Senior Reliability Engineer - Optical Solutions

Molex possesses a rich heritage in the optical industry, delivering high-performance, field-proven optical solutions spanning components, modules, and fully integrated line cards. We provide cutting-edge wavelength management and amplifier technologies, supported by deep optical, mechanical, electrical, and software integration capabilities. These strengths enable Molex to serve the evolving needs of high-density, high-bandwidth, and flexible optical networks.

Our Team

The Senior Reliability Engineer will join an R&D team and this engineer will own reliability, qualification, and failure analysis of R&D products.

What You Will Do

• Define qualification plans (HTOL, burn-in, temperature cycling, damp heat as applicable, mechanical stress) aligned to telecom expectations and customer specifications
• Select acceleration models and parameters (Arrhenius/Peck/Coffin-Manson); compute acceleration factors and confidence bounds
• Own ongoing reliability monitoring: drift analysis, trend charts, and early-warning triggers
• Publish reliability reports, present them to internal reviews and customer audits
• Lead failure analysis (FA) for any field, qualification or production failures: containment, root cause, corrective action verification
• Perform electrical and optical characterization and degradation mapping
• Responsible for decapsulation, cross-sectioning and sample preparation
• Perform microscopy (optical/SEM) compositional analysis (EDX) and spectroscopy
• Establish rapid containment strategies (e.g., lot quarantine, risk assessment)
• Drive structured root cause analysis using formal methodologies (e.g., 8D, fault tree, fishbone, hypothesis testing)
• Maintain failure mechanism library
• Lead cross-sectional failure analysis reviews and summarize results to stakeholders
• Works closely with Laser Design/Process, Packaging/Manufacturing, Supplier Quality, and System/EDFA teams
• Coordinates with external labs for specialized metrology (SEM/EDX, advanced linewidth) and external labs for Telcordia testing

Who You Are (Basic Qualifications)

• Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Materials, Mechanical or related technical degree
• At least 8 years in optoelectronic or semiconductor reliability
• Hands-on experience with Telecordia: HTOL/burn-in, environmental chambers, and statistical reliability analysis (Weibull, lognormal, exponential)
• Expertise with failure-analysis methods, especially SEM, EDX and cross-sectional analysis
• Experience with laser diode failure mechanisms (facet degradation, COD/COMD, metallization migration, solder fatigue, contamination)
• Experience with solder/metal failure modes (e.g., delamination)
• Experience designing experiments, defining sample sizes, and interpreting results with measurement uncertainty
• Experience in working in ESD labs

What Will Put You Ahead

• Masters Degree
• Programming for data pipelines (Python, Matlab)

For this role, we anticipate paying $170,000 - $260,000 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

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, aqui, or tu).