Acacia, now part of Cisco, provides innovative silicon-based high speed optical interconnect products to accelerate network scalability through advancements in performance, capacity, and cost. Our DSP ASICs, silicon photonic PICs and coherent modules empower cloud and service providers to meet the fast-growing demand for data. We have assembled a team of cross?functional experts capable of solving the challenges of next generation optical interconnects, resulting in industry-leading, award-winning products. 

Our Coherent Optics team is looking for an expert in coherent optics who will be instrumental in bring-up, debug and performance optimization of our coherent optical transceivers.

These transceivers are highly complex systems comprising in-house developed ultra-high speed optics and electronics, HW and SW, and coherent DSP ASICs. This high impact role requires a very good understanding of both optics and the digital signal processing used in coherent systems.

This engineer may also design control and monitoring subsystems and/or contribute to the development of the digital signal processing algorithms.

The incumbent will collaborate with colleagues in the DSP, Silicon Photonics, HW, SW, mixed signal, and operations groups which will provide a phenomenal opportunity to gain a lot of knowledge in various aspect of our system.

Your responsibilities will include (most of) these tasks

• Provide requirements for the design of the HW systems controlling or interfacing with optical and high-speed electrical components
• Design, conduct, and interpret off-line transmission measurements and characterization of e.g. modulators, detectors, drivers, TIAs, and lasers as input to DSP design
• Bring-up and optimization of each new coherent transceiver design, including optimization of operating conditions of optical and electrical components as well as DSP parameters
• Provide guidance and test results for the development of the integrated optics, high speed electronics, and DSP to maximize performance and minimize size and power consumption of Ciscos coherent optical transceivers
• Design verification testing (DVT) of coherent transceivers to ensure optical specifications are met over operating conditions (temperature, power levels, etc.)
• Development of calibration and test procedures to ensure a consistent high transceiver performance over a wide range of operating conditions (temperature, production variation, ageing, power levels, etc.)
• Work with the operations team to bring these calibration procedures and production tests into high volume manufacturing in a fast, reliable and cost-effective way
• Work with the operations team to maximize the product yield through good calibration and production test procedures
• Design subsystems for control of e.g. optical modulators, amplifiers, and filters
• Develop methods and SW for performance monitoring e.g. related to power levels, (O)SNR estimation, or optical link impairments
• Debug of transceivers, both during bring-up and volume manufacturing

Education and experience

• Ph.D. in physics or electrical engineering
• 4+ years coherent optical transmission including QAM modulation, demodulation, and DSP, including at least a theoretical / floating point understanding of static and adaptive equalization in time and frequency domain, timing recovery, and carrier phase estimation
• Hands-on experience with high-speed RF electronics and ADC/DAC highly desirable
• Hands-on experience with bring-up, debugging, calibration, and design verification testing of transceiver line cards or modules highly desirable
• Hands-on experience with transceiver HW and/or SW highly desirable
• 6+ years of experimental experience with optical communication systems including optical components, test equipment and measurement methods
• Experience with test automation, ideally with Python
• Hands-on experience with set-up and measurement of recirculating loop test beds highly desirable

Our work philosophy

A friendly, open and collaborative work environment is a key value for us. We work together within the group and between the groups to create and implement great ideas, peer-review designs to eliminate mistakes, and share the workload in a balanced way.

Why Cisco?

#WeAreCisco. We are all unique, but collectively we bring our talents to work as a team, to develop innovative technology and power a more inclusive, digital future for everyone. How do we do it? Well, for starters with people like you!

Nearly every internet connection around the world touches Cisco. Were the Internets optimists. Our technology makes sure the data traveling at light speed across connections does so securely, yet its not what we make but what we make happen which marks us out. Were helping those who work in the health service to connect with patients and each other; schools, colleges, and universities to teach in even the most challenging of times. Were helping businesses of all shapes and sizes to connect with their employees and customers in new ways, providing people with access to the digital skills they need and connecting the most remote parts of the world whether through 5G, or otherwise.

We tackle whatever challenges come our way. We have each others backs, we recognize our accomplishments, and we grow together. We celebrate and support one another from big and small things in life to big career moments. And giving back is in our DNA (we get 10 days off each year to do just that).

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