About the role#
As a Coherent Optical Systems Intern, you will focus on receiver synchronization for wireless optical communication links. You will work across the lab bench and physical-layer simulation to evaluate how lasers, modulators, and analog electronics perform against system requirements. This role involves surveying available components, designing experiments to test them, and working toward stable closed-loop operation.
What you'll do#
- Screen commercially available lasers, modulators, and front-end electronics against system requirements.
- Measure component characteristics such as tuning response, wavelength stability, linewidth, bandwidth, and noise.
- Design and analyze feedback loops that track carrier phase and frequency.
- Validate control loops using transient, frequency-domain, and stability analysis.
- Extend end-to-end physical-layer simulation models and reconcile them against lab measurements.
- Assemble benchtop experiments to test components and achieve stable closed-loop operation.
What you'll need#
- Currently pursuing a Master's or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Optics, Communications, or a related field.
- Strong foundation in digital communications and signal processing, including modulation, detection, and spectral analysis.
- Hands-on lab experience with lasers, modulators, and high-speed test equipment like scopes, spectrum analyzers, and power meters.
- Experience with scientific Python, specifically NumPy and SciPy.
- Familiarity with control theory applied to hardware, including measuring open-loop responses and diagnosing oscillations or drift.
- Ability to commit to a 6-12 month internship.
Location & details#
- This is a full-time, paid internship located in Sunnyvale, California.
- The role is hybrid, requiring at least 3 days per week in the office.
About Taara
Taara operates in the telecommunications industry. The company builds infrastructure to extend and amplify global communication networks. It uses beams of light technology to provide connectivity. Based in Sunnyvale, California, the organization employs between 51 and 200 people.
How to get in at Taara
Applying early gives you a distinct advantage at Taara because recruiters review applications before the candidate pool grows too large. Intern Insider sends an instant alert the moment a role matching your target is published anywhere, so you can be among the first to submit your materials. Reaching out to the right person often beats waiting in a queue. Intern Insider surfaces the recruiters behind the company's roles so you can contact them directly to ask about the position or a referral, which materially improves your response rates.
