About This Role:Crusoe is building the physical and software backbone that powers the world's most demanding AI workloads, and our networking team sits at the center of that mission - designing and operating the high-performance fabrics that connect thousands of GPUs into unified compute clusters. As Sr. Staff Optics Engineer, Network Qualification & Strategy, you will own the technical strategy, qualification, and lifecycle management of optical transceivers and interconnect technologies across Crusoe's data center fleet. This is a highly visible, cross-functional role that directly influences network reliability, cost, and scalability at a moment when optics choices (400G, 800G, and beyond) are among the most consequential decisions in AI infrastructure build-outs.
The ideal candidate is a deeply technical optics/networking expert who thrives at the intersection of hardware engineering, vendor strategy, and operational rigor - someone equally comfortable in a lab characterizing signal integrity as they are in a boardroom negotiating a multi-year supply agreement. This is a full-time position reporting into Networking Engineering, with the opportunity to shape optics strategy from the ground up as Crusoe scales its global fleet.
What You'll Be Working On:- Optics Qualification Program: Design and run the end-to-end qualification process for optical transceivers, cables, and interconnects (DAC/AOC/pluggable optics), including signal integrity, thermal, interoperability, and long-term reliability testing.
- Technology Roadmap & Strategy: Define Crusoe's multi-generation optics strategy (400G 12 800G 12 1.6T), evaluating emerging technologies like linear pluggable optics (LPO), co-packaged optics (CPO), and coherent DWDM for scale-out and scale-across fabrics.
- Vendor & Supply Chain Management: Own relationships with optics and component vendors, driving RFQs, cost negotiations, second-source strategies, and supply chain risk mitigation to ensure availability at scale.
- Failure Analysis & RCA: Lead root cause analysis for optics-related field failures, partnering with vendors and internal ops teams to drive corrective actions and improve fleet-wide reliability.
- Cross-Functional Partnership: Collaborate closely with SDN, physical network design, data center operations, and procurement teams to align optics selection with fabric architecture and deployment timelines.
- Standards & Interoperability: Represent Crusoe in industry standards bodies and multi-source agreements (MSAs) relevant to optical interconnects, ensuring the company's requirements are reflected in evolving specs.
- Documentation & Enablement: Build qualification test plans, acceptance criteria, and technical documentation that scale across the organization and inform build partners and vendors.
- Cost & Capacity Modeling: Partner with finance and supply chain to model optics cost curves and capacity needs against Crusoe's data center growth plans.
What You'll Bring to the Team:- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field (Master's or PhD preferred).
- 10+ years of experience in optical networking, with direct hands-on experience qualifying transceivers/optics for hyperscale or large-scale data center environments.
- Deep technical expertise in optical interconnect technologies (SR/DR/FR/LR optics, DAC/AOC, coherent DWDM) and signal integrity fundamentals for high-speed Ethernet (100G/400G/800G).
- Proven experience building and running hardware qualification programs, including test plan design, lab test execution, and statistical reliability analysis.
- Track record of managing vendor relationships and technical negotiations with optics/component suppliers at scale.
- Strong understanding of data center network architectures (leaf-spine, rail-optimized GPU fabrics) and how optics choices impact overall fabric design.
- Excellent cross-functional communication skills, with experience influencing engineering, procurement, and executive stakeholders.
- Demonstrated ability to operate independently in a fast-paced, high-growth environment with evolving priorities.
Bonus Points:- Experience with AI/ML cluster networking (InfiniBand, RoCEv2) and GPU-to-GPU interconnect requirements.
- Familiarity with co-packaged optics (CPO) or linear-drive pluggable optics (LPO) architectures.
- Active participation in industry standards bodies (OIF, IEEE 802.3, CWDM8/QSFP-DD MSA groups).
- Experience with automated optics testing/validation frameworks and telemetry-driven fleet health monitoring.
- Prior experience in a hyperscaler, cloud provider, or optical component supplier environment.
Benefits:- Competitive compensation and equity packages
- Restricted Stock Units
- Paid time off, paid holidays & leave of absence programs
- Comprehensive health, dental & vision insurance
- Employer contributions to HSA account
- Paid parental leave
- Paid life insurance, short-term and long-term disability
- Professional development & tuition reimbursement
- Mental health & wellness support
- Commuter benefits (parking & transit)
- Cell phone stipend
- 401(k) Retirement plan with company match up to 4% of salary
- Volunteer time off
- Global travel insurance & emergency assistance
- Daily meals allowance
- Additional perks & programs specific to location
Compensation RangeCompensation will be paid in the range of up to $250,000 - $300,000 + bonus. Restricted Stock Units are included in all offers. Compensation to be determined by the applicant's knowledge, education, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.
