Principal Engineer, Hardware Design - Networking

Celestica is a provider of hardware platform and supply chain solutions for complex technology products. The company is seeking a Principal Hardware Systems Architect to lead the architecture and development of next-generation AI, cloud, and high-performance data center networking platforms, collaborating across compute, power, thermal, mechanical, firmware, and system-management domains.

Responsibilities:

• Define architecture for next-generation AI, cloud, hyperscale, and high-performance data center networking platforms
• Own architectural definition of:
• Ethernet and InfiniBand-class networking
• Switch architectures
• Switching silicon/NPU integration
• NIC, SmartNIC, SuperNIC, and DPU architectures
• High-speed SerDes
• Optical and electrical interconnects
• Scale-out network fabrics
• Network topology
• Inter-rack connectivity
• Establish networking-system requirements, interfaces, partitioning, and architectural tradeoffs
• Evaluate alternatives based on bandwidth, latency, congestion, power, thermal density, reliability, cost, scalability, serviceability, and manufacturability
• Develop reusable networking-platform architectures and building blocks that can be leveraged across customers and programs
• Lead early architecture studies, feasibility assessments, proof-of-concept development, and platform definition

Requirements:

• • BS or MS in Electrical, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or a related field
• • Typically 12+ years in hardware development with strong focus on networking, switching, AI, or cloud platforms
• • Proven experience defining system architecture for complex networking platforms
• • Deep knowledge of Ethernet/InfiniBand, switch architectures, NICs/DPUs, PCIe, SerDes, and optical/electrical interconnects
• • Strong understanding of switching NPUs/ASICs, CPUs, accelerators, PCIe/CXL, and system integration
• • Solid grasp of networking, compute, power, thermal, and mechanical architecture interplay
• • Track record of taking complex platforms from early architecture to production
• • Ability to evaluate tradeoffs across bandwidth, latency, cost, power, thermal, reliability, and schedule
• • Excellent technical communication and presentation skills
• • Proven ability to influence cross-functional technical teams without direct authority
• • Direct experience engaging with customers, silicon vendors, and partners
• • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or related technical field. Educational Requirements may vary by geography
• • Architecting networking systems for large-scale AI training or inference clusters
• • High-performance Ethernet or InfiniBand architectures
• • Modern switching silicon, NIC, SmartNIC, SuperNIC, or DPU technologies
• • 800G, 1.6T, and next-generation high-speed networking
• • Advanced optics and evolving electrical/optical interconnect architectures
• • GPU scale-up fabrics and accelerator interconnect architectures
• • Rack-scale and multi-rack AI infrastructure
• • High-power, liquid-cooled networking or compute systems
• • Collaboration with hyperscale or cloud service provider customers
• • Developing reusable platform architectures
• • Contributing to roadmaps, standards, patents, or advanced development