Optical Network Development Engineer
Amazon
Optical Network Development Engineer
Amazon
Sells products online and rents cloud computing
AWS Infrastructure Services owns the design, planning, delivery, and operation of all AWS global infrastructure. In other words, we’re the people who keep the cloud running. We support all AWS data centers and all of the servers, storage, networking, power, and cooling equipment that ensure our customers have continual access to the innovation they rely on. We work on the most challenging problems, with thousands of variables impacting the supply chain — and we’re looking for talented people who want to help.
You’ll join a diverse team of software, hardware, and network engineers, supply chain specialists, security experts, operations managers, and other vital roles. You’ll collaborate with people across AWS to help us deliver the highest standards for safety and security while providing seemingly infinite capacity at the lowest possible cost for our customers. And you’ll experience an inclusive culture that welcomes bold ideas and empowers you to own them to completion.
Network Development Engineers (NDEs) on CRT are Builders. You don't implement off-the-shelf solutions. You create new ones — solutions that go beyond traditional industry approaches.
As an Optical NDE, you will work at the component level of CRT's optical transport restoration stack. You will troubleshoot, diagnose, and restore out-of-service DWDM capacity across Amazon's backbone and metro optical networks. You will build and improve automation that accelerates optical capacity restoration — from fiber fault isolation to amplifier recovery to wavelength re-provisioning.
Your scope covers small to mid-size optical components, features, and processes. You will actively learn the team's optical architecture and apply it to build working solutions. You will create secure, stable, testable, and maintainable code with minimal defects.
This role bridges optical operations and engineering. You will both operate the optical network and write code to make operations faster. NDEs on CRT do not depend on vendors for design or support.
Key job responsibilities
Optical Restoration & Troubleshooting
- Troubleshoot and restore out-of-service optical capacity across DWDM backbone and metro networks, including coherent optics, amplifiers (EDFA/Raman), ROADMs, and mux/demux components.
- Diagnose optical impairments: fiber attenuation, connector/splice loss, chromatic dispersion, PMD, OSNR degradation, and nonlinear effects (FWM, SPM, XPM, SBS).
- Execute and interpret OTDR traces, optical spectrum analyzer (OSA) readings, and power meter measurements to isolate physical-layer faults.
- Develop link test plans and structured diagnostic output for optical circuits that enable system-guided troubleshooting.
- Coordinate with fiber operations and vendor teams for fiber splicing, connector cleaning, and hardware RMA workflows.
Automation & Tooling
- Build and improve automation components that accelerate optical link and device restoration (e.g., automated span loss validation, amplifier reset sequences, wavelength re-provisioning scripts).
- Extend and integrate with existing tooling to improve monitoring and alerting for out-of-service optical capacity.
- Develop scripts to parse and correlate optical alarms from network management systems and identify systemic patterns.
- Write clean, testable code (Python preferred) with documentation that supports future engineers.
Metrics, Monitoring & Operations
- Create and maintain team-level operational metrics, monitors, and processes tied to CRT KPIs: MTTR, restoration success rate, backlog depth, and optical capacity out-of-service burndown.
- Contribute to optical network health dashboards tracking OSNR trends, amplifier performance, and span loss baselines.
- Participate in on-call rotations. Support follow-the-sun coverage across Seattle and Bangalore.
- Document optical systems, tools, and runbooks clearly. Keep documentation current as systems evolve.
- Contribute to design reviews and operational improvement discussions.
- Actively learn team product architecture — both optical transport and IP layers — and apply that knowledge to deliver working solutions.
A day in the life
- Troubleshoot out-of-service DWDM spans: diagnose optical power degradation, amplifier faults, fiber impairments, and coherent optic alarms across backbone and metro networks.
- Analyze OSNR, chromatic dispersion, and PMD data to identify root causes of optical circuit failures and determine restoration paths.
- Develop and improve automation scripts to accelerate optical capacity restoration workflows (e.g., wavelength re-provisioning, span validation, amplifier reset sequences).
- Coordinate with fiber operations teams on OTDR testing, fiber splicing, and physical layer fault isolation.
- Implement small-to-mid-scope optical tooling (e.g., automated span loss validation, optical health check scripts, amplifier monitoring dashboards).
- Integrate with existing tooling ecosystem (workflow orchestration engines, optical network management systems, link testing services).
- Participate in design reviews and operational improvement discussions for optical restoration processes.
- Document optical systems, troubleshooting runbooks, and restoration procedures clearly for future engineers.
- Participate in on-call rotations supporting follow-the-sun optical restoration coverage.
About the team
The Capacity Restoration Team (CRT) sits within Backbone, Enterprise, Regional Engineering (BERE) organization. Our mission is to own end-to-end restoration of out-of-service inter-metro and intra-metro network capacity.
CRT reduces operational backlog, improves network health monitoring systems, and drives time-to-remediate (TTR) down. Today, a significant network capacity is out of service at any given time. The operational workload is capacity related and heavily manual and we are building the team and automation to change that.
We operate across Seattle, Dublin, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Sydney for follow-the-sun coverage. CRT acts as the connective layer between Engineering, Operations, Tooling, and Software teams.
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- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Photonics, Telecommunications, Computer Science, or equivalent experience.
- 1+ years of experience in optical network engineering, DWDM operations, or optical transport systems.
- Understanding of DWDM technology fundamentals: wavelength multiplexing, optical amplification (EDFA, Raman), coherent detection, and modulation formats.
- Knowledge of fiber optic fundamentals: single-mode fiber types (G.652, G.654, G.655), attenuation, chromatic dispersion, and PMD.
- Familiarity with optical test and measurement: OTDR, OSA, power meters, and light sources.
- Experience with at least one programming or scripting language (Python preferred).
- Understanding of IP networking fundamentals: TCP/IP, routing, and switching concepts.
- Experience working in a Linux or Unix environment.
- Ability to read, modify, and extend existing code within a shared codebase.
- Experience with coherent optic technologies: DP-QPSK, 16QAM, and higher-order modulation formats at 100G/200G/400G+ line rates.
- Experience with optical networking vendor platforms (e.g., Ciena, Infinera, Nokia, ADVA) including provisioning, alarm management, and firmware operations.
- Knowledge of OSNR analysis, optical link budgets, and span engineering for long-haul and metro DWDM systems.
- Understanding of FEC mechanisms (SD-FEC, HD-FEC) and their role in optical system margin management.
- Experience with OTN framing, multiplexing hierarchy, and fault management.
- Familiarity with ROADM architectures, CDC (Colorless/Directionless/Contentionless) designs, and wavelength switching.
- Experience with network automation tools or frameworks such as Ansible, Terraform, or similar platforms applied to optical networks.
- Exposure to Amazon internal tooling: workflow orchestration engines, optical network management systems, deployment automation tools, or link testing services.
- Experience with optical network planning and modeling tools.
- Knowledge of BGP or OSPF routing protocols in production network environments.
- Experience operating large-scale optical networks in ISP, CDN, submarine, or cloud provider environments.
- CCNA, JNCIA, or equivalent networking certification; vendor optical certifications (e.g., Ciena Certified Specialist) a plus.
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