Engineering Leader
Optical Communications
Bright Silicon Technologies | Pleasanton, CA | Full time

About the Role

Bright Silicon Technologies (BST) is developing precision optical systems around our Lightfield Directing Array (LDA), a solid-state beam-steering technology. Our flagship optical communications program, OCTANE, uses the LDA to enable high-bandwidth optical links between moving platforms, including airborne systems and ground vehicles and stations.

We’re looking for a hands-on Engineering Manager who has brought multiple electronics, optical, or other complex hardware products to market. You’ll lead OCTANE from a laboratory prototype through integrated demonstrations, product qualification, and production readiness. You’ll manage engineers across software, Optics, Mechanical, electronics, and system integration. You’ll guide technical decisions and own the engineering plan for delivering the complete terminal. We welcome candidates from free-space optical communications, broader optical communications, aerospace, and other complex hardware product backgrounds.

What you’ll do

• Lead OCTANE’s product development: translate customer needs and technical goals into an engineering roadmap, clear requirements, milestones, and priorities. Manage technical risks, resources, and schedule, and communicate progress with customers and partners.
• Hire, manage, and develop a team of about six engineers. Set priorities and clear ownership, provide performance feedback and career guidance, and support technical leads in design reviews and problem-solving.
• Own terminal architecture with discipline leads, defining hardware/software interfaces and making trade-offs across performance, size, weight, power, cost, reliability, and manufacturability.
• Lead system integration and validation across the LDA, vendor-provided modems, sensors, electronics, optics, and embedded software and firmware. Coordinate development and test plans through laboratory validation, environmental qualification, and field and airborne demonstrations.
• Engage outside experts, technology partners, and suppliers where specialist knowledge is needed. Define their scope and deliverables, evaluate recommendations with the team, and verify the resulting system performance.
• Carry designs into repeatable products, coordinating assembly, calibration, production testing, documentation, and software and firmware releases with engineering, manufacturing, and suppliers. Use test and early customer feedback to improve the product.

What we’re looking for

• Typically 10+ years of experience developing complex hardware products, including substantial technical leadership responsibility.
• A demonstrated record of bringing multiple integrated hardware products through development, qualification, and production release. You can explain the design decisions, setbacks, and manufacturing or field problems you helped resolve.
• A strong hands-on engineering foundation in electronics, optics, optomechanics, embedded systems, or a related hardware discipline, with the ability to evaluate designs, plan useful tests, and troubleshoot problems across hardware and software boundaries.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary engineering teams, including software and firmware engineers. You can set priorities, provide performance feedback, develop engineers, and coordinate work across specialties.
• Sound systems engineering judgment and clear communication. You can assess software and firmware development plans, hardware/software interfaces, integration risks, testing, and release readiness, and work effectively with customers, suppliers, and outside experts.
• A degree in Electrical, Computer, Mechanical, Optical, Aerospace, or Systems Engineering, Physics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• U.S. Citizen

Nice to have

• Experience developing free-space optical communications terminals, optical transceivers, or other optical communications products.
• Experience with aerospace payloads, avionics, lidar, precision instruments, or other products that combine electronics, optics, and embedded software.
• Experience qualifying products for outdoor, airborne, or other demanding operating environments and working with customers through field or flight testing.
• Familiarity with optical link budgets, pointing, acquisition and tracking, communications modem interfaces, or optical communications interoperability requirements.

Why BST

• Lead a product built around a distinctive solid-state optical technology, from laboratory development through customer deployment and production.
• Build and develop a small engineering team with meaningful ownership of its technical decisions and results.
• Work alongside experienced engineers and outside specialists in optics, electronics, controls, communications, and software.
• Join an engineer-led company in Pleasanton, CA, with competitive compensation, equity, and a sustainable approach to work.

Company Overview

At Bright we are building precision optical systems to guide data for a new era of communication. Our technology introduces an unprecedented level of precision, agility, and versatility to directing light. We are experts in precision engineering, optical design and product development who are delivering technological breakthroughs to revolutionize photonics. The Lightfield Directing Array (LDA) has the potential to revolutionize optical system markets such as laser communication terminals for terrestrial and satellite mesh networks, optical switching for data centers, LIDAR for autonomous car and drones, additive manufacturing, and many others.
Founded in 2020, Bright Silicon Technologies’ goal is to build an enduring technology manufacturing company, with first product to market in 2026. In this position, you will play a critical role in the creation, launch, and scaling of a new advanced technology product. We offer competitive market salaries as well as equity incentives so that every team member owns a piece of our success. We’re an engineer-led company, and we value efficiently and effectively completing our work while sustaining a long-term work/life balance.
The company offers a total rewards package that is competitive and comprehensive including, but not limited to the following:

• Equity Incentive Plan
• Comprehensive medical, dental and vision along with other voluntary benefits
• 3% employer contribution to employee 401(K)
• Development and career growth opportunities
• Generous paid time off and paid company holidays

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At BST we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Bright Silicon Technologies is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, association with a member of a protected class, bereavement leave, color, disability (physical, intellectual/developmental, or mental health/psychiatric), exercising the right to family care and medical leave related to serious health condition of employee or family member, child bonding, or military exigencies, engaging in protected activity, gender identity or expression, genetic information or characteristic, marital status, medical condition (cancer or genetic characteristic), military and veteran status, national origin (includes language restrictions), pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions, Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL), race (includes hairstyle and hair texture), religious creed (includes dress and grooming practices), reproductive health decision making, sex/gender, and sexual orientation.

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