Principal System Architect

About the Role

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary technical liaison for TE's customers, actively engaging with hyperscalers, OEMs, and system architects to gain deep insights into next-generation compute, AI, storage, and networking challenges.
• Proactively identify and assess technology disruptors, translating emerging trends into strategic R D initiatives and product development roadmaps.
• Cultivate and strengthen customer partnerships, fostering co-development opportunities and collaborative innovation.
• Drive thought leadership by educating and influencing internal and external stakeholders on emerging industry trends and TE's technical capabilities.
• Bridge the gap between customer needs and TE's technology roadmap, ensuring delivery of future-proof, scalable, and high-performance interconnect solutions.
• Define high-level system architecture requirements aligned with next-generation compute, AI, and networking ecosystems.
• Drive TE's technology vision and strategy supporting standards like PCIe, CXL, Ethernet, and InfiniBand.
• Lead evaluation of high-speed electrical, optical, and hybrid interconnect solutions, balancing performance, power, latency, cost, and manufacturability.
• Collaborate with internal R D, product development, and business units to shape product development roadmaps based on customer challenges and market trends.
• Drive technical due diligence for partnerships, acquisitions, and ecosystem collaborations.
• Participate in and influence industry standards groups (e.g., OCP, PCI-SIG, IEEE, Ethernet Alliance, CXL Consortium).
• Lead discussions on emerging protocols and standards, ensuring TE's solutions stay ahead of industry trends.
• Represent TE at industry forums, conferences, and standards organizations, reinforcing leadership in high-speed interconnect technology.
• Develop and present thought leadership content such as whitepapers, reference designs, and keynote presentations.
• Work cross-functionally with engineering, product management, sales, and marketing to translate technical insights into product offerings.
• Drive execution of innovative technical projects aligned with customer needs and business goals.
• Guide TE's go-to-market strategy for new interconnect solutions, emphasizing technical differentiation.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or Physics.
• 8+ years' experience in optical design.
• Technical expertise in high-speed optical engineering and design.
• Knowledge of compute, networking, AI / ML, and storage architectures.
• Experience in data center compute and/or networking industry system design and related technologies.
• Hands-on experience in the design and testing of optical transceivers and optical components.
• Silicon Photonics background is highly desired.
• Ability to build relationships with external customers and industry leaders as well as internally across all levels, disciplines, and geographies.
• Strategic mindset with the ability to translate industry and technical trends into business strategies.
• Outstanding communication and presentation skills, with the ability to clearly communicate technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• Sound judgment in working through complex technical issues and communicating impacts clearly to stakeholders.
• Ability to spend 25%-50% of time traveling domestically and internationally.

Nice to Have

• Silicon Photonics background.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in relevant engineering or physics fields.
• 8+ years' experience in optical design.

Benefits & Perks

• A comprehensive benefits package including health insurance, 401(k), disability, life insurance, employee stock purchase plan, paid time off and voluntary benefits.