Product Manager

Plessey Semiconductors Ltd; Plymouth; On-site; GBP 75,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Plessey Semiconductors Ltd in Plymouth is seeking a Product Manager to define and deliver MicroLED offerings for AR and optical interconnects. You will bridge customer needs and engineering, shaping product specifications and roadmaps to support major global customers.

The role requires delivering market-aligned definitions, coordinating with internal teams and external partners, and guiding products from development through early production while traveling internationally.

Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience in product management and bringing new products to market.
• Technical background in semiconductor, display technologies, or related industries.
• Experience working with major international customers and partners.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills to align stakeholders.
• Willingness to travel internationally as part of the role.

Responsibilities

• Lead the definition of MicroLED product specifications with customers and external partners.
• Translate customer requirements into clear inputs for internal engineering teams.
• Develop and maintain product and feature roadmaps aligned to customer programmes and market needs.
• Act as the primary Voice of the Customer in engineering and programme discussions.
• Coordinate across internal teams and partners from development through NPI to scaled manufacturing.
• Engage with major global customers and present product definitions and roadmaps.
• Drive lifecycle management and continuous improvement in product performance and quality.

Skills

Product management

VoC / customer voice

Cross-functional leadership

Stakeholder communication

International travel

Job description

We're building the hardware foundation for next-era computing.

Plessey is a world-leading technology company driving the next generation of photonic devices and systems. With over 70 years of innovation, we combine research, materials science, process engineering, and manufacturing under one roof. We're recognised as a global authority in microLED displays and optical interconnects.

Join us to work on breakthrough technologies shaping the future of light-based technology and computing

Location

Based in Plymouth

Our Values

Lead

We don't follow industry trends; we create them, pushing boundaries and setting standards others aspire to. Every team member has the power to make decisions, drive change, and deliver excellence. We support each other, challenge one another for the best solutions, and lead by example. Together, we build industries and technologies that shape the future and scale toward our vision of the next era of computing.

Grow

We expand our capabilities every day - deepening our expertise, improving how we work, and pushing the boundaries of what's possible. Curiosity fuels us: we question assumptions, explore new ideas, and innovate with light-based technologies. By investing in and empowering our people, we strengthen Plessey's impact and help shape the future of optical technology.

Trust

We operate like a family-honest, reliable, and supportive. We have each other's backs, own our actions, and uphold the highest standards of integrity and safety. We trust each other to deliver, our customers to challenge us, and our expertise to guide the way. Together, trust enables the collaboration essential for breakthrough innovation and lasting impact.

About the Role

The Product Manager is accountable to the Director of Products and is responsible for defining and delivering Plessey's MicroLED product offering for emerging Augmented Reality (AR) applications, while also supporting the development of new product opportunities in the optical interconnect domain. This role represents a new function within Plessey, supporting the transition from advanced technology development to product definition, roadmap delivery, and customer-aligned execution. The role will act as the Voice of the Customer (VoC) within Plessey, ensuring that product requirements, priorities, and delivery plans are aligned to the needs of major global customers.

Success in this role will be measured by development of clear, market-aligned product specifications, delivery of coherent product and feature roadmaps, effective alignment between customer expectations and engineering delivery & contribution to successful new product introduction (NPI) programmes.

Key Responsibilities

Product Definition & Specification:

• Lead the definition of MicroLED product specifications in collaboration with customers and external partners.
• Translate customer requirements into clear, structured, and actionable inputs for internal engineering teams.
• Support trade-off discussions between performance, manufacturability, and delivery timelines.
• Support early definition of product requirements and use cases in emerging optical interconnect applications.

Product Roadmap Development & Communication:

• Develop and maintain product and feature roadmaps aligned to customer programmes and market needs.
• Extend roadmap planning to include emerging application areas (e.g. optical interconnect) where aligned to Plessey's technology strategy.
• Communicate roadmaps across internal teams, partners, and customers.
• Manage expectations on capability, timing, and product evolution.

Voice of the Customer (VoC):

• Act as the primary VoC within internal engineering and programme discussions.
• Ensure customer priorities are represented in development planning and technical decision-making.
• Capture and assess customer and market signals for both AR and emerging application spaces.
• Work closely with Programme and Project Managers to ensure delivery alignment.

Cross-Functional & Partner Coordination:

• Coordinate across internal engineering teams to align on product requirements.
• Work closely with partners to ensure manufacturability and readiness for scale.
• Support transition from development through NPI into scaled manufacturing.
• Engage directly with major global customers.
• Present product definitions, roadmaps, and capability updates.
• Manage customer queries, feedback, and technical discussions.
• Support early-stage customer engagement in new application areas, including optical interconnect where relevant.
• Influence stakeholders by clearly articulating Plessey's product positioning and roadmap.

Product Lifecycle & Continuous Improvement:

• Support evolution from product definition through NPI and early production.
• Contribute to lifecycle management, change control, and feedback integration.
• Drive continuous improvement in product performance, quality, and alignment to market needs.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Demonstrable experience in product management, including bringing new products to market.
• Technical background in semiconductor, display technologies, or related industries.
• Experience working with major international customers.
• Proven ability to define and communicate product strategies, specifications, and roadmaps.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional engineering teams and external partners.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills.
• Strong commercial awareness and understanding of product-market fit.
• Ability to operate effectively in fast-moving, ambiguous environments.
• Willingness to travel internationally.
• Experience or interest in emerging applications of compound semiconductor technologies (e.g. optical interconnect, photonics) is desirable.