Software Engineer, Test Systems

Job Description

Job Description

nEye.ai, a well-funded optical switch startup, is poised to revolutionize the future of data centers. nEye’s MEMS-based silicon photonics optical circuit switches (OCS) eliminate critical bottlenecks in AI processing by enabling direct optical connections among thousands of GPUs and memory units. The company's SuperSwitch is an ultra-low power consumption, high radix, compact chip-scale design, offering hyperscale data centers enhanced performance, efficiency, and scalability.

Job Overview

We are hiring a Station Software Engineer who will design, implement, and maintain the software stack powering nEye’s product validation and qualification stations. This role is cross-functional, highly collaborative, and central to scaling test capability from bench-level exploration to high-throughput reliability and performance validation.

Reporting to the Head of Product Validation Engineering, this individual will own the station-level control layer, instrument drivers, data pipelines, and test execution frameworks, enabling our engineering teams to characterize, debug, and qualify our silicon photonic platforms efficiently and reliably.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain station control software for optical/electrical/MEMS test platforms (e.g., Python/C++/LabVIEW or similar).
• Implement instrument drivers for lasers, detectors, motion controllers, FPGA boards, MEMS control modules, etc.
• Own data acquisition pipelines (from sensor readout → structured test results → database/logging).
• Design modular test frameworks that support rapid test case development for validation & reliability workflows.
• Collaborate with hardware, optical, MEMS, firmware, and validation teams to define and translate station requirements.
• Enable automation of repetitive validation tasks to reduce test time and improve coverage.
• Develop UI or scripting interfaces that enable validation engineers to configure and run experiments confidently.
• Support failure analysis by instrumenting stations for deeper debug modes and data capture.
• Scale station platforms from prototype “bench rigs” to reproducible, documented systems for multiple lab uses.
• Ensure software is robust, version-controlled, and documented (Git-based workflows, modular codebase).

Essential Skills & Qualifications

• BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Mechatronics, or related field.
• 5–7+ years writing software for lab equipment, automated test setups, semiconductor/optics validation, or hardware-in-the-loop systems.
• Experience developing Python/C++ control software interfacing with hardware.
• Familiar with test automation frameworks (pytest, PyVISA, LabVIEW, etc.).
• Worked with one or more of: optical instrumentation, motion stages, FPGA/ASIC test boards, MEMS/electromechanical devices.
• Prior experience in logging, configuration management, and structured result visualization.
• Comfortable partnering with hardware engineers and systems validation engineers.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex technical findings clearly to both experts and non-experts.
• Create comprehensive written documentation, including software process flows, SOPs, and work instructions.
• Deep familiarity using AI tools (e.g., LLMs, copilots) to accelerate engineering workflows, debugging, and problem-solving.

Preferred Skills

• Exposure to hands-on testing and validation of silicon photonics, MEMS, or semiconductor devices.
• Knowledge of data structuring for reliability tracking and parametric drift analysis.
• Experience scaling lab setups toward pilot-line & production line testing frameworks.
• Familiarity with Docker, CI/CD for lab code, or deploying test infrastructure at scale.

What Makes This Role Unique

• You are defining the foundation for how a category-defining optical switch is validated.
• Your stations will shape how quickly we discover issues, prove yield stability, and accelerate time-to-market.
• You’ll work directly with some of the Bay Area’s leading hardware experts across MEMS, optics, firmware, and packaging.
• The faster and more powerful your station infrastructure, the faster nEye wins in the AI interconnect market.

Starting salary and title will depend on, and be commensurate with, relevant experience, skills, training, education, market demands, and the ultimate job duties and requirements.

nEye.ai is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.