Head of Photonic Hardware Manufacturing & Ops

Salience Labs Ltd; Oxford; Presencial; GBP 120.000 - 180.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

Salience Labs Ltd is building an industry-defining approach to optical circuit switching for AI infrastructure. We are seeking a Head of Manufacturing Operations to own the manufacturing, testing and qualification of our photonic hardware.

You will lead manufacturing engineering, collaborate with engineering, product and external partners, and drive reliability, yield, cost and quality across high‑volume production for deployment in data-centre environments.

Formación

• Significant industrial experience in semiconductor, photonics or electronics manufacturing.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Strong knowledge of semiconductor devices, electronics and packaging.
• A strong understanding of test, reliability, qualification and quality principles.
• Experience working with external suppliers, manufacturing partners or test houses.
• The ability to analyse complex datasets and turn them into practical decisions.
• Strong problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.
• Strong stakeholder-management skills across multidisciplinary teams.
• The ability to communicate complex technical subjects clearly and concisely.
• The confidence to challenge technical conclusions and provide clear guidance where required.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining focus on key deliverables.
• Experience in photonics, optoelectronics or optical interconnect.
• Experience in a high-volume manufacturing environment.
• Strong knowledge of semiconductor packaging and assembly.
• Experience working directly with OSATs or other outsourced manufacturing partners.
• Experience auditing supplier quality, reliability or qualification activities.
• Experience supporting customer quality and reliability requirements.
• A background in failure analysis or root-cause investigation.
• Experience developing operational processes from the ground up.
• Exposure to data-centre, communications or other high-performance electronics environments.
• Experience balancing technical rigour with commercial and programme timelines.

Responsabilidades

• Set the direction and priorities for manufacturing operations and align them with company product and commercial goals.
• Lead and develop an engineering team, setting clear expectations and accountability.
• Manage relationships with external suppliers and manufacturing partners, including performance, escalation and corrective actions.
• Oversee packaging, assembly and test activities for photonic hardware.
• Ensure appropriate reliability, qualification and quality processes are in place.
• Drive improvements in yield, performance and cost.
• Work with engineering teams to ensure manufacturability, testability and reliability are considered throughout product development.
• Collaborate with product and commercial teams to ensure customer requirements are understood and met.
• Investigate and resolve manufacturing and quality issues, including root-cause analysis and corrective action.
• Support supplier visits, audits and technical reviews.
• Own operational risks, schedules and budgets for the function.
• Continuously improve processes, tools and reporting standards.
• Communicate technical findings clearly to both specialist and non-specialist stakeholders.

Conocimientos

Semiconductor manufacturing

Photonics manufacturing

Electronics packaging

Test & reliability

Supplier management

Root cause analysis

Data analysis

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional leadership

Quality systems

Descripción del empleo

Salience Labs Ltd is building an industry-defining approach to optical circuit switching for AI infrastructure. We are seeking a Head of Manufacturing Operations to own the manufacturing, testing and qualification of our photonic hardware.

You will lead manufacturing engineering, collaborate with engineering, product and external partners, and drive reliability, yield, cost and quality across high‑volume production for deployment in data-centre environments.