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Optical Engineer - Memphis

xAI· Data Center
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Hybrid (Memphis, TN)full-timePosted 2w ago

About the role

Optical Engineer responsible for the physical optical layer of AI training and inference compute fabric, including fiber layout, link design, optics selection, and production of scalable, testable optical infrastructure for AI clusters.

Responsibilities

  • Own end-to-end optical and fiber design for AI training and inference fabrics: fiber cabling, cassette/panel architecture, polarity, breakout, reach, and connector strategy (MPO-12/16, SN, MDC, LC, OSFP / QSFP-DD)
  • Write and verify link budgets for scale-out and scale-up interconnect (SMF/MMF, AOC/DAC, DR/FR/LR, InfiniBand and Ethernet), including loss, reflections, FEC, and realistic install margins
  • Develop and implement factory tests for optical interconnects including insertion loss, return loss, and polarization
  • Select and qualify optics, fiber, and connectivity (transceivers, patch, trunks, cassettes, harnesses); own vendor bring-up, failure analysis, and fleet reliability of the optical layer
  • Deploy and verify end-to-end optical interconnect into the manufacturing line
  • Lead commissioning and debug: inspect/clean, power meter, OTDR, BER/FEC stats, and volume failure modes (dirty connectors, wrong polarity, wrong map, damaged end-face)
  • Evolve connectivity toward the next speed and density (800G / 1.6T, CPO/NPO awareness, tighter reaches, higher fiber count per rack)
  • Work with mechanical and network teams to design structured cabling and raceways with the rack and facilities teams: tray fill, bend radius, pre-term vs field-term, labeling, and a plant that can be built and repaired at hall scale

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, optical engineering, physics, or a related engineering discipline
  • 2+ years of professional experience in fiber layout, optical link design, and/or datacenter/HPC optical engineering

Skills

Required:Fiber layout and optical link designLink budget analysis
Nice to have:Optical testingVendor qualification and product selectionManufacturing line integration
Last updated Oct 14, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About xAI

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