Job Description

Optical Line System / Optical Pluggable NE Software Development Engineer

Client: Nokia

Location: Anywhere in USA

Work Arrangement: Remote; travel may be required based on client location

Employment Type: Full-Time

Client Interview: Yes

Job Summary

Nokia is seeking an experienced Optical Line System / Optical Pluggable NE Software Development Engineer to design, develop, and integrate software for next-generation optical network elements, optical line systems, optical pluggables, and coherent optical systems.

The role focuses on embedded and system software, Device Abstraction Layer (DAL), Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL), hardware-interface software, optical line-system control, pluggable module management, telemetry, management-plane interfaces, and optical-domain software integration.

The engineer will collaborate with optics, hardware, firmware, software, system architecture, and test teams to develop reliable software for EDFAs, Raman amplifiers, ROADMs, WSS, photodiodes, sensors, coherent modems, and optical pluggables.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop embedded and system software using C/C++ ; MATLAB exposure is a plus for modeling and analysis.

• Develop Device Abstraction Layer and Hardware Abstraction Layer components.

• Implement and integrate hardware interfaces including I2C, SPI, MDIO, EEPROM , and applicable PCIe interfaces.

• Develop software for optical components, sensors, transceivers, and pluggable modules.

• Develop EDFA/Raman amplifier control , gain control, Automatic Power Control (APC), Automatic Gain Control (AGC), power balancing, alarm monitoring, safety shutdown, and protection-switching logic.

• Support ROADM and optical line-system functions , including spectrum allocation, path computation, flex-grid provisioning, and real-time reconfiguration.

• Develop optical pluggable management software supporting CMIS/SFF , DDM/DOM monitoring, module state management, firmware upgrades, and power-class management.

• Support optical topology modeling, path computation, impairment-aware routing, and optical power-management algorithms.

• Apply knowledge of coherent optical technologies including QPSK, DP-QPSK, BPSK, 8QAM, 16QAM, 32QAM, 64QAM , baud rate, spectral efficiency, BER, and FEC.

• Validate optical performance using equipment such as Optical Spectrum Analyzers, optical power meters, oscilloscopes, VOAs, optical switches, wave shapers, tunable lasers, and traffic generators .

• Collaborate with hardware, optics, firmware, system architecture, and QA/test teams.

• Troubleshoot software, hardware-interface, optical-domain, and network-element issues.

Required Skills

Programming

• Strong C/C++ development experience.

• MATLAB exposure is an advantage.

Embedded/System Software

• Experience with Embedded Linux .

• Experience developing drivers, user-space software, firmware, Device Abstraction Layer, Hardware Abstraction Layer, or network-element/system software.

Hardware Interfaces

• Hands-on experience with I2C, SPI, MDIO, EEPROM and/or PCIe.

• Experience accessing sensors and optical pluggables.

Optical Line System Mandatory OR Optical Pluggable Mandatory

Candidates must have experience in at least one of the following two optical pillars:

Optical Line System

• DWDM

• Fiber-optic transport

• OSNR

• Dispersion

• Optical nonlinearities

• Optical gain and tilt

• EDFA

• Raman

• ROADM

• WSS

• Optical transport systems

OR

Optical Pluggables

• SFP/SFP+

• SFP28

• QSFP28

• QSFP-DD

• OSFP

• ZR/ZR+

• CMIS/SFF

• DOM/DDM

• Transceiver firmware

• Pluggable/module lifecycle management

Important: Candidates without experience in either Optical Line Systems OR Optical Pluggables should not be submitted.

Preferred / Secondary Skills

• Knowledge of coherent optical modulation techniques: QPSK, DP-QPSK, BPSK, 8QAM, 16QAM, 32QAM, 64QAM .

• Understanding of baud rate, constellation, BER, pre-FEC/post-FEC, and spectral efficiency.

• Control and algorithm development including PID, APC, AGC, power balancing, path computation, and protection switching .

• Lab and test automation experience.

• Experience with Python/pytest .

• Experience using Optical Spectrum Analyzers, VOAs, optical switches, wave shapers, traffic generators, and related optical test equipment.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electronics, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Telecommunications, Photonics, Optics, Applied Physics , or a related discipline.

• 5+ years of experience for Engineer-level positions or 8+ years for Senior-level positions.

• Experience in embedded software, telecom software, network-element software, firmware, or Linux drivers.

• Hands-on experience in at least two core technical areas , including:

  • Programming/system software

  • Linux/device interfaces

  • Hardware-interface protocols

  • Optical Line Systems

  • Optical Pluggables

• At least one optical domain pillar (Optical Line System or Optical Pluggables) is mandatory .

Candidate Screening Requirements

Candidates should demonstrate:

1. Strong C/C++ development experience.

2. Embedded Linux / firmware / system software experience.

3. Hardware interface experience such as I2C, SPI, MDIO, or EEPROM.

4. Experience with Optical Line Systems OR Optical Pluggables .

5. Telecom/optical networking experience.

6. Ability to work effectively with hardware, optics, firmware, software, and test teams.

Do not submit candidates who lack both Optical Line System and Optical Pluggable experience.

Job Tags

Full time, Remote work, Flexible hours

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