Astera Labs
Tech Lead Optical Test Engineer
$185K–$240K
San Jose, California, United States +1 · Full-time · Posted Aug 3, 2026
- Location
- San Jose, California, United States
California - Experience
- 5–7+ years in optical testing, photonic device characterization, or optical transceiver development.
- Education
- M.S. or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Physics, Photonics, or a related discipline.
About the job
Leads development and deployment of optical test solutions for silicon photonics devices, CPO components, and optical modules, from wafer-level characterization through production testing.
What you'll do
- Define optical test architectures and flows; build test stations and implement high-throughput testing.
- Conduct optical characterization and qualification, analyze test data, and report process stability and repeatability.
- Develop test automation and documentation, and collaborate with design, process, supplier, and foundry teams.
What they ask for
- M.S. or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Physics, Photonics, or a related discipline.
- Strong understanding of silicon photonics devices and hands-on experience with optical test equipment.
- Proficiency in high-speed optical link testing (100G/lane and above, PAM4, NRZ).
- Programming skills in Python, MATLAB, LabVIEW, or C/C++ for test automation; knowledge of optical communication standards (IEEE 802.3, OIF-CEI, CMIS).
Nice to have
- Experience with co-packaged optics or on-board optics architectures.
- Experience with wafer-level optical probing/testing or transitioning test processes to high-volume manufacturing (HVM).
Pay
$185,000 to $240,000 USD base salary
Tools
Python, LabVIEW, MATLAB, C/C++, OSA, BERT, IEEE 802.3, CMIS
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative