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Koch Industries

Private conglomerate in energy and materials

Optical System Engineer

Telecommunications EngineeringPosted on Nov 10
Full-timeFremont, CA, USAIn-person

About the Job

Requirements

  • A PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Optics, or a related technical field is required.
  • At least 3 years of combined academic and industry experience simulating and modeling systems and components for optical communications is required.
  • At least 3 years of hands-on experience with optical communication systems, such as operating and maintaining dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) optical networks, is required.
  • Hands-on experience operating, maintaining, and troubleshooting fixed- and flexible-grid DWDM systems, coherent optical transmission systems, optical amplification technologies including erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFA) and Raman amplifiers, optical protection schemes, pluggable optics, and transponders is required.
  • Hands-on experience with optical test equipment for troubleshooting and validation is required, including optical time-domain reflectometers (OTDR), optical spectrum analyzers (OSA), bit-error-rate testers (BERT), optical modulation analyzers (OMA), real-time scopes, digital communication analyzers (DCA), and optical power meters.
  • Experience creating simulation models for communication systems and using them to analyze and optimize signal propagation, system-level performance, amplifiers, and components is required.

Responsibilities

  • Develop system and subsystem models, conduct composite system simulations for various fiber-optic communication networks, and conduct internal development projects to optimize use of optical network components and modules, including optical transceivers, DWDM/WDM filters, optical amplifiers, Raman amplifiers, dynamic gain equalizers (DGE), and wavelength-selective switches (WSS).
  • Research existing and potential optical components, including fibers, to select modeling techniques for nonlinear propagation of optical signals with advanced modulation formats; evaluate signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR), bit-error rate (BER), Q-factor, OSNR penalty, and Q-penalty; and recommend mitigations and component improvements for optical impairments, including filtering, chromatic dispersion, polarization mode dispersion (PMD), polarization-dependent loss (PDL), crosstalk, and nonlinearities.
  • Develop system design rules, link-level optical line-system control algorithms, and other ideas to improve communication systems and guide further optical component and module technology development.
  • Develop and maintain optical transmission system test beds for characterizing optical components and modules and measuring system performance to identify optimization opportunities.
  • Validate and continually improve simulation models.
  • Participate as a system engineer in development projects from concept through development and full new product introduction (NPI).
  • Support technical discussions with customers about effective use of the company's solutions and products.
  • Assess and review designs and project activities to ensure compliance with customer requirements and development guidelines.
  • Troubleshoot issues with customer field network systems.
  • Provide technical support for field operations, including investigating issues, analyzing logs, and resolving optical network problems.

About the Company

Koch Industries

Private conglomerate in energy and materials

Koch Industries is a large, private, diversified conglomerate that operates in energy, chemical processing, and manufacturing. It started from an innovation that turned heavy crude oil into gasoline and grew through long‑term investments rather than short‑term market moves. The company generates value by refining fuels and producing chemical products, and it operates Georgia-Pacific, a major maker of paper and building products. Its business model relies on reinvesting most earnings back into the company to fund steady, long‑term growth rather than paying out frequent dividends or seeking quick profits. Koch differentiates itself from many competitors by staying privately owned, which reduces pressure from public markets and enables longer‑range planning. The company’s goal is to build scale and durability across its holdings by sustainable, multi‑decade growth rather than rapid, episodic gains.

Company size
5,001-10,000
Company stage
Growth Equity (Non-Venture Capital)
Total funding
$985.2M
Headquarters
Wichita, KS
Founded
1940

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