Principal Field Application Engineer (Optical Connectivity)

Quick Facts

• Role: Principal Field Application Engineer (Optical Connectivity)

• Focus: Strategic customer co-development and design wins for high-speed optical and copper interconnect

• Pay estimate: $180,000–$200,000 (base salary)

Description

This role drives immediate design-win revenue and leads long-term co-development for next-generation 1.6T and 3.2T connectivity in hyperscaler data centers. You will act as a trusted technical advisor to accelerate customer design-in, troubleshoot complex issues, and guide hardware/PCB/signal integrity and system validation. Your insights will also shape product roadmap priorities.

Responsibilities

• Drive design wins for high-speed drivers, TIAs, copper redrivers, and other products with customer engineering teams

• Accelerate design-in cycles by proactively removing technical barriers to secure near-term revenue opportunities

• Lead co-development initiatives for 1.6T and 3.2T+ technologies and define future data center connectivity

• Create joint innovation programs and proof-of-concept projects with Tier 1 hyperscaler providers

• Align the product roadmap with customer technology evolution plans

• Lead technical evaluations and provide comprehensive pre-sales and post-sales support for strategic design-ins

• Troubleshoot and debug complex technical issues and guide customers through validation

• Support customers with hardware design, PCB layout, signal integrity optimization, firmware integration, and system validation

• Support qualification processes with equipment manufacturers, network operators, and cloud service providers

• Create application notes, white papers, and design guides

• Influence product management and R&D priorities based on customer insights and market intelligence

• Partner with engineering to ensure co-development projects receive appropriate priority and resources

• Drive internal alignment across product management, engineering, marketing, sales, and operations

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related technical field (Master's or Ph.D. preferred)

• 8+ years of Field Application Engineering experience

• Expert-level signal integrity knowledge for 800G, 1.6T, and 3.2T applications (modulation schemes, channel modeling, equalization)

• Knowledge of optical transceiver architecture, design, validation, and manufacturing

• Familiarity with LPO, LRO, and CPO architectures

• Experience with high-speed PCB design including layout, impedance control, and signal integrity validation

• Proficiency with high-speed test equipment (network analyzers, BER testers, oscilloscopes)

• Understanding of IEEE 802.3 and OIF standards

• Demonstrated success leading customer co-development projects with significant revenue impact

• Established relationships with Tier 1 hyperscaler engineering teams and Bay Area ecosystem partners (highly preferred)

• Exceptional communication across technical and business audiences; ability to influence without formal authority and work autonomously

Benefits

• Estimated base pay range: $180,000–$200,000 (determined by qualifications, skills, education, experience, and location, plus other compensation factors)