Senior Optical System Engineer

Company Description

Arista Networks is an industry leader in data-driven, client-to-cloud networking for large data center, campus and routing environments. What sets us apart is our relentless pursuit of innovation. We leverage the latest advancements in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and software-defined networking to provide our clients with a competitive edge in an increasingly interconnected world. Our solutions are designed to not only meet the current demands of the digital landscape but to also anticipate and adapt to future challenges.

At Arista we value the diversity of thought and perspectives that each employee brings to the table. We  believe that fostering an inclusive environment, where individuals from various backgrounds and experiences feel welcome, is essential for driving creativity and innovation.

Our commitment to excellence has earned us several prestigious awards, such as Best Engineering Team, Best Company for Diversity, Compensation, and Work-Life Balance. At Arista, we take pride in our track record of success and strive to maintain the highest standards of quality and performance in everything we do.

Job Description

What You’ll Do

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Senior Optical System Engineer to join ourhardware engineering team focused on next-generation AI/datacenter optical interconnect technologies. In this role, you will lead the design, development, validation, qualification, and optimization of advanced optical sub-systems including silicon photonics PICs, optical engines, high-speed DSP-based optical links, and 1.6T/3.2T optical Interconnects.
The ideal candidate will have strong expertise in optical systems, CPO/OCI architectures, system-level interoperability, high-speed optical/electrical characterization, automated test development, and optical system qualification. This role requires close collaboration with photonics, DSP/ASIC, SI/PI, packaging, firmware, and manufacturing teams to support the development and production ramp of scalable, high-performance, and power-efficient optical interconnect solutions for hyperscale AI infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead system-level design validation and qualification of advanced optical interconnect products including 1.6T/3.2T optical interconnect, silicon photonics PICs, optical engines, DSP-based optical links, and CPO/OCI systems.
• Develop and execute comprehensive validation plans for optical modules, high-speed electrical and optical interfaces, switch-level interoperability, and rack-level system qualification.
• Characterize and optimize key optical and electrical performance metrics including BER, TDECQ, jitter, OSNR, extinction ratio, receiver sensitivity, eye quality, link margin, and power efficiency.
• Perform module-level, simulation-level, and system-level qualification testing for IMDD and coherent optical systems.
• Lead high-speed optical and electrical debug activities for PAM4 links operating at 200G/lane, 400G/lane, and beyond.
• Develop, automate, and maintain optical/electrical test stations using Python, MATLAB, LabVIEW, and database-driven analytics tools.
• Collaborate closely with photonics, DSP/ASIC, SI/PI, packaging, firmware, manufacturing, and system architecture teams to optimize overall system performance and manufacturability.
• Support optical architecture development for AI clusters, XPO/LPO/LRO systems, co- packaged optics, optical switching systems, and optical compute fabrics.
• Contribute to industry standards activities including IEEE 802.3, OIF, CMIS, and MSA specifications.
• Analyze test results and generate detailed technical reports to support design reviews, customer qualification, and production deployment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a closely related field.
• Minimum 5 years of hands-on experience in optical system validation, optical transceiver qualification, or optical subsystem testing.
• Strong experience with silicon photonics PICs, optical transceivers, optical engines, high-speed DSP-based links, CPO/OCI architectures, LPO/LRO/XPO optical systems, and AI/datacenter optical interconnect architectures.
• Direct experience with 400G, 800G, and 1.6T optical systems, PAM4 modulation, high-speed Rx/Tx characterization, switch-level interoperability testing, firmware and EEPROM validation, BER/TDECQ/RIN measurements, receiver sensitivity testing, and wafer-level optical characterization.
• Strong familiarity with optical communication principles including NRZ/PAM4 modulation, dispersion, OSNR, jitter, equalization, signal integrity, and power integrity concepts.
• Proficiency with optical and electrical lab instrumentation including BERTs, DCAs, high-speed oscilloscopes, OSAs, tunable lasers, VOAs, network analyzers, high-speed probes and fixtures, and optical power meters.
• Strong experience with test automation and scripting using Python, MATLAB, and LabVIEW, along with familiarity with database-driven analytics and regression automation frameworks.
• Familiarity with optical and RF simulation tools such as Lumerical, HFSS, ADS, COMSOL, VPI, and Zemax.
• Strong understanding of IEEE 802.3 standards, QSFP-DD/OSFP modules, CMIS, optical module architectures, equalization techniques including CTLE, DFE, and FIR, as well as optical packaging and thermal considerations.
• Experience with interoperability testing, root-cause and debugging.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, debugging, and communication skills with the ability to work independently and collaboratively in cross-functional teams.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s or Ph.D. degree in Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field.
• Experience with silicon photonics, optical engine packaging, AI interconnect architectures, optical switching systems, co-packaged optics (CPO), Optical Compute Interconnect (OCI), and coherent optical systems.
• Experience with high-speed transceiver and optical engine testing at 100G, 400G, 800G, and 1.6T data rates.
• Familiarity with DSP tuning and equalization techniques including CTLE, DFE, FIR equalization, adaptive equalization, and PAM4 eye optimization.
• Familiarity with optical and RF simulation tools including Lumerical, HFSS, ADS, COMSOL, VPI, and Zemax.
• Exposure to AI cluster optical interconnect architectures, optical switching fabrics, XPO/LPO/LRO systems, and high-density optical engine architectures.
• Experience with database-driven analytics platforms, automated regression validation systems, and production test automation frameworks is highly desirable.
• Publications, patents, industry conference presentations, or contributions to IEEE, OIF, MSA, or CMIS standards activities are considered a strong plus.

The new hire base pay for this role has a salary range of $150,000 to $230,000. Arista offers different pay ranges based on work location, so that we can offer consistent and competitive pay appropriate to the market. The actual base pay offered will be based on a wide range of factors, including skills, qualifications, relevant experience, and work location. The pay range provided reflects base pay only and in addition certain roles may also be eligible for discretionary Arista bonuses and equity. Employees in Sales roles are eligible to participate in Arista’s Sales Incentive Plan, which pays commissions calculated as a percentage of eligible sales. US-based employees are also entitled to benefits including medical, dental, vision, wellbeing, tax savings and income protection. The recruiting team can share more details during the hiring process specific to the role and location.

Additional Information

Arista Networks is an equal opportunity employer.  Arista makes all hiring and employment-related decisions in a non-discriminatory manner without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin or any other factor determined to be unlawful under applicable federal, state, or law law.  All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.