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Staff Optical Validation Engineer, Google Cloud

Google

Sunnyvale, CAJob$188–274K/yrPosted 1 day agoStill listed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$188–274K/yr
Location
Sunnyvale, CA
Work Authorization
Not specified

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Job overview

The Staff Optical Validation Engineer will lead planning and execution of validation for optical networking hardware supporting Google Cloud. The role collaborates with hardware and software teams to configure lab networks, characterize product performance, and improve validation methods and lab capabilities. It supports optical transceiver development, product introduction, and post-production testing, including qualification across networking and compute platforms.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Electrical EngineeringComputer EngineeringPhysicsTechnical ManagementUnit TestingDebuggingTroubleshooting (Problem Solving)LinuxPython (Programming Language)MATLABLabVIEWHardware TestingLinux/UnixLab Test AutomationOptical Transceiver StandardsTechnical LeadershipWafer-Level Probe TestingChip-Level Probe TestingOptical Lab AutomationScripting

Qualifications

Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, Related Field, or Equivalent6 Years Hardware Engineering Experience3 Years Technical Leadership ExperienceMaster's or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, Related Field, or Equivalent12 Years Hardware Engineering Experience

Full job description

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Minimum qualifications:

  • Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
  • 6 years of experience in hardware engineering working on optical transceiver components.
  • 3 years of experience in technical leadership.
  • Experience testing, debugging, and troubleshooting hardware.

Preferred qualifications:

  • Master's or PhD degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
  • 12 years of experience in hardware engineering working on optical transceiver components.
  • Experience with Linux/Unix and lab test automation frameworks.
  • Experience with data center optical transceiver standards.
  • Experience providing technical leadership to large cross-functional teams on complex optical technologies.
  • Understanding of wafer-level or chip-level probe testing or optical lab automation and scripting (e.g., Python, MATLAB, or LabVIEW).

About the job

The Optical Validation Team is responsible for supporting the development, new product introduction (NPI), and post-production testing of optical transceivers, switches, and technologies that power Google Cloud Platforms. We test new optical transceiver designs, unit, environmental, and system qualification of transceivers in a wide array of host networking and compute platforms, optical circuit switches (OCS), and transceiver component design at the wafer level.

As a Staff Optical Hardware Validation Engineer, you'll play a key role in the development of Google Cloud network infrastructures. You’ll have leadership roles in driving the planning and test execution for novel and complex configurations of networking hardware. You will collaborate closely with hardware and software teams to configure lab networks and test infrastructure that evaluate and characterize the performance of cloud computing and networking products. You will provide technical leadership to the optical validation team, improving test methodologies and practices, and ensuring clean and state-of-the-art lab capabilities to support the development and productization of optical solutions in Google data centers. Our Platforms Infrastructure Engineering team designs and builds the hardware and software technologies that power all of Google's services. Our computational challenges are complex and unique, enabled by cutting-edge custom hardware designed and made in-house. As a hardware engineer, you will design and build the systems that are the heart of the world's largest and most powerful computing infrastructure. You will see those systems from concept all the way through to high-volume manufacturing. Your work has the potential to shape the machinery that goes into our cutting-edge data centers, affecting millions of Google users.

Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

US: $188000 - $274000 (USD) + 20% bonus target + equity + benefits

Learn more about benefits at Google. Responsibilities

  • Drive test development for new and existing optical product designs. Create and execute comprehensive validation plans, ensuring full coverage and quality adherence. Collaborate with optics leads.

  • Provide technical leadership to the team, optimizing validation methodologies, improving lab and testing processes, and ensuring alignment and leadership with the industry.

  • Develop automated test scripts, debug hardware/software issues for switch/router/transport platforms. Analyze, troubleshoot, root cause field failures of optical transceiver modules. Drive issues to closure and implement preventive measures.

  • Install, test, repair, and validate new and existing hardware and fiber connections. Maintain lab infrastructure, manage equipment, and troubleshoot field failures, ensuring a functional (R&D) environment. Organize data to maintain and improve validation process.

  • Communicate status updates to cross-functional teams and leadership. Report bugs and drive corrective action with external suppliers and internal development teams.

Information collected and processed as part of your Google Careers profile, and any job applications you choose to submit is subject to Google's Applicant and Candidate Privacy Policy. Google is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are committed to building a workforce that is representative of the users we serve, creating a culture of belonging, and providing an equal employment opportunity regardless of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding), expecting or parents-to-be, criminal histories consistent with legal requirements, or any other basis protected by law. See also Google's EEO Policy, Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal, Belonging at Google, and How we hire. If you have a need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing our Accommodations for Applicants form. Google is a global company and, in order to facilitate efficient collaboration and communication globally, English proficiency is a requirement for all roles unless stated otherwise in the job posting. To all recruitment agencies: Google does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, Google employees, or any other organization location. Google is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes. Equity is granted exclusively and discretionarily by Alphabet Inc. on the basis of an agreement concluded between you and Alphabet Inc. Alphabet Inc. is your sole contractual partner with respect to equity grants. GSU grants are not guaranteed, are discretionary, are subject to approval by the Alphabet Inc. board of directors or its delegate, the terms of the relevant Alphabet Inc. stock plan, and your grant agreement. They have no impact on statutory payments. Current or past grants do not confer an acquired right.

How this job compares

Set against the 3,060 open Hardware Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 6, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$188–274K/yr
  • California median$145–214K/yr950 salary ranges
  • US median$132–204K/yr2,272 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $231K, is 30% above the California median midpoint ($178K) — in the top quarter of Hardware Engineer salary ranges in California.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 1,251 open Hardware Engineer jobs in California and 3,060 across the US. 1% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in California
Experience
This posting asks for at least 6 years of experience; Hardware Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for 5 years at the median (2,588 postings).
Education
1,740 of the 3,060 open Hardware Engineer jobs (57%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 6, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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