With the huge innovation in technology, the world of networks with its different types increases with a remarkable growth which opens new job opportunities. One of these job vacancies is the optical engineer. The Optical network engineer job description is listed between the job titles that appear recently, with a huge demand to help the organization on their network activities.
In brief, the optical network engineer is responsible for creating the infrastructure of the networks, maintaining it and making it function normally. To know more information about the optical network engineer, stay with us during our journey in this job description in this article.
Table of contents
How Optical network engineer work? – Optical network engineer job description
The optical network engineer is the base of multiple communication networks worldwide, providing the long-distance network, the metropolitan networks. Also, the telecommunications companies use the fiber optic backhaul network to help them to realize great success while using the 5G technology.
From the other side, the optics become an essential in many networks to take the place of other technologies. It works in access networks, data centers, local area networks, mobile backhauling, and in server backplanes.
All the previous works must be done by an optical network engineer. His main responsibility is to create a network infrastructure and to ensure its perfect functionality.
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What skills do you need to be a Optical network engineer?
To be an optical network engineer, you should acquire some skills, to make you the perfect candidate for each organization. We divide these skills into technical skills and personal skills.
Let’s start with the technical skills:
- Planning skills to be able to plan the optical networks.
- Designing skills to design the full circuit of the optical networks.
- Implementation skills to have the possibility to make your plan and our design real by implementing them correctly.
- Auditing skills to check the network and work to solve any problem.
Now, we could discover the personal skills that will add a value to the optical network engineer:
- Details Oriented: keeping your eyes on each single detail will help you to detect all the problems early and work to solve them easily.
- Flexibility: To be able to work in different circumstances.
- Work under pressure: this skill will help you to offer a high-quality job while feeling stressed.
- Problem solver: to solve the different problems that could face you.
- Thinker: To think for a solution, or a plan to execute it.
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What is optical networking equipment?
During planning your optical network plan, you should precise all the equipment needed to be able to implement this plan.
And here appears, one of your responsibilities as an optical network engineer, is to find the optical networking equipment with the perfect price.
Also, you need to be able to use all these equipment to use them correctly while implementing your plan or maintain the functionality of the optical networks.
Generally, the equipment of the optical networking are:
- Laser
- Multiplexer
- Switch
- Splitter
- Circulator
- Amplifier
- Wave division multiplexer
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Roles of optical network engineers
If you have the intention to become an optical network engineer, you have to be aware about all the single details of this job, and what will be your roles, responsibilities and duties. For this reason, we will explain to you the role of the optical network engineers:
- Network planning: It’s about putting a plan for the network while maintaining the objectives of this network in order to realize its role correctly.
- Network designing: After finishing the planning, you will be asked to design all the circuits of the optical network to implement this design typically.
- Procurement of the optical network equipment: by searching for the suppliers, and negotiating for the best price.
- Work on the equipment: after receiving the optical network equipment, you have to start to configure all the equipment to make them function.
- Test: Your role isn’t during the implementation only, but you will keep your eyes on the optical network regularly to make sure that it works correctly.
- Troubleshooting: in case you find any problem while working, you have to check the optical network, find the problem and solve it.
- Monitoring: See the network and discover all the simple details to maintain the functionality of the optical networks.
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So how do you build a career as an Optical Network Engineer?
Being an optical network engineer needs some requirements especially in terms of education. These requirements are:
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Get a bachelor’s degree.
Having a bachelor degree is one of the essential requirements to be an optical network engineer. An engineering degree is a must.
But to be fair enough, a bachelor degree isn’t that important, as the huge number of fresh graduates who become optical network engineers are telling us that the content studied during the years of university didn’t help them in this job vacancy. But they spent about 6 months studying and learning in the field.
From the other side, all the companies search for an electrical engineer, computer engineer, electronic engineer, telecommunication engineer, or equivalent disciplines if needed.
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Take vendor neutral training courses in fiber optics and/or optical networking
As we mentioned before, the bachelor degree doesn’t cover all the needed skills and knowledge to become an optical network engineer. And, if you dream to become an optical network engineer, the vendor neutral training course will be an asset.
During this course, you will know all the details about the optical network equipment. This course will teach you the skills that make you eligible to be a perfect optical network engineer.
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Certified Optical Network Associate (CONA)
This certificate takes 5 days. It focuses on DWDM technologies for up to 10 GBPs per channel and up to 88 channels. This certificate is organized by the Optical Training Technology OTT. Also, this course covers all the different topics related to the optical network like fiber optics, optical amplifiers, modulation formats, passive components, transmissions systems and transceivers.
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Certified Optical Network Engineer (CONE)
CONE is a certificate that will help you during planning and designing. It’s based on high-speed transmissions systems. Also, it covers more complex topics.
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Certified Fiber Characterization Engineer (CFCE)
The certified fiber characterization Engineer is a certificate for the test engineer. It helps you to carry out fiber characterization on networks specially the telecom networks, work with impact of testing on technologies.
Take other employer sponsored courses
All the companies, while recruiting a new optical network engineer, offer him training, this training will help him to know more about the fiber optical network. How it works, the equipment.
These training are available in the big companies; it will help you of course in your career building. Examples of the companies where you will find these sponsored courses: Nokia, Huawei, Cisco, Adva and CIENA.
Each company will give you a certificate after finishing the course.
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Attend relevant conferences
The conference is one of the best tools to find out all the news about the industry, try regularly to attend a conference in optical networking organized by the big companies in the industry, to learn more about the new technology that appears every day.
Optical Network Engineer salary
The average salary for each job title differs between countries, locations in the same country, the experience level, the company size. But if we want to precise an average randomly, it will be about $109,549 per year.
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Optical Network Engineer salary by location
As we mentioned seconds ago, the salary differs between countries and location in the same country. Do you want to list the top locations in the worldwide search for an optical network engineer?
- San Mateo with an annual salary $135,059
- Berkeley, CA with an annual salary $130,481
- Daly City, CA with an annual salary $130,116
- Richmond, CA with an annual salary $126,708
- Stamford, CT with an annual salary $123,381
- Bellevue, WA with an annual salary $123,044
- San Francisco, CA with an annual salary $121,982
- Brooklyn, NY with an annual salary $121,144
- Lakes, AK with an annual salary $120,642
- Knik-Fairview, AK with an annual salary $120,490
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Optical Network Engineer Salary by Experience level
The experience level has a great impact in the salary range, for sure a fresh grade will have a small amount in comparison with an optical network engineer with 10 years of experience.
- An Optical Engineer will earn about $104,058 per year.
- Optical Specialists will earn about $104,398 per year.
- Principal Optical Engineer will earn about $119,000 per year.
- Optical System Engineer will earn about $119,798 per year.
- Senior Optical Engineer will earn about $128,343 per year.
Conclusion
The optical engineering is one of the fields that have had great growth recently with the huge transformation in technology. The optical network engineer has a big role in the whole process of creating the network infrastructure until troubleshooting optical network problems. Now, you have a full knowledge about the optical network engineer job description, it’s your role to decide if this job vacancy is suitable to your skills or not.
