Optical Test Engineer

Your Role

We are seeking a highly motivated Optical Test Engineer to join our Fiber Optic Engineering team. This role is ideal for an engineer with who is interested in developing and advancing their optical test capabilities.

The successful candidate will support the testing, characterization, and qualification of fiber optic components and assemblies. This position involves hands-on laboratory work, data analysis, fixture design, automation development, and collaboration with cross-functional engineering teams to develop optical test methods for guided and free-space optical beams.

Our Team

Molex is an industry leader in transforming optical network infrastructure with an unwavering commitment to speed, reliability, and performance. We proudly engineer high-performance systems for critical, fast-growing industries including data centers, telecom, medical, and industrial automation. Our team develops an advanced portfolio of optical solutions, ranging from cutting-edge optical connectivity products—such as expanded beam connectors, fiber management, adapters, and hybrid copper/fiber solutions for medical systems—to end-to-end optoelectronic solutions featuring cages, connectors, optical transceivers, and cable assemblies. Supporting extreme data rates from 100 Mbps to 1.6 Tbps across long-haul distances up to 80km+, we deliver complete wavelength management and turnkey OEM solutions. Come join Molex and help build the future of global connectivity.

What You Will Do

Advanced Optical Testing

• Develop, execute, and document optical test methods for product characterization and qualification.
• Develop test methods to evaluate key optical properties of materials, such as adhesives and glasses, as they are applied to optical fibers.
• Perform laboratory optical alignment using automated stages to build active alignment setups.
• Operate and maintain advanced optical test equipment, including optical power meters, beam profilers, polarization analyzers, interferometers, optical spectrum analyzers, OTDRs, environmental test systems, and automated optical measurement systems.
• Design and build test fixtures and automated measurement systems.
• Analyze test data using statistical methods and prepare technical reports.
• Support environmental and reliability testing to validate product performance.

Software & Automation

• Develop test automation and data acquisition software using LabVIEW and Python.
• Create scripts and tools for processing large optical test datasets.
• Improve laboratory efficiency through automation and software development.
• Support integration of instruments, motion control systems, cameras, and optical measurement equipment.

Mechanical Design

• Design test fixtures, tooling, and laboratory equipment using SolidWorks or Siemens NX.
• Generate engineering drawings and support fabrication of custom hardware to develop testing fixtures.

Collaboration & Continuous Improvement

• Work closely with product, process, manufacturing, and quality engineers.
• Participate in root cause investigations and failure analysis activities.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives for products, processes, and laboratory capabilities.
• Present technical findings to engineering teams and project stakeholders.

Core Competencies

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication abilities.
• Hands-on laboratory aptitude and attention to detail.
• Self-motivated with a strong desire to learn and develop technical expertise.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and within multidisciplinary teams.

Who You Are (Basic Qualifications)

• B.S. degree in Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, Photonics, or a related technical discipline.
• 2+ years of optics experience in a laboratory, process development, testing, or manufacturing environment.
• Proficiency in LabVIEW for data acquisition and instrument control.
• Proficiency in Python for data analysis, automation, and scripting.
• Experience with a CAD software for mechanical design and fixture development.
• Knowledge of engineering test methods and statistical data analysis.
• Familiarity with laboratory instrumentation and measurement systems.
• Experience using optical sources and detectors across various wavelength and power regimes.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings and technical specifications.
• Willing and able to travel 10-15% of the time

What Will Put You Ahead

• Internship, co-op, undergraduate research, or industry experience in optics or photonics.
• Experience with fiber optics, photonics, or optical communication systems.
• Experience with fiber optic processes such as fiber cleaving, splicing, and polishing.
• Familiarity with polarization-maintaining fibers, fiber optic connectors, interferometry, and optical alignment techniques.
• Experience with image processing, machine vision, or motion control systems.
• Exposure to environmental or reliability testing.
• Knowledge of DOE, SPC, Minitab, MATLAB, or similar analytical tools.

For this role, we anticipate paying $95,000 - $125,000 per year. This role is eligible for variable pay, issued as a monetary bonus or in another form.

At Koch companies, we are entrepreneurs. This means we openly challenge the status quo, find new ways to create value and get rewarded for our individual contributions. Any compensation range provided for a role is an estimate determined by available market data. The actual amount may be higher or lower than the range provided considering each candidate's knowledge, skills, abilities, and geographic location. If you have questions, please speak to your recruiter about the flexibility and detail of our compensation philosophy.

Hiring Philosophy

All Koch companies value diversity of thought, perspectives, aptitudes, experiences, and backgrounds. We are Military Ready and Second Chance employers. Learn more about our hiring philosophy here.

Who We Are

As a Koch company, Molex is a leading supplier of connectors and interconnect components, driving innovation in electronics and supporting industries from automotive to health care and consumer to data communications. The thousands of innovators who work for Molex have made us a global electronics leader. Our experienced people, groundbreaking products and leading-edge technologies help us deliver a wider array of solutions to more markets than ever before.

At Koch, employees are empowered to do what they do best to make life better. Learn how our business philosophy helps employees unleash their potential while creating value for themselves and the company.

Our Benefits

Our goal is for each employee, and their families, to live fulfilling and healthy lives. We provide essential resources and support to build and maintain physical, financial, and emotional strength - focusing on overall wellbeing so you can focus on what matters most. Our benefits plan includes - medical, dental, vision, flexible spending and health savings accounts, life insurance, ADD, disability, retirement, paid vacation/time off, educational assistance, and may also include infertility assistance, paid parental leave and adoption assistance. Specific eligibility criteria is set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy or guideline and benefits may vary by geographic region. If you have questions on what benefits apply to you, please speak to your recruiter.

Additionally, everyone has individual work and personal needs. We seek to enable the best work environment that helps you and the business work together to produce superior results.

Equal Opportunities

Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. Except where prohibited by state law, some offers of employment are conditioned upon successfully passing a drug test. This employer uses E-Verify. Please click here for additional information. (For Illinois E-Verify information click here, aquí, or tu).