Network Software NPI Engineer

posted on: January 26th, 2026

Location

Salary Range

$110- $130K

Position Overview:

The Network Software New Product Introduction (NPI) Engineer is responsible for the design, development, and delivery of customer proof of concepts based on defined acceptance criteria, and the installation and onboarding of new clients, using LightRiver Technologies software. This role combines deep optical networking expertise with strong software development and automation skills, operating in an Agile, two-week sprint environment. The engineer will also support new product introduction (NPI) activities.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design and deliver customer PoCs using LightRiver Software, including Prism® and netFLEX®.
• Translate customer acceptance criteria into PoC architectures, automation workflows, and demonstrations
• Develop custom automation and integration solutions using LightRiver Prism® and netFLEX® software.
• Configure, integrate, and validate optical networks and vendor-specific management/controllers, protocols, and systems, including TAPI, GRPC/gNMI, SNMP, TL1, CORBA, TIRKS, OSS/BSS, NMS, and EMS.
• Execute PoC work in two-week Agile sprints, managing priorities and meeting delivery timelines
• Present PoC outcomes, results, and recommendations to customers and internal stakeholders
• Support new product introduction, including documentation review/editing and internal training
• Deliver technical training for support, sales, and sales engineering teams

Required Qualifications:

• Hands-on experience with Ciena, Nokia, and legacy optical platforms (DWDM, ROADM, Coherent Optics, OTN, Sonet, TDM)
• Strong software development and automation skills using Python, Ansible, Terraform
• Strong Cloud (GPC/AWS), Virtualization (VMWare, KVM, Hyper-V, VirtualBox, OpenStack), and bare metal experience
• Strong Container, Kubernetes, Microservice Architecture skills
• Experience with RESTful APIs, TAPI, and new API development
• Ability to deliver customer-facing PoCs aligned to acceptance criteria
• Strong time management skills and experience working in Agile sprint-based environments

Preferred Qualifications:

• Customer-facing experience in pre-sales, professional services, or advanced engineering roles
• Experience in multi-vendor optical environments and interoperability
• NetOps and DevOps experience in network automation or operations
• MLOpsexperience with core ML/DL concepts, data handling, Python/frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch), prompt engineering, AI ethics
• AI-assisted code review, identifying security issues, detecting performance bottlenecks, enforcing coding standards, rapid prototyping, refactoring and optimization, generating unit and integration tests

Soft Skills:

• Clear technical communication and presentation skills
• Strong problem-solving and troubleshooting abilities
• Self-motivated, adaptable, and collaborative

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• Optical vendor certifications (e.g., Ciena, Nokia).
• Experience with network automation platforms and SDN/NFV concepts
• Familiarity with multi-vendor optical environments and network lifecycle management.

Work Environment:

In-office position in either Holmdel, NJ, or Richardson, TX.

This position is an in-office role on a full-time basis located at the Richardson, TX office. Applicants must live within a 50-mile radius of the office to ensure accessibility for daily work and team collaboration. Applicant must have access to broadband internet and an appropriate working area to conduct the job functions noted above. Travel for sales support and customer presentations will be required on an as needed basis.

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

LightRiver Technologies is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

LightRiver Technologies provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.