Principal Validation Engineering Optical Interconnect

Location: Pavia, Italy; onsite role with collaboration across Italy, Vietnam, Canada, and the US.

Expected base pay: €58,100–€77,400 per annum, plus eligibility for bonus and equity plans.

Company

hirify.global develops semiconductor solutions and optical interconnects for enterprise, cloud, AI, carrier, communication infrastructure, and data-center applications.

What you will do

• Lead multiple electrical and optical test platforms, benches, and board developments across sites, setting technical direction and managing schedule, quality, cost, vendors, and contract manufacturers.
• Design and develop VCSEL-based optical interconnect test benches, including architecture, instrument selection and qualification, calibration, automation, and cross-lab correlation.
• Develop PCBs, evaluation and characterization boards, test fixtures, and optical/electrical adapters from requirements and schematic through SI/PI, layout, fabrication, assembly, and bring-up.
• Develop measurement methods for optical links and high-speed electrical interfaces, covering optical power, spectrum, eye and waveform measurements, BER, noise, jitter, and link margin.
• Bring up, debug, and characterize electro-optical chiplets and products from first silicon through product tape-out; qualify VCSEL, photodetector, and module samples across optics vendors and sites.
• Automate instrument control, data collection, statistical analysis, and correlation in Python; write test plans, reports, design guidelines, and application collateral while mentoring engineers.

Requirements

• Master’s or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Optical Engineering, or a related field, with 8+ years of related experience.
• Expert-level experience with high-speed electrical laboratory measurements using real-time and sampling oscilloscopes, BERT, VNA/TDR, AWG, spectrum analyzers, and solid laboratory techniques.
• Expert-level experience with optical laboratory measurements using optical power meters, optical spectrum analyzers, optical/high-speed photoreceivers, fiber handling, and optical alignment.
• Experience automating benches in Python using SCPI/VISA/GPIB and analyzing data with Python, MATLAB, JMP, or R.
• Working knowledge of high-speed board design, including schematics and layouts, SI/PI, transmission-line and EM fundamentals, PCB materials, fabrication, and assembly; experience with OrCAD/Allegro or equivalent tools.
• Strong fundamentals in communication systems, analog circuits, and digital circuits.
• Proven technical leadership across a team or multiple projects, including vendor management and root-cause and corrective-action efforts.
• Strong troubleshooting and root-cause analysis skills; fluent English required.
• Applicants must be eligible to access export-controlled information under applicable U.S. export-control laws; applicants other than U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or protected individuals may undergo an export-license review.

Culture & Benefits

• Collaborative, transparent, and inclusive environment with multidisciplinary teams and fully equipped laboratories.
• Work includes collaboration with remote teams across Italy, Vietnam, Canada, and the US.
• Role is classified as Quadro under the applicable Italian collective labor agreement.
• Eligible for bonus and equity plans, including a new-hire equity grant and annual equity refreshers.
• Applications from qualified candidates with disabilities and individuals in protected categories under Italian Law 68/99 are encouraged.

Hiring process

• AI tools, transcription apps, real-time answer generators, and automated note-taking bots are prohibited during interviews; unauthorized use results in disqualification.