Field Application Engineer (FAE) - Optical Networking

Avicena is a privately held company developing microLED based ultra-low power high bandwidth interconnects for chip-to-chip communications. This technology will revolutionize High-Performance (HPC) and Cloud computing, as well as other industries where low power interconnects are critical like camera sensors, autonomous vehicles, and aerospace. Avicena is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California with a development center in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company was founded in 2019 by leading technologists from the optical networking industry with a track record of delivering breakthrough products. (About the role: We are seeking an experienced Field Application Engineer (FAE) with 8+ years of industry experience in optical networking or high-speed interconnect systems. This role will be critical in supporting Avicena's first customer demonstrations and early deployments. You will serve as the primary technical interface between Avicena's engineering team and customer engineering teams, helping ensure successful system integration, validation, and performance optimization. This is a hands-on, high-impact role ideal for someone who thrives in startup environments and enjoys bridging deep technology with real-world deployment. Responsibilities: Customer-Facing Technical Support Lead on-site and remote support for first customer demos and early deployments Act as the primary technical point of contact for customer engineering teams Support system bring-up, integration, and debugging at customer sites Translate customer feedback into actionable engineering insights System Integration & Validation Assist with integration of optical modules/interconnects into networking or compute platforms Support high-speed link bring-up, signal integrity debugging, and performance validation Develop and execute validation plans for optical networking systems Analyze link performance metrics (BER, eye diagrams, jitter, power budgets, etc.) Cross-Functional Collaboration Work closely with hardware, photonics, signal integrity, and firmware teams Support root cause analysis for system-level issues Provide structured feedback to product and engineering teams to improve robustness Documentation & Enablement Develop application notes, integration guides, and demo documentation Support creation of customer-facing technical collateral Train customer engineering teams on best practices Qualifications: B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering (preferred), Physics, or related field 8+ years of industry experience in optical networking, high-speed interconnects, or related fields Strong knowledge of: Optical transceivers and interconnects High-speed SerDes (25G/50G/100G+) Signal integrity and link budgeting Networking protocols and data center architectures Hands-on experience with lab equipment: High-speed oscilloscopes BER testers VNAs / spectrum analyzers Experience supporting customer bring-up or field deployments Preferred Qualifications: Experience with: NRZ based optical transceivers & links PAM4 & coherent optical modules Silicon photonics or advanced optical packaging Familiarity with switch ASICs, NICs, or accelerator interconnects Experience in startup or early product deployment environments Strong scripting skills (Python, MATLAB, or similar) for test automation Willingness to travel (up to ~30-40%)

Created: 2026-03-10