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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Principal Optical System Architect - **Company:** TE Connectivity, - **Location:** Sacramento, CA, United States (Remote available) - **Salary:** $154,100.0 - $231,100.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Artificial Intelligence, Data Centers, Data Transmissions, Signal Integrity, Systems Architecture, Application Specific Integrated Circuits, Storage Technologies, Machine Learning Operations - **Published:** October 26, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.techcareers.com/job.asp?id=3466818428&tx=VT7368THD&pt=1&aff=0B19D771-A501-4A5E-8338-2A822B784D54&utm_source=Job%20Feed&utm_medium=textkernel&utm_campaign=DE&utm_term=0B19D771-A501-4A5E-8338-2A822B784D54 ## About the Role * Bachelor's degree or higher in Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or Physics with 12+ years' experience in the optical design. * Technical expertise in high-speed optical engineering and design. * Knowledge of compute, networking, AI / ML, and storage architectures. * Experience in data center compute and/or networking industry system design and related technologies. * Hands-on experience in the design and testing of optical transceivers and optical components. Silicon Photonics background is HIGHLY desired. * Effectively able to build relationships with external customers and industry leaders as well as internally across all levels, disciplines, and geographies. * Strategic minded with a proven ability to translate industry and technical trends into meaningful strategies for the business. * Outstanding communication and presentation skills. A convincing communicator with compelling perspectives that drive engagement and excitement both up and down the organization, with an ability to clearly communicate technical concepts to diverse audiences. * Demonstrates sound judgment in working through complex technical issues with an ability to communicate actions and impact clearly to stakeholders, including management, customers, and the technical community. * Ability to spend 25%-50% of your time traveling domestically and internationally, Values: Integrity, Accountability, Inclusion, Innovation, Teamwork ## Description Technical Leadership & Customer Engagement * Serve as the primary technical liaison for TE's customers, actively engaging with hyperscalers, OEMs, and system architects to gain deep insights into next-gen compute, AI, storage, and networking challenges. * Proactively identify and assess technology disruptors, translating emerging trends into strategic R&D initiatives and product development roadmaps to maintain TE's industry leadership. * Cultivate and strengthen customer partnerships, fostering co-development opportunities and collaborative innovation to accelerate next-gen infrastructure advancements. * Drive thought leadership by educating and influencing internal and external stakeholders, from executives and product teams to key decision-makers in customer organizations, on emerging industry trends, TE's technical capabilities, and high-value engineering solutions. * Bridge the gap between customer needs and TE's technology roadmap, ensuring TE delivers future-proof, scalable, and high-performance interconnect solutions tailored to the evolving datacenter landscape. System-Level Architecture & Product Strategy * Define high-level system architecture requirements, ensuring TE's product roadmap is aligned with next-generation compute, AI, and networking ecosystems. * Drive TE's technology vision and strategy, ensuring our interconnect solutions support the evolving needs of standards like OSFP, QSFP-DD, COBO, and standards set by OIF and IEEE, particularly as they relate to AI/ML workloads and next-generation data center architectures. * Lead the evaluation of high-speed electrical, optical, and hybrid interconnect solutions, balancing performance, power, latency, cost, and manufacturability. * Collaborate with internal R&D, product development, and business units to shape product development roadmaps based on real-world customer challenges and market trends. * Drive technical due diligence for potential partnerships, acquisitions, and ecosystem collaborations, ensuring TE stays at the forefront of innovation. Co-Packaged and Near-Package Optics Architecture Leadership * Drive the design and system architecture of co-packaged optics (CPO) or near-packaged (NPO) solutions, integrating optical interconnects tightly with high-radix ASIC subsystems to enable ultra-high bandwidth and low-latency data transmission. * Define novel, scalable CPO/NPO architectures to meet future performance, power, and density demands of AI, ML, and hyperscale workloads. * Architect CPO/NPO systems across optical, electrical, thermal, and mechanical domains. * Conduct end-to-end simulations and modeling to optimize signal integrity, power efficiency, and thermal performance. * Evaluate emerging materials, photonic integration techniques, and semiconductor technologies to maintain a competitive advantage in CPO/NPO innovation. Industry and Customer Engagement * Represent TE in customer discussions and industry forums as a subject matter expert in co-packaged optics. * Collaborate with hyperscalers, OEMs, and ecosystem partners to influence and align around roadmap development and optical interface standards Cross-Functional Leadership & Execution * Partner with ASIC, package, board, and photonics engineering teams to ensure CPO/NPO solutions are manufacturable, scalable, and aligned with system architecture requirements. * Work cross-functionally with engineering, product management, sales, and marketing teams to translate technical insights into compelling product offerings. * Drive the execution of high-impact, innovative technical projects, ensuring seamless alignment between customer needs, business goals, and engineering capabilities. * Guide TE's go-to-market strategy for new interconnect solutions, ensuring that our technical differentiation is clearly communicated and leveraged in competitive landscapes.