Principal Field Applications Engineer – High-Speed Interconnect
Semtech · Bristol
Data Center Market Focus
Location: Bristol, UK (Hybrid — Office: Mon–Thurs, Fridays Flexible)
Travel: 35% or less
Revenue Responsibility: $100M+ Design Win Portfolio across Nvidia and other EMEA optical customers
THE OPPORTUNITY
Semtech is a global leader in high-performance analog ICs for high-speed optical and copper interconnect. As AI workloads drive exponential bandwidth growth toward 1.6T infrastructure, interconnect is becoming the major limiting factor in data center scaling, creating an unprecedented market opportunity at the intersection of technical innovation and commercial impact.
This Principal Field Applications Engineer – High-Speed Interconnect represents a pivotal strategic hire, a technical strategist and commercial catalyst positioned to drive $100M+ in design-win revenue and establish market dominance across hyperscaler data centers.
The dual mandate is clear: secure immediate design wins with Semtech's current portfolio of high-speed analog ICs for optical and copper connectivity in AI networks, while simultaneously leading long-term customer co-development initiatives that will define our competitive position in next-generation 1.6T and 3.2T connectivity.
The role also extends technical scope to support key regional accounts in PON and Mobile Transport. These engagements draw on the same underlying product families and technical skill set, high-speed analog/mixed-signal ICs, signal integrity, and optical/electrical characterisation, making this a natural extension of the core mandate.
Success requires becoming a trusted technical advisor whom Tier 1 hyperscaler customers welcome into their most confidential labs, not as a vendor, but as an extension of their design teams. You'll leverage consultative discovery to uncover the situational factors, business consequences, and decision criteria that drive customer choices.
Your technical credibility will open doors; your strategic approach will close deals. Your voice will directly influence Semtech's product roadmaps, serving as strategic advisor to VPs in sales and product lines, co-creating breakthroughs that establish Semtech as the indispensable partner for the future of data center connectivity.
This role is for someone who thrives where breakthrough technology meets strategic business impact, someone ready to shape the future of an industry being transformed by AI.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic Customer Co-Development & Innovation
- Drive design wins for Semtech's portfolio of high-speed drivers, TIAs, copper redrivers, and other products, working closely with engineering teams from key data center customers.
- Accelerate customer design-in cycles, proactively removing technical barriers to secure immediate revenue opportunities
- Lead co-development initiatives for next-generation technologies (1.6T, 3.2T+) with customer engineering teams, defining the future of data center connectivity
- Create joint innovation programs and proof-of-concept projects with Tier 1 hyperscaler providers that establish Semtech as their strategic technology partner
- Align Semtech product roadmap with customer technology evolution plans, ensuring our solutions arrive precisely when markets mature
PON & Mobile Transport Account Support
- Provide technical and pre/post-sales support to key European PON and Mobile Transport accounts
- Apply signal integrity, high-speed analog, and characterisation expertise across product lines
- Support design-in activities, technical evaluations, and troubleshooting for these accounts as required
- Balance and prioritise time across data center and PON/Mobile Transport engagements in line with regional business needs
Technical Excellence & Customer Support
- Lead technical evaluations and drive technical differentiation in competitive situations
- Provide comprehensive pre-sales and post-sales customer support for strategic design-ins
- Troubleshoot and debug complex technical issues with a relentless commitment to solving problems
- Guide customers on hardware design, PCB layout, signal integrity optimization, firmware integration, and system validation
- Support customer qualification processes with equipment manufacturers, network operators, and cloud service providers
- Create application notes, white papers, and design guides establishing thought leadership
Cross-Functional Strategic Influence
- Influence product management and R&D priorities based on customer insights and market intelligence
- Serve as strategic technical advisor to VPs in sales and product lines, bridging the gap between customer needs and product strategy
- Partner with engineering teams to ensure customer co-development projects receive appropriate resources and priority
- Drive internal alignment across product management, engineering, marketing, sales, and operations
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Education & Experience
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related technical field (Master's or Ph.D. preferred)
- 5+ years of proven AE/FAE experience, demonstrating expert-level technical capability and strategic customer engagement, gained in data center, PON, or wireless/mobile transport environments
Technical Mastery
- Expertise in signal integrity (high-speed principles, modulation schemes, channel modeling, equalization) for 800G, 1.6T, 3.2T data center, PON, or mobile transport applications
- Knowledge of optical transceiver architecture, design, validation, and manufacturing
- Familiarity with LPO, LRO, NPO, and CPO architectures (data center focus); familiarity with PON ONU/OLT or mobile transport optical architectures equally valued
- Experience in high-speed PCB design including layout, impedance control, and signal integrity validation
- Proficiency with high-speed test equipment (network analyzers, BER testers, oscilloscopes)
- Understanding of IEEE 802.3 and OIF standards, or ITU-T PON standards depending on background
Market & Co-Development Expertise
- Understanding of optical communications, networking, hyperscaler data center architectures, network topologies, and infrastructure evolution across data center, PON, or mobile transport markets
- Demonstrated success leading customer co-development projects with significant revenue impact
- Established relationships with Tier 1 customer engineering teams and ecosystem partners
Leadership & Communication Excellence
- Exceptional communication across technical and business audiences
- Proven ability to influence without formal authority and work autonomously in complex situations
- Strong initiative and ownership mentality
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Direct experience with high-speed laser/modulator drivers, TIAs, redrivers, and/or DSPs
- Active participation in industry standards bodies (IEEE 802.3, OIF, ITU-T) driving next-generation specifications
- Prior experience at optical customers, optical networking, hyperscalers, optical module vendors, PON equipment vendors, mobile network infrastructure providers, or data center equipment manufacturers
- Existing relationships with European PON or Mobile Transport accounts considered a strong plus
The intent of this job description is to describe the major duties and responsibilities performed by incumbents of this job. Incumbents may be required to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically included in this description.
All duties and responsibilities are essential job functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities.