendor management and supply chain coordination

Benefits

  • Competitive salary based on career level and experience
  • Equity compensation
  • Work on cutting-edge AI infrastructure technology
  • Collaborative environment with cross-functional engineering teams
  • Mountain View, CA location
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MatX

MatX builds cutting-edge AI silicon and the system software stack to power it, focusing on optimizing hardware and software for large-scale machine learning workloads. The company is hiring system software engineers, kernel developers, compiler engineers, hardware simulators, and SOC integration engineers to design high-performance AI compute platforms.

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Likely interview questions

  • Walk us through your most complex optical link budget analysis—what metrics did you optimize and how did you validate your model in production?
  • Describe your hands-on experience qualifying 800G or 1.6T modules. What were the most difficult characterization challenges you encountered?
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