Integrated Photonic Test Engineer - Acacia (Hybrid)

About the Team

Acacia (part of Cisco) is a market leader in high-speed coherent optical transceivers, pioneering the development of coherent pluggable transceivers. Acacia’s coherent products are deployed by all hyperscalers to connect their Data Centers over distances from a few kilometers to thousands of kilometers and even in submarine networks. The emergence of AI has drastically increased the demand for Acacia’s coherent transceivers. Acacia’s coherent transceivers are also being used in space applications and are expected to be used inside data centers as interconnect speeds continue to increase. Acacia is also entering the PAM4 Client market and is expected to be a key provider of PAM4 solutions, including a 1.6T PAM4 DSP.

The Photonic Integrated Circuits (PIC) team is a dynamic group that develops advanced photonics chips for optical communications products. Acacia takes pride in providing and fostering a collaborative environment to ensure success and personal growth.

Your Impact

As an Integrated Photonics Test Engineer, you will play a critical role in developing and supporting Cisco’s next generation integrated photonic components for telecommunications, data centers, and AI infrastructure. You will:

• Devise, develop, and execute engineering tests supporting novel optical components to be used in Cisco’s silicon photonics product offerings.
• Develop, build, and perform hands-on engineering tests to support Cisco’s integrated photonic components and circuits on die, wafer, and assembly levels.
• Analyze and correlate optical test data with design and process parameters to optimize device performance for high-speed photonics applications.
• Apply data analytics leveraging AI/ML for proactive problem detection and resolution.
• Communicate clear, concise, and actionable data-driven analysis to cross-functional teams, including Design, Assembly, Test, Qualification, and Foundry partners.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s + 5 years of related experience, or Master’s + 3 years of related experience, or PhD + 0 years of related experience.
• Experience with solid-state physics, integrated photonics, and opto-electronics.
• Experience in hardware and software automation of photonics testing.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ph.D. with +3 years of experience.
• Prior experience with commercial large-scale photonic circuit testing developments.
• Prior experience building optical testing setups and systems for integrated photonics and performing hands-on testing.
• Programming experience for testing automation using Python, Matlab, C#, or LabVIEW.
• Experience in statistical programming languages for data analysis and modeling, as well as experience using commercial statistical applications like JMP.
• Experience in SQL for complex data extraction from relational databases.
• Experience testing RF and high-speed optical components.
• Prior experience specifically with silicon photonics or other integrated high-speed photonic platforms is a strong plus.

Why Cisco?

At Cisco, we’re revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era—and beyond. We’ve been innovating fearlessly for 40 years to create solutions that power how humans and technology work together across the physical and digital worlds. These solutions provide customers with unparalleled security, visibility, and insights across the entire digital footprint. Fueled by the depth and breadth of our technology, we experiment and create meaningful solutions. Add to that our worldwide network of doers and experts, and you’ll see that the opportunities to grow and build are limitless.

We work as a team, collaborating with empathy to make really big things happen on a global scale. Because our solutions are everywhere, our impact is everywhere. We are Cisco, and our power starts with you.

Pay

The starting salary range for this position is $138,100.00 to $196,500.00 for new hires in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including incentive compensation, equity, or benefits. Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location, market conditions, job-related skillset, experience, qualifications, education, certifications, and/or training. The full salary range for specific locations is listed below:

• New York City Metro Area: $138,100.00 - $226,000.00
• Non-Metro New York State & Washington State: $124,000.00 - $201,000.00

For quota-based sales roles on Cisco’s sales plan, the ranges provided include base pay and sales target incentive compensation combined.

Benefits

U.S. employees are offered benefits, subject to Cisco’s plan eligibility rules, which include:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• A 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution.
• Paid parental leave, short- and long-term disability coverage, and basic life insurance.
• Restricted stock units (RSUs), which vest following continued employment for defined periods.
• Paid time away, including:
• 10 paid holidays per full calendar year, plus 1 floating holiday for non-exempt employees.
• 1 paid day off for employee’s birthday, paid year-end holiday shutdown, and 4 paid days off for personal wellness.
• Non-exempt employees receive 16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year, accrued at a rate of 4.92 hours per pay period.
• Exempt employees participate in Cisco’s flexible vacation time off program, with no defined limit on vacation time (subject to availability and business limitations).
• 80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter, with up to 80 hours of unused sick time carried forward.
• Additional paid time away may be requested for critical or emergency family issues.
• Optional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteer.
• Eligibility to earn annual bonuses, subject to Cisco’s policies.
• For sales roles, performance-based incentive pay split between quota and non-quota components, with no minimum threshold for sales incentive compensation.

Schedule

This is a hybrid role requiring three days per week at our Holmdel, NJ office.