A node circuit associated with a hybrid fiber coax (HFC) network is disclosed. The node circuit includes an optimizer circuit configured to process a plurality of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) values associated with a plurality of subcarriers, respectively, associated with a set of cable modem (CM) circuits coupled to the node circuit. In some embodiments, at least one subcarrier is allocated to the set of CM circuits for communication with the node circuit. In some embodiments, the optimizer circuit is further configured to determine an optimal transmit power of the node circuit, based on the plurality of SNR values and a transmitter distortion of a transmitter circuit associated with the node circuit. In some embodiments, the transmitter distortion defines a transmitter distortion associated with the transmitter circuit in terms of a total transmit power of the node circuit.