Sr. Principal Application Engineer

Celero Communications · Irvine · $175,000–$225,000 (stated in the posting)

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About the Role

Celero is seeking a hands-on, highly motivated Coherent DSP Applications Engineer to help bring next-generation coherent optical DSP solutions from the lab to customer deployment. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a fast-paced startup environment, enjoys solving complex technical challenges, and wants to make a direct impact on both products and customers.

As a key member of the team, you will work closely with DSP, ASIC, hardware, firmware, and product engineering teams, while partnering directly with hyperscale customers and strategic partners to integrate, validate, debug, and optimize coherent DSP-based optical solutions.

This position offers a unique opportunity to influence product direction, contribute to customer success, and help shape the future of high-speed optical connectivity for AI infrastructure and cloud networking.

What You'll Do

Customer Integration and Technical Leadership

• Serve as the technical owner for customer integration and deployment of coherent DSP-based optical modules and systems.
• Work directly with hyperscalers, network equipment manufacturers (NEMs), and strategic partners to support:
• System design and architecture discussions
• Platform integration and bring-up
• Interoperability and qualification testing
• Field trials and early customer deployments
• Configure, tune, and optimize coherent DSP parameters to maximize performance and reliability.

Debug and System Validation

• Troubleshoot complex issues spanning multiple disciplines, including:
• DSP algorithms and signal processing
• Optical impairments, including chromatic dispersion (CD) and differential group delay (DGD)
• Host electrical interfaces, including 200G/400G/800G PAM4 and beyond
• Module management and control interfaces, including CMIS and telemetry
• Analyze system performance metrics, including BER, Q-factor, SNR, and debug logs, and drive issues to root cause.
• Support interoperability testing in multi-vendor environments.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with DSP, ASIC, hardware, firmware, and systems engineering teams to resolve issues and improve product performance.
• Contribute to technical documentation, application notes, validation reports, and customer-facing materials.
• Provide direct feedback to engineering and product teams on feature prioritization, product requirements, and roadmap decisions.

What You Bring

• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in:
• Electrical Engineering
• Communications Engineering
• Optical Engineering
• Applied Physics
• Related technical discipline
• 8+ years of experience" and "ability to travel up to 25–40% to customer sites as needed
• Strong fundamentals in digital signal processing, telecommunications theory, and optical communications.
• Hands-on experience with:
• Coherent modulation techniques, including QPSK and 16-QAM
• Forward Error Correction (FEC) and framers
• DWDM optical systems and coherent transceivers
• Experience debugging complex hardware and software interactions in a laboratory environment.
• Ability to independently solve ambiguous, cross-functional technical problems.
• Ability to generate technical documentation, such as Applications notes, Data sheets, Product requirement Documents, etc.  
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work directly with customers and internal engineering teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting coherent optical module products, including:
• 400ZR
• 800ZR
• Coherent Lite
• Familiarity with QSFP-DD and OSFP coherent modules.
• Knowledge of high-speed host electrical interfaces, including CEI-112G, PAM4, and next-generation standards.
• Experience using Python, MATLAB, or similar tools for analysis, automation, and data processing.
• Experience working with hyperscalers, network equipment manufacturers (NEMs), or cloud infrastructure providers.
• Exposure to open networking environments and multi-vendor interoperability testing.

How You'll Succeed

• You are comfortable working in ambiguous environments and can make progress without perfect specifications.
• You take ownership and drive issues to resolution from initial discovery through deployment.
• You communicate complex technical concepts clearly to customers, partners, and internal stakeholders.
• You enjoy learning quickly and contributing beyond a narrowly defined role.
• You are excited to help shape not only a product, but also a company and its culture.

Why Join Celero?

• Work on cutting-edge coherent DSP technology powering next-generation AI infrastructure and optical networking.
• Make a direct impact on product direction and customer success.
• Collaborate with a small, highly experienced engineering team.
• Gain exposure across DSP, optics, ASICs, firmware, systems, and customer applications.
• Grow your career quickly in a dynamic startup environment with significant opportunities for leadership and ownership.

Salary Range

$175,000 - $225,000 Base Annually 
The final offer will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, and location.

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