Terrestrial Access Networks · Terrestrial Access Networks

Quantum Optical Access & PON Engineer

Design quantum-capable access networks that share passive optical infrastructure across enterprise campuses, carrier PON systems, edge sites and data-center access points.

Role mandate

Build the capability for the era ahead.

This team member will combine subject-matter depth, sound judgment and disciplined execution to move the mission from architecture to measurable results.

Responsibilities

Own the Terrestrial Access Networks workstream for Quantum Optical Access & PON Engineer and deliver measurable technical or operating outcomes.
Survey installed fiber routes and optical line systems, then determine where quantum channels can share lit fiber, require a dedicated wavelength, or require a dark-fiber segment.
Create end-to-end wavelength, attenuation, reflectance, dispersion, isolation and noise budgets across patch panels, splices, splitters, ROADMs, amplifiers and data-center interconnects.
Engineer coexistence controls for spontaneous Raman scattering, four-wave mixing, crosstalk, amplified-spontaneous-emission leakage and detector saturation without destabilizing production traffic.
Integrate QKD devices and quantum-photonic endpoints with OTN/DWDM, Ethernet encryptors, HSM/KMS platforms, authenticated classical channels, timing and network-management systems.
Develop acceptance tests, operating limits, rollback plans and 24×7 telemetry for QBER, secret-key rate, optical power, loss, alarms, inventory and service availability.

Required qualifications

Bachelor's or advanced degree in optical engineering, photonics, electrical engineering, physics, telecommunications or equivalent applied experience.
Hands-on experience with standard single-mode fiber, carrier optical transport, DWDM/CWDM, ROADMs/OADMs, transponders, coherent optics, PON or data-center interconnect.
Working knowledge of DV-QKD and CV-QKD signal chains, authenticated classical channels, decoy-state operation, QBER, finite-key effects and key-management boundaries.
Ability to calculate and measure insertion loss, optical signal-to-noise ratio, channel isolation, photon-count statistics, Raman noise, receiver sensitivity and power margins.
Practical skill with OTDR, optical spectrum analyzers, power meters, variable attenuators, BER testers, single-photon detectors, time taggers and polarization-control equipment.
Ability to translate laboratory performance into carrier change control, maintenance windows, safety procedures, configuration records and operational service levels.

Preferred experience

Experience deploying quantum/classical coexistence on field fiber or integrating QKD with live telecom equipment.
Knowledge of ITU-T G.694/G.698 optical grids and interfaces, ITU-T Y.3800-series QKD networking, ETSI QKD interfaces and carrier assurance practices.
Experience with SDN-controlled optical networks, NETCONF/YANG, streaming telemetry, Python automation and multi-vendor interoperability testing.
Familiarity with PQC-authenticated control channels, crypto-agility and hybrid QKD/PQC key-delivery services.

Scientific and technical requirements

Physics, mathematics and engineering foundations

Fiber optics and photonics: guided modes, attenuation, chromatic and polarization-mode dispersion, connector/splice loss, reflections, polarization evolution and nonlinear propagation in standard single-mode fiber.
Quantum communications: weak coherent states, single-photon and entangled-photon transport, BB84/decoy-state and CV-QKD architectures, authenticated classical channels, composable security and finite-key limits.
Carrier networking: CWDM/DWDM wavelength grids, OADM/ROADM behavior, coherent transport, OTN framing, Ethernet/IP services, PON topologies, protection switching, SDN control and operations assurance.
Noise physics: spontaneous Raman scattering, four-wave mixing, amplifier ASE leakage, adjacent-channel crosstalk, Rayleigh backscatter, detector dark counts, afterpulsing and timing jitter.

Mathematics and working equations

Fiber transmission follows Pout = Pin·10^(−αL/10); total optical loss adds fiber attenuation, connectors, splices, filters, splitters, ROADMs and engineering margin in dB.
QBER = Nerror/Nsifted; the budget must separate optical misalignment, Raman/background photons, detector dark counts, timing-window leakage and afterpulsing.
Mean photon number μ gives Poisson statistics P(n)=e^(−μ)μⁿ/n! for phase-randomized weak coherent pulses; decoy-state estimation bounds single-photon yield and error rate.
Raman noise depends on classical launch power, effective interaction length, wavelength offset, propagation direction, spectral bandwidth and detector gate width; validate the model with field measurements.
Secret-key rate must be calculated after sifting, parameter estimation, error-correction leakage, privacy amplification, authentication cost and finite-size corrections—not inferred from raw detector counts.
OSNR, receiver power and pre-FEC/post-FEC BER for classical channels remain inside carrier limits while quantum-channel filtering and isolation preserve the required QBER and key rate.

Hardware, flight and infrastructure components

Installed G.652/G.657-class single-mode fiber, patch panels, connectors, splices, splitters, ODFs, OADMs/ROADMs, mux/demux filters, optical switches, attenuators and monitoring taps.
Quantum transmitter and receiver, phase/intensity/polarization modulators, QRNG, narrow optical filters, APD or SNSPD detector, time tagger, synchronization channel and post-processing engine.
Classical transponders, coherent pluggables, EDFAs where permitted, Ethernet/OTN switches, inline amplifiers, encryptors, HSM/KMS interfaces and QKD network controller/manager.
Isolation and safety controls: band-pass filters, circulators/isolators, launch-power policy, amplifier bypass boundaries, detector protection, fiber-route inventory and tamper monitoring.

Software, laboratory and analysis tools

Optical spectrum analyzer, OTDR, optical power meter, tunable laser, variable attenuator, polarization analyzer/controller, BER tester and coherent-transport telemetry.
Single-photon counting, time-correlated photon counting, detector-efficiency/dark-count characterization and live QBER/secret-key-rate dashboards.
Python/MATLAB/Julia for Raman-noise, loss and finite-key modeling; network planning tools; NETCONF/YANG, gNMI or vendor APIs for automated optical control and inventory.
Packet capture, TLS/IPsec/MACsec validation, HSM/KMS consoles, key-consumption telemetry and multi-vendor interoperability test harnesses.

Verification and mission skills

Characterize every route in both directions and at operational wavelengths; record loss, reflectance, dispersion, isolation, polarization behavior and time variation before connecting quantum receivers.
Sweep classical launch power, channel count, wavelength separation, direction and filter bandwidth while measuring QBER, secret-key rate, classical OSNR/BER and detector saturation margin.
Test co-propagating and counter-propagating cases, amplifier states, ROADM reconfiguration, protection switching, fiber repairs, connector contamination and adjacent-channel faults.
Prove authenticated control, key relay or trusted-node boundaries, KMS delivery, key freshness, exhaustion behavior, failover, audit evidence and PQC-backed recovery.
Define production acceptance thresholds and automatic shutdown/fallback rules when optical power, QBER, detector rate, synchronization or key availability leaves its certified envelope.

Authoritative technical references

The hiring sequence will follow operating milestones and project requirements. The position may begin through advisory, consulting or project-based work before moving into a full-time role.

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