Principal DSP Engineer - Coherent Optical Transmission Systems - Acacia

T he application window is expected to close on 7/31/25

Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.

Meet the Team

Join our team at Acacia, where we design advanced optical transceivers for high-speed fiber optic transmission in data centers and telecommunication networks. We're seeking enthusiastic, experienced individuals to work on the forefront of fiber optic technology. You'll be part of the team developing Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and Forward Error Correction (FEC) algorithms for our optical transceivers' Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs). Collaboration with colleagues from the DSP and ASIC teams is key to optimizing performance and power efficiency. You'll contribute to system design, develop architectures, and support ASIC design and verification. Work closely with colleagues across various fields and gain diverse knowledge in optical system testing, analog components, modeling, and more.

Your Impact

With your expertise in DSP for coherent optical transceivers, FEC, and modeling, you help the team to develop the next generation of low-power and high-performance coherent transceivers. Here are some examples of possible topics:

• Invent, simulate and validate new DSP or FEC algorithms (both in floating-point and fixed-point precision) to improve performance and functionality or lower power consumption
• Test and optimize these algorithms on actual hardware and correlate performance with previous simulations
• Develop models of analog RF and optical components and evaluate system performance with these models
• Analyze performance of developed transceiver modules and update models and simulation environments to accurately match the measured results

Minimum Qualifications:

Typically: Bachelors + 15 years of related experience, or Masters + 12 years of related experience, or PhD + 8 years of related experience

• + 10 years of industry experience in related fields.
• Experience with Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and/or Forward Error Correction (FEC) for coherent optical communications.
• Experience in modeling communication systems.
• Programming experience in C/C++, Python, Matlab, or similar languages.
• A master's or Ph.D. degree in mathematics, physics, or electrical engineering is highly recommended, although not strictly required.

Preferred Qualifications:

A master's or Ph.D. degree in mathematics, physics, or electrical engineering is highly recommended, although not strictly required.

• Experience with C++, Linux, and version control systems, specifically SVN and Perforce.
• Experience with Verilog or VHDL, and/or collaboration with ASIC designers.
• Experience presenting technical information to colleagues.

Why Cisco?

At Cisco, we’re revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era – and beyond. We’ve been innovating fearlessly for 40 years to create solutions that power how humans and technology work together across the physical and digital worlds. These solutions provide customers with unparalleled security, visibility, and insights across the entire digital footprint. Simply put – we power the future.

Fueled by the depth and breadth of our technology, we experiment and create meaningful solutions. Add to that our worldwide network of doers and experts, and you’ll see that the opportunities to grow and build are limitless. We work as a team, collaborating with empathy to make really big things happen on a global scale. Because our solutions are everywhere, our impact is everywhere.