Optical Network Engineer Jobs in Texas (NOW HIRING)

About AOI

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (AOI) is a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced optical and HFC networking products — the building blocks that power AI datacenters, CATV broadband, telecom, and fiber access networks around the world. Headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, AOI is a vertically integrated company that designs and manufactures everything from semiconductor laser chips to finished optical transceivers, serving tier-one customers across cloud computing, broadband, and telecom. With R&D operations in Atlanta, GA and global manufacturing presence in Taiwan and China, AOI is publicly traded on the Nasdaq (AAOI) and is actively expanding its U.S.-based manufacturing operations in Sugar Land to meet accelerating demand in the AI datacenter market.

Summary

The MIS team is responsible for the design, reliability, and security of the network infrastructure supporting 24/7 manufacturing operations, enterprise systems, and secure cross-site connectivity. We are seeking a Senior Network Engineer who will take technical ownership of AOI's network and security stack and play a critical role in ensuring high availability, performance, and security across all environments.

This is a hands-on, infrastructure-focused role centered on the design, deployment, configuration, and ongoing administration of network and security systems. The successful candidate will work extensively with Cisco routers, switches, and firewalls, site-to-site and remote-access VPNs, and network monitoring and alerting platforms in a multi-site manufacturing environment.

Job Responsibilities

• Designs, configures, maintains, and coordinates the use of customer's Local Area and Wide Area Networks over Site-to-Site VPN.

• Maximizes network performance by monitoring performance; troubleshooting network problems and outages; scheduling upgrades; collaborating with network architects on network optimization.

• Secures network system by establishing and enforcing policies; defining and monitoring access.

• Updates and maintains all documentation requested by management and will be tasked with improving such documentation as required.

• Accomplishes information systems and organization mission by completing related results as needed.

• Reports network operational status by gathering, prioritizing information; managing projects.

• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.

Qualifications

Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related program

• 7+ years’ experience in Tracking Budget Expenses, Project Management, Network Design and Implementation, Network Troubleshooting, Network Hardware Configuration, Network Performance Tuning

• LAN Knowledge & VOIP Knowledge

• Knowledge of Cisco Routers, Switches, Firewalls – Software and Hardware Configurations

• Strong verbal and written communication skills for effective collaboration between team members

Preferred:

• Proficiency in Microsoft Suite for project documentation and reporting

• Bilingual in Mandarin is preferred

• CCNA Certification is a plus

Location & Work Environment

This position is full-time and based in Sugar Land, Texas. This location has a combination of office, warehouse, and cleanroom manufacturing work environments.

• Business Hours for this position are 9am to 6pm CT, Monday through Friday.

• This position may require occasional after-hours response for critical facility issues, site inspections, or executive events.

Why AOI?
In addition to competitive salary, AOI offers:

• Flexible and competitive health (medical, dental, vision) plans offer the employee with the right options to meet individual and family needs

• Employer matching on 401(k) deferrals

• Generous PTO policy, with unused PTO payout at end of the year

• Relocation packages available within the United States.

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc (AOI) is committed to providing equal opportunity in all of our employment practices, including hiring, placement, promotion, training, transfer and compensation, to all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship, religion, sex, veteran status, age, disability, marital status, or any other category protected by State or U.S. Federal law. Moreover, we endeavor to treat our employees fairly.

We do not accept unsolicited proposals from third-party recruiters or agencies. Contacting hiring managers directly may result in disqualification of submissions.