Senior Product Manager

SMART Photonics; Eindhoven; Hybrid; EUR 73,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Job summary

SMART Photonics in Eindhoven seeks a Senior Product Manager to translate market needs into the roadmap for InP PICs. You will liaise with customers, R&D, Engineering and Sales to set priorities for platform capabilities, PDKs and process improvements.

You will bring 10+ years in photonics, deep foundry or PIC-product experience, and the ability to balance technical trade-offs with business goals. Hybrid work applies; travel to customers is expected.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of relevant industrial experience after PhD/Master in photonics or optical comms.
• Direct experience with integrated photonics, preferably InP, in a photonics foundry or PIC-focused company.
• Understanding of the foundry business model, PDKs, EPDA tools and PIC design-to-manufacture challenges.
• Strong knowledge of optical communication systems, including coherent and IMDD architectures.
• Experience translating customer requirements into product specs and development priorities.
• Ability to influence across customers, engineering, R&D and commercial teams.

Responsibilities

• Own and drive the product roadmap for the InP platform and PIC building blocks.
• Translate customer needs and market developments into priorities for platform capabilities and PDKs.
• Bridge optical requirements with practical foundry capabilities.
• Collaborate with R&D, TCC and Engineering to define requirements and trade-offs.
• Bring market insights and competitive analysis into product positioning.
• Engage with customers and ecosystem partners to identify opportunities and drive adoption.

Skills

Industry experience

Photonic integration

Customer requirements translation

Product roadmap management

Technical credibility

Travel willingness

Education

PhD or Master in photonics/semiconductor/optical communications

Tools

PDK tools

EPDA tools

Job description

Bring your industry experience to the next generation of InP photonics!

Senior Product Manager

• On-site, Hybrid
• Eindhoven, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands
• €6,573 - €9,861 per month

At SMART Photonics, we manufacture indium phosphide (InP) photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for customers developing the next generation of optical technologies.

We are looking for an established industry expert who understands what it takes to develop, design and manufacture PICs and what customers need from a foundry to bring their products to market.

You bring relevant industrial experience, ideally gained in a photonics foundry or at a company developing PIC-based products with a foundry partner. You have worked with real customer requirements, technology trade-offs and product development decisions, and you are ready to use that experience to influence the direction of our InP platform.

Working closely with customers, R&D, Engineering and Sales, you will translate market and system requirements into product priorities and help determine which capabilities SMART Photonics should develop next.

Telecom and datacom are our primary growth markets. You will also help us evaluate opportunities in applications such as LiDAR, sensing and biomedical technologies.

What you will do

• Own and drive our product roadmap; translate customer needs and market developments into priorities for our InP platform, process capabilities, PIC building blocks and PDKs.
• Work closely with our customers; understand their designs, system requirements and technical challenges, and identify where our platform can deliver value.
• Bridge optical communication requirements, including coherent and IMDD architectures, with practical foundry capabilities.
• Work with R&D, TCC and Engineering to define requirements, assess technical trade-offs and focus development efforts.
• Bring customer insight, market knowledge and competitive analysis into product positioning and strategic discussions.
• Engage during events, visits and exhibitions with established customers, prospective customers and ecosystem partners to identify opportunities and strengthen adoption of our platform.

Job requirements

What you bring

• At least 10 years of relevant industrial experience after your PhD/ Master in photonics, semiconductor technology or optical communications. We are looking for demonstrated industry experience, not an academic research profile alone.
• Direct experience with integrated photonics, preferably InP, gained at a photonics foundry or a company designing and developing PIC-based products.
• A practical understanding of the foundry business model, PDKs, EPDA tools and the challenges of taking PIC designs from concept towards manufacturing.
• Strong knowledge of optical communication systems, ideally including coherent and IMDD architectures, and an understanding of their implications for PIC design and performance.
• Experience translating customer applications and system-level requirements into product specifications and technology development priorities.
• A track record of working across customers, engineering, R&D and commercial teams, influencing decisions without necessarily having direct authority.
• The technical credibility, judgement and commercial awareness to challenge assumptions, weigh competing priorities and build alignment.
• Willingness to travel regularly to customers and partners.

Experience in other PIC applications is welcome. Leadership through technical expertise, sound judgement and influence is more important than formal people-management experience.

Why SMART Photonics?

We are building an InP photonics foundry that enables customers to develop and manufacture their own PICs. Our platform supports applications ranging from high-speed optical communications to advanced sensing and diagnostics.

You will work alongside highly skilled engineers and researchers in a growing technology company, with a direct connection between customer needs, technology development and product decisions.

For someone who has spent years working with photonic integration in industry, this is an opportunity to put that experience to work on the next stage of a dedicated InP foundry.

Practical details

• Working model: Hybrid working is possible. This is not a fully remote position.
• Compensation: Competitive; details will be discussed during the first conversation with our Talent Acquisition Lead.