SW NPI Engineer

Job Title

Network Software NPI Engineer

Job Summary

The Network Software New Product Introduction (NPI) Engineer is responsible for the design, development, and delivery of customer proof of concepts based on defined acceptance criteria, and the installation and onboarding of new clients, using proprietary software. This role combines deep optical networking expertise with strong software development and automation skills, operating in an Agile, two-week sprint environment. The engineer will also support new product introduction (NPI) activities.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and deliver customer PoCs using proprietary Software. 
• Translate customer acceptance criteria into PoC architectures, automation workflows, and demonstrations
• Develop custom automation and integration solutions using proprietary Software.
• Configure, integrate, and validate optical networks and vendor-specific management/controllers, protocols and systems including TAPI, GRPC/gNMI, SNMP, TL1, CORBA, TIRKS, OSS/BSS, NMS, EMS.
• Execute PoC work in two-week Agile sprints, managing priorities and meeting delivery timelines
• Present PoC outcomes, results, and recommendations to customers and internal stakeholders
• Support new product introduction, including documentation review/editing and internal training
• Deliver technical training for support, sales, and sales engineering teams

Required Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with Ciena, Nokia and legacy optical platforms (DWDM, ROADM, Coherent Optics, OTN, Sonet, TDM)
• Strong software development and automation skills using Python, Ansible, Terraform
• Strong Cloud (GPC/AWS), Virtualization (VmWare, KVM, Hyper-V, VirtualBox, Openstack) and bare metal experience
• Strong Container, Kubernetes, Micro-service Architecture skills
• Experience with RESTful APIs, TAPI, and new API development
• Ability to deliver customer-facing PoCs aligned to acceptance criteria
• Strong time management skills and experience working in Agile sprint-based environments

Preferred Qualifications

• Customer-facing experience in pre-sales, professional services, or advanced engineering roles
• Experience in multi-vendor optical environments and interoperability
• NetOps and DevOps experience in network automation or operations
• MLOps experience with core ML/DL concepts, data handling, Python/frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch), prompt engineering, AI ethics
• AI-assisted code review Identifying security issues, detecting performance bottlenecks, Enforcing coding standards, Rapid prototyping, Refactoring and optimization, Generating unit and integration tests

Soft Skills

• Clear technical communication and presentation skills
• Strong problem-solving and troubleshooting abilities
• Self-motivated, adaptable, and collaborative

Preferred Locations

• Holmdel, NJ (Primary)
• Dallas, TX

$125,000 - $140,000 base salary + 40% uncapped commission.

Why Join?

• Play a key technical leadership role influencing next-generation optical and automation architecture for major service providers, utilities and hyper-scalers. 
• Work with cutting-edge technologies in optical networking and automation.
• Be part of a team that designs and delivers the most advanced networks in the world.
• Competitive compensation, benefits, and opportunities for professional growth.