Optical Network Engineer
MatX
<p><strong>What MatX Is Building</strong></p> <p>MatX's mission is to make the world’s best AI models run as efficiently as allowed by physics, bringing the world years ahead in AI quality and availability.</p> <h2><strong>About the Role</strong></h2> <p>This is a senior-level, highly specialized engineering role focused on the design, qualification, and productization of next-generation optical interconnect technologies for AI scale-up and scale-out networks. The engineer owns the full lifecycle — from component characterization and link budget analysis to system-level bring-up and data center deployment — across the evolving spectrum of optical integration approaches: <strong>pluggables, NPO, and CPO</strong>.</p> <h2><strong>What You'll Do</strong></h2> <p><strong>Technology Evaluation &amp; Qualification</strong></p> <ul> <li>Validate and productize high-speed copper and optical connectivity solutions for AI accelerator systems; own vendor due diligence and onboarding for new 1.6T products including AEC and pluggable optical transceivers.<a href="https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/xai/jobs/5043570007">&nbsp;</a></li> <li>Characterize and qualify optical modules across the integration spectrum — DSP Optics, LRO, LPO, NPO, and CPO — for 800G and 1.6T deployment in scale-up AI fabrics</li> <li>Perform link budget analysis and evaluate performance metrics including TDECQ, OMA, stressed receiver sensitivity, and associated diagnostics.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Component &amp; System Engineering</strong></p> <ul> <li>Develop expertise in transceiver components including CW lasers, SiPh PICs, EML, DSP, passive subassemblies, their failure modes, and characterization methodologies.<a href="https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/xai/jobs/5043570007">&nbsp;</a></li> <li>Evaluate silicon photonics (SiPh) transceivers, VCSEL-based MMF links, and EML-based SMF solutions for scale-up fabric topologies</li> <li>Apply knowledge of thermal, mechanical, power, and signal integrity constraints in dense hardware environments.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Scale-Up Network Architecture</strong></p> <ul> <li>Define optical interconnect strategy for AI cluster topologies — rail-optimized, torus, dragonfly, and Clos — at XPU counts from 10K to 1M+</li> <li>Model and optimize end-to-end link budgets for 1.6T (200G/lane PAM4) across fiber types: SMF, MMF, MCF</li> <li>Engage with the transition from 1.6T to 3.2T (400G/lane) roadmaps and new form factors emerging with LPO and CPO.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Supply Chain &amp; Vendor Management</strong></p> <ul> <li>Develop familiarity with subcomponent supply chains and global manufacturers, ODMs, and CMs.</li> <li>Manage technical relationships with optical module vendors (Coherent, II-VI/Coherent, Lumentum, Innolight, HG Genuine, Eoptolink) and silicon photonics suppliers</li> <li>Drive NPI (New Product Introduction) qualification plans, yield improvement, and reliability testing with manufacturing partners</li> </ul> <h2><strong>What We're Looking For</strong></h2> <p><strong>Experience &amp; Education</strong></p> <ul> <li>BS/MS/PhD in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Physics, or Photonics</li> <li>7–12+ years in optical interconnect engineering, with at least 3 years focused on data center or AI fabric applications</li> <li>Hands-on experience qualifying 400G, 800G, or 1.6T optical modules in production environments</li> <li>Deep knowledge of PA