Optical Transmission SME

We're hiring an experienced Optical Transmission SME / Fiber Optics Lead to be the Manila-based POC for regional optical transport and transmission engineering across Southeast Asia. This role requires deep, hands-on mastery of DWDM transmission systems and SDH/SONET transport stacks, plus the ability to lead projects, manage vendor relationships (e.g., Ciena), and resolve complex production incidents quickly.

Transmission Design & Architecture (Hands-On)

• Design and validate DWDM line systems and subsystems (e.g., transponders, mux/demux, OADM/ROADM, optical amplifiers, dispersion/power management).
• Specify and validate SDH/SONET hierarchy mapping (STMx / VC/AU/TU mappings) and service multiplexing.
• Define and validate protection schemes and resiliency: e.g., 1+1, 1:1, ring protection (MSP/SNCP), and relevant failover characteristics.
• Validate optical layer parameters and management (link budgets, OSNR, channel plan, dispersion compensation).

2Deep Technical Troubleshooting & Forensics

• Lead system-level troubleshooting for live incidents involving DWDM and SDH/SONET transport.
• Perform root cause analysis on complex faults; produce remediation and preventive actions.
• Inspect and interpret SDH overhead (OH) bytes and alarms to diagnose timing, management, and signal integrity issues.
• Use optical/protocol test equipment to validate performance and isolate faults.

Project Lead & Delivery

• Serve as the technical lead/POC for optical network projects (design, rollout, acceptance testing).
• Produce technical deliverables: HLD/LLD, test plans, acceptance criteria, and Operational Runbooks.
• Coordinate vendor engineering, field teams, and regional stakeholders to ensure timely delivery and quality.
• Ensure testbed/prod test SIMs and similar artifacts are future-ready (if applicable to optical provisioning workflows).

Operations, Knowledge & Stakeholder Management

• Act as the regional escalation point for optical issues; update stakeholders with clear impact and remediation timelines.
• Mentor engineers and run knowledge transfer sessions focused on DWDM internals and SDH debugging.
• Maintain and improve operational procedures, test scripts, and monitoring thresholds for optical transport.

Continuous Improvement & Compliance

• Evaluate new optical capabilities and advise on upgrades (e.g., higher-order modulation, coherent optics).
• Ensure designs and operations meet industry standards and vendor best practices (and any regional/regulatory constraints).

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Telecommunications, Electronics, or similar — or equivalent experience.
• 12+ years telecom experience, with strong emphasis on DWDM and SDH/SONET transport systems.
• Several years in vendor technical-support or vendor field engineering role (Ciena or equivalent strongly preferred).
• Proven experience as technical lead on optical transport projects and complex incident resolution.

Technical Skills (Must-Have)

• Deep, hands-on knowledge of DWDM components (transponders, mux/demux, ROADMs, amplifiers, OSNR, EDFAs).
• Strong knowledge of SDH/SONET hierarchy and mapping (STM-1/4/16, VC/AU/TU concepts).
• Practical understanding of protection types (ring/mesh protection, MSP, SNCP, 1+1, 1:1) and failover behavior.
• Ability to read and interpret OH (overhead) bytes and signalling for SDH (useful for debugging timing, management channels, and alarms).
• Experience using optical test equipment: OSA/OTDR, power meters, BER testers, network analyzers; and protocol analyzers for SDH/SONET.
• Solid troubleshooting methodology for optical+transmission layers (root cause analysis, fault isolation).
• Familiarity with network management tools and standard operational processes (alarm handling, ticketing, runbooks).

Preferred / Nice-to-have

• Experience working with Ciena (or equivalent vendor) hardware and management systems.
• Certifications in optical communications or transport (OC-P, carrier-specific training).
• Knowledge of IP layer interactions and how transport issues manifest at service level.

Behavioural / Soft Skills

• Clear communicator with experience briefing technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Customer-focused, calm under pressure, decisive during incident response.
• Ability to travel regionally for project or escalations.

Additional Details:

• Location: Makati
• Regional Support across SEA
• Work Set-up: Hybrid
• Employment Type: 1-Year Contract

Thakral One is a consulting and technology services company headquartered in Singapore, with a pan-Asian presence. We focus primarily around technology-driven consulting, adoption of value-added bespoke solutions, enabling enhanced decision support through data analytics, and embracing possibilities in the cloud. We are heavily inclined towards building capabilities collaboratively with clients and believe strongly in improving grounded and practical outcomes. This approach is possible through our partnership with leading global technology providers and internal R&D teams. Our clients come from Financial Services, Banking, Telco, Government, Healthcare, and Consumer-oriented organisations.