Job Overview

This role sits at the centre of how Salience Labs takes our photonic switching technology from prototype to reliable deployment in AI networks. You will define, build and operate our system test capability, covering complex opto-electronic setups, automation and structured test execution.

We need someone with a clear, organised and outcome driven approach, able to design test strategies from first principles and communicate progress with data led clarity.

Success requires strong technical depth, solid operational discipline and the ability to work quickly and precisely in a lab environment. You will shape how we validate our switching hardware, ensure test readiness at each milestone and remove bottlenecks through smart automation and process improvement.

What you'll be doing

• Help design and implement the system level test strategy for Salience’s photonic switching platform, covering test planning, setup definition, execution and reporting.
• Build and maintain complex optical and electronic measurement setups with strong attention to stability, repeatability and safety.
• Automate test sequences and data capture pipelines to minimise manual overhead and accelerate learning cycles.
• Develop and communicate a clear view of test readiness, critical paths and parallelisable work.
• Create plans, timelines and prioritisation frameworks that reflect real engineering constraints.
• Optimise existing test processes by identifying wasted effort, anticipating failure modes and preparing setups ahead of hardware arrivals.
• Collaborate closely with Photonics, Electronics, Firmware and Product teams to ensure test outputs align with system level performance requirements for high bandwidth, low latency switching.
• Drive a culture of disciplined execution with a clear understanding of the commercial end goal.
• Help shape and lead the function with competence, judgement and reliability, even before any formal line management is introduced.