Nexthop AI
New Product Introduction Engineer, Optics and Cables
Santa Clara, California
Sponsorship not specifiedDetected 9 hours ago
NLPProduct ManagementAuditingElectrical EngineeringHardware Design
About the role
- You will define the optics qualification, cleaning, inspection, and reliability standards that prevent field failures and ensure Nexthop AI stays at the leading edge of optical performance.
- This role is highly focused on bridging early New Product Introduction (NPI) engineering with manufacturing execution, establishing the blueprints for how our complex optical portfolios are built, tested, and scaled globally.
Responsibilities
- Interconnect Integrity Lead: Establish the "North Star" for the optical integrity of our systems through the manufacturing and assembly process.
- Ensure early NPI builds stabilize before transferring packages to factory operation teams for execution.
- Design Accountability: Work closely and directly with mechanical, thermal and optics engineers, ensuring port layouts and cable management allow for proper bend radii, cleaning access, ease for manufacturing and thermal headroom.
- Supplier Quality Management: Work with both Nexthop's engineering team and optical suppliers to specify and maintain production controls on all optical subassemblies that Nexthop sources from external suppliers.
- Validate components from suppliers for compatibility, reliability, and potential dual-sourcing strategies.
- Technical Audits: Lead deep-dive technical audits of vendor facilities, assessing and improving upon their laser burn-in processes, fiber termination quality, and cleanroom discipline.
- Long-Term Reliability: Design and execute qualification plans for optics, including thermal cycling, high-humidity stress, and connector mating-cycle endurance. Implement manufacturing traceability, quality dashboards, and reporting.
Requirements
- Domain Expertise: Expert-level knowledge of optical connector types (MPO, LC, EBO), fiber physics, and transceiver architectures (QSFP-DD, OSFP).
- Experience with high-speed switches.
- Technical Authority: Proven track record of auditing vendors and establishing factory-level optical test methodologies and transitioning complex lines to overseas Contract Manufacturers.
- Tooling Knowledge: Proficiency with optical scopes, bit error rate testers (BERT), and automated fiber inspection systems and product fixturing
- This includes translating end-to-end link quality requirements, such as target BER and required optical performance, into specific device and system level tests with clearly defined pass/fail criteria.
Benefits
- You define the automated inspection criteria (leverage protocols such as IEC) to ensure zero-defect ports leave the vendor or our contract manufacturer.
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