Technical Support Engineer

ABOUT PHOTON KINETICS

Photon Kinetics is the world’s trusted standard in optical fiber testing and measurement solutions. For more than 40 years, our instruments have helped fiber and cable manufacturers deliver the performance that enables high-speed communication networks around the globe. 95% of the world’s optical fiber has been tested using our equipment. As the world moves deeper into AI-driven computing and hyperscale data centers, the demand for precise measurement and reliable optical infrastructure continues to grow. Photon Kinetics is applying its expertise in measurement science, automation, and precision systems to help build the connectivity backbone that powers the next generation of data and AI technologies.

ROLE OVERVIEW

Photon Kinetics is seeking a Technical Support Engineer to be based at our headquarters in Beaverton, OR. This role is the frontline technical resource for our global customer base, providing hardware, software, and applications support across our portfolio of precision fiber optic test and measurement instruments. Day-to-day, you'll handle remote support via email, phone, and remote access tools, while also performing performance assurance testing on outgoing products before they ship. This role also carries a real field component — roughly 25% of the time, up to 50% in busy periods — traveling to customer sites for installation, repair, calibration, and sales support. We’re hiring this role at the I, II, or III level; title and compensation are set by experience. The ideal candidate has a strong technical foundation, excellent troubleshooting skills, and the ability to clearly communicate technical concepts to customers and internal teams. You are comfortable asking technical questions, examining logs and data, working with APIs and code, and explaining complex findings to both engineers and customers. You should be comfortable investigating problems independently while knowing when and how to escalate issues. Beyond direct customer interaction, this role sits at the intersection of Sales, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Product Development. You don't view customer support as simply resolving tickets. You see every customer interaction as an opportunity to understand the product better, solve technical problems, and make the product better for the next customer. Your field observations and customer feedback directly inform product improvements — making this a high-visibility position for someone who wants their work to matter beyond the support queue.

WHAT YOU WILL ACHIEVE IN YEAR ONE

• Own Remote Support Queue : Independently resolve the majority of inbound customer technical issues via email, phone, and remote access, with minimal escalation. Build familiarity with the full PK product line to diagnose hardware, software, and application problems accurately and efficiently. Become a trusted technical resource for customers and internal teams.
• Execute Field Deployments and Site Visits : Successfully complete on-site customer engagements — installations, repairs, and calibrations — with positive customer outcomes and clear documentation. Demonstrate readiness to travel and represent PK professionally in front of fiber and cable manufacturers globally.
• Contribute Product Feedback to Engineering and Development : Identify recurring customer issues and translate field observations into actionable input for engineering, product development, and manufacturing. Establish yourself as a trusted cross-functional voice that helps close the loop between customer experience and product improvement.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Product Expertise & Remote Support

• Develop and maintain deep technical expertise in PK's products, architecture, APIs, integrations, and known limitations
• Provide email, phone, and remote support to global customers on hardware, software, and application issues
• Guide customers through technical implementations, integrations, configuration changes, and troubleshooting
• Explain technical concepts, product behavior, limitations, and solutions clearly and confidently
• Participate in incident response and communicate findings to affected customers

Troubleshooting & Root Cause

• Investigate complex product behavior to determine whether an issue stems from configuration, customer implementation, integration, product functionality, or an underlying defect
• Reproduce customer issues in development, staging, or test environments
• Identify root causes rather than simply addressing symptoms
• Develop workarounds when an immediate product fix is not available
• Document technical findings, root causes, and recommended solutions

On-Site & Product Assurance

• Travel regularly to customer sites for instrument installation, repair, and calibration
• Provide on-site sales support when technical expertise is required during customer engagements
• Perform performance assurance tests on outgoing products prior to shipment

Engineering Feedback & Collaboration

• Work closely with Engineering, Sales, Manufacturing, Product Development, and Marketing to resolve customer technical problems
• Identify patterns across customer issues that indicate broader product or architectural problems, and feed them back to engineering
• Validate fixes and product changes against real-world customer scenarios
• Help create and improve product documentation, troubleshooting resources, APIs, tooling, and technical workflows

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience working directly with customers on complex technical problems
• Physics, optics, or engineering degree OR 5+ years of hands-on field service experience with electronic, mechanical, or optical systems
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage effectively with technical audiences
• Willingness and ability to travel 25–50%, primarily within the Americas, with a valid passport for international travel

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with fiber optics or optical systems
• Familiarity with Python or VBA scripting
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Experience with test and measurement instrumentation or laboratory equipment

WHY THIS ROLE IS DIFFERENT

• Your work directly supports the measurement infrastructure behind 95% of the world's optical fiber — and increasingly, the AI and hyperscale data center buildout driving global connectivity demand
• High cross-functional visibility: your field observations feed directly into engineering and product development, not just a support ticket system
• You’re based at headquarters alongside the engineers who build what you support — not a field rep working alone from a laptop
• Join a globally recognized, 40-year-old company with the stability of an established leader and the momentum of a market that's accelerating

WHY JOIN PHOTON KINETICS

You’ll work on technologies that enable the next wave of AI and data center innovation. At Photon Kinetics, you’ll join a highly skilled, collaborative team where your contributions directly impact the products and relationships that connect the world. You’ll have visibility and influence in a company recognized globally for engineering excellence, precision, and trusted performance. We value different perspectives and problem-solving approaches. The best solutions come from teams that think differently.