Sr. Optical Transceiver Engineer - High Speed Links, Satelites (Starlink)
Redmond, WA · USD 140,000-235,000 · 5+ years experience · Posted Oct 16, 2026
At a glance
- Experience
- 5+ years experience
- Location
- Redmond, WA
- Salary
- USD 140,000-235,000 · Base salary
About the role
- The Starlink Space Lasers team develops, produces and deploys systems for transferring data over optical media.
- Engineers contribute to the development of optical physical layer systems for the groundbreaking constellation of Starlink satellites.
- As an optical datacom engineer, you will be responsible for optical datacom system design, validation, and operation.
Responsibilities
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge, spanning photonics, electrical engineering/signals, and mechanical engineering concepts to data communication system development, including design, analysis, and validation
- Represent the optical data communication network in program-level, cross-disciplinary trades and issue resolution
- Perform trade space analysis between various optical interconnect technologies and approaches to minimize SWaP-C while meeting throughput and reliability/uptime requirements
- Participate in verification testing, including environmental qualification, functional qualification, reliability testing, and fault injection testing
- Review test data and lead anomaly investigation and resolution
- Maintain link models, design specifications, and system capabilities data
- Interface with manufacturing and supply chain teams to ensure final designs can be manufactured in accordance with overall project goals
- Collaborate with software and automation teams to develop tools and protocols for automated link tuning, operation and qualification
- Represent optical datacom systems for reliability and risk discussions with internal reliability teams, management, customers, and vendors
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in physics, computer science, electrical engineering, or other engineering/STEM discipline
- 5+ years of hands-on laboratory or work experience in photonics, SERDES/optical DSP design, or signal integrity design
- 5+ years of experience in a computer programming language (e.g. C++, MATLAB, and/or Python)
Preferred qualifications
- Master's degree or PhD in physics, computer science, or an engineering/STEM discipline
- Proficiency with data communication system simulation tools such as Keysight ADS, VPI Photonics, or Lumerical Interconnect
- Proficiency with signal integrity design tools such as HFSS, HFSS 3D Layout or CST
- Proficiency with optical design tools such as Zemax
- Hands-on experience in system design, integration, tuning/optimization, and test of data communication systems
- Knowledge of and experience in SERDES, signal equalization/conditioning/decision functional blocks, ability to interpret SERDES receiver adaptation details and other queried information along an optical link to identify and resolve impairments
- Experience leading development of commercial transceivers and data communications products
- Experience with hardware development for high-reliability applications
Benefits
- Level 3 base salary: $140,000.00 - $235,000.00
- Long-term incentives in the form of company stock or long-term cash awards
- Discretionary bonuses
- Ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan
- Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage
- 401(k) retirement plan
- Short and long-term disability insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid parental leave
- 3 weeks of paid vacation and 10 or more paid holidays per year
Workplace
- Company shuttles are offered to employees for roundtrip travel from select Seattle locations to the SpaceX Redmond office Monday to Friday
Skills
- C++
- MATLAB
- Python
- Keysight ADS
- VPI Photonics
- Lumerical Interconnect
- HFSS
- HFSS 3D Layout
- CST
- Zemax
- Linux
