Sr. Product Engineer

Job title: Sr. PRODUCT ENGINEER

Summary/Objective: The Sr. Product Engineer owns product and manufacturing process integration, new product introduction (NPI), qualification, and production ramp for Samtec optical products, namely on-board optical engines and modules such as the FireFly™ family, in vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL)-based multimode and silicon photonics (SiPh) variants and including optical PCI Express, and pluggable optical transceivers built with original design manufacturer (ODM) partners. The role is the technical link between Samtec design teams, Samtec manufacturing sites, and original design manufacturer / contract manufacturer (ODM/CM) partners in Taiwan, and ensures each product is manufacturable, testable, reliable, and ready for volume production, whether it is built on a Samtec line or at a partner. It requires strong system-level understanding of optical, optoelectronic, electronic, high-speed electrical, firmware, mechanical, thermal, test, and manufacturing interactions.

Essential Functions/ Responsibilities:

1. Lead New Product Introduction (NPI) from engineering builds (alpha/beta) through engineering validation test (EVT), design validation test (DVT), qualification, production validation test (PVT), and production release, following Samtec's optics new product development (NPD) phase-gate process.

2. Own product and manufacturing process integration across optical, optoelectronic, electronic, mechanical, thermal, firmware, test, and manufacturing functions.

3. Own the module manufacturing flow — printed circuit board (PCB) and surface-mount technology (SMT) assembly, die attach, wire bonding, optical engine assembly, active/passive alignment, fiber attach, adhesive cure, mechanical assembly, firmware programming, calibration, final test, burn-in, and reliability screening — and drive design-for-manufacturing and design-for-test feedback into the design.

4. Act as Samtec's technical owner for ODM/CM-built products: run build-readiness reviews, review partner process flows, control plans, and yield data, and manage technical issues and engineering changes with the partner.

5. Coordinate build plans and ensure readiness of materials, equipment, fixtures, manufacturing processes, test systems, documentation, and resources at Samtec sites and partners.

6. Manage product configuration and engineering changes: bill of materials (BOM), approved vendor list (AVL), engineering change order/notice (ECO/ECN), hardware, firmware, calibration, test program, and manufacturing documentation revisions; own and coordinate issuance of product/process change notifications (PCNs), including technical impact assessment and supporting documentation for customers and relevant stakeholders.

7. Monitor and analyze first-pass yield (FPY), final yield, retest, rework, scrap, and station-level performance; lead cross-functional yield improvement.

8. Lead root cause analysis of product and process issues involving transmit/receive (Tx/Rx) optical performance, bit error ratio (BER)/forward error correction (FEC), transmitter and dispersion eye closure quaternary (TDECQ), optical modulation amplitude (OMA), receiver sensitivity, power, thermal behavior, control-interface behavior under Common Management Interface Specification (CMIS) or Samtec interface definitions, mechanical tolerance, and manufacturing variation.

9. Work closely with research and development (R&D), hardware (HW) and optoelectronic (OE) test, quality, manufacturing, process engineering, supply chain, suppliers, and ODM/CM partners to resolve technical and production issues.

10. Support design of experiments (DOE), process characterization, tolerance analysis, and design/process optimization to improve product performance, manufacturability, reliability, and cost.

11. Establish and maintain manufacturing readiness and release documentation: process flow, standard operating procedure (SOP)/work instruction (WI), build reports, issue lists, production transfer requirements, and the production release package.

“The responsibilities as defined are intended to serve as a general guideline for this position. Associates may be asked to perform additional tasks depending on strengths and capabilities.”

Experience / Qualifications (Ideal Candidate Profile):

These qualifications describe the ideal candidate profile; candidates with a strong partial match may also be considered during initial screening.

1. Bachelor's degree or above in Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Optoelectronics, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, or a related technical discipline.

2. Ideally, 5+ years in product engineering, NPI, or process integration for optical transceivers, optical engines, photonics, or high-speed electronics products.

3. A strong understanding of optical module system architecture and components: VCSEL, distributed feedback (DFB), and externally modulated laser (EML) lasers, photodiodes (PDs), transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs), drivers, digital signal processors (DSPs) and retimers, microcontroller units (MCUs), power integrated circuits (ICs), photonic integrated circuits (PICs), and optical engines is preferred.

4. Strong working knowledge of module manufacturing processes and the interaction between process variation, product performance, yield, and reliability is preferred.

5. Working knowledge of non-return-to-zero (NRZ)/four-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4), BER, FEC, TDECQ, OMA, receiver sensitivity, high-speed electrical interfaces, thermal management, and module control interfaces.

6. Experience with NPI, BOM/ECO management, yield analysis, DOE, root cause analysis, and cross-functional problem solving.

7. Ability to communicate effectively across engineering, manufacturing, quality, suppliers, and ODM/CM organizations; good written and verbal English communication skills.

Preferred Experience / Desired Skills:

1. Experience with 400G, 800G, 1.6T, or next-generation optical transceivers in QSFP-DD, OSFP, or OSFP-XD form factors, linear pluggable optics (LPO)/linear receive optics (LRO) or DSP-based, and/or on-board or mid-board optical engines, including optical PCI Express.

2. Hands-on experience with optical module assembly processes: die attach, wire bonding, active/passive alignment, fiber attach, adhesive cure, calibration, and final test.

3. Knowledge of CMIS, IEEE 802.3, PCI Express, industry multi-source agreements, and optical module qualification requirements (e.g., Telcordia GR-468-CORE).

4. Experience managing ODM/CM partners and component suppliers through NPI and volume production, including production transfer.

5. Strong analytical, project management, organizational, communication, and presentation skills.

6. Self-motivated and able to work independently and cross-functionally in a fast-paced environment with teams in Taiwan, the United States, and partner sites.

7. Ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally as needed.

Training required

1. On-the-job training as appropriate.

2. Product-, process-, test-, quality-, and safety-specific training as required by assigned responsibilities.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.