Astera Labs
Senior Principal Photonics Test Engineer
$185K–$240K
San Jose, California, United States +1 · Principal · Full-time · Posted May 19, 2026
- Location
- San Jose, California, United States
California - Experience
- 10+ years.
- Education
- MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Optics, Physics, Semiconductor Engineering, or a related field.
About the job
Defines photonics test architecture and develops automated testing for silicon photonics devices, subsystems, and optical modules from R&D through high-volume manufacturing.
What you'll do
- Own end-to-end test architecture and roadmap across wafer, package, module, production, and reliability testing.
- Develop automated optical test solutions, test plans, and yield analytics; debug performance and yield issues.
- Collaborate across engineering teams and provide technical input to design-for-test and product reviews.
What they ask for
- MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Optics, Physics, Semiconductor Engineering, or a related field.
- 10+ years of experience in optical testing, photonic device characterization, or optical transceiver module test.
- Expertise in silicon photonics, optical probing and fiber coupling, EO characterization, high-speed optical testing, and BER measurement; experience leading wafer- and package-level optical test system development.
- Programming skills in Python, MATLAB, LabVIEW, or C/C++; knowledge of optical communication standards (IEEE 802.3, OIF-CEI, CMIS).
Nice to have
- Experience with co-packaged optics or on-board optics, 2.5D/3D packaging, or external laser source integration and characterization.
- Experience with ATE platforms, custom photonics test setups, or transitioning processes to high-volume manufacturing.
Pay
$185,000 to $240,000 USD base salary
Tools
Python, MATLAB, LabVIEW, C/C++, IEEE 802.3, OIF-CEI, CMIS, UCIe
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative