Senior Product Manager

BOM; Eindhoven; Hybrid; EUR 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

SMART Photonics is building an InP photonics foundry in Eindhoven to develop and manufacture PICs for telecom, datacom, sensing and biomedical applications.

The role combines market insight with product leadership to shape the InP platform and customer-driven priorities, working with R&D, engineering and sales. Regular travel to customers and partners is expected.

Qualifications

• At least 10 years of relevant industrial experience after PhD/Master in photonics or optical communications.
• Direct experience with integrated photonics, preferably InP, in a foundry or PIC-focused company.
• Understanding of the foundry business model, PDKs, and EDA/PDK tools.
• Strong knowledge of optical communications systems, including coherent and IMDD.
• Experience translating customer requirements into product specs and priorities.
• Proven ability to collaborate across customers, R&D, engineering 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 platform priorities and capabilities.
• Collaborate with customers to understand designs, requirements and challenges.
• Bridge optical communication requirements with practical foundry capabilities.
• Define requirements and assess technical trade-offs with R&D and engineering.
• Bring market insights into product positioning and strategy.
• Engage with customers, partners and events to identify opportunities and strengthen platform adoption.

Skills

Integrated photonics

Foundry collaboration

Customer requirements to specs

Cross-functional teamwork

Travel willingness

Industry experience in photonics

Leadership/mentoring

Education

PhD or Master in photonics

Tools

EDA tools

PDK tools

PIC design tools

Job description

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

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.

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

• Location: Eindhoven, the Netherlands

• 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.

Interested?

If you have the industrial experience and technical background to help shape our InP platform, we would like to hear from you.

How we create a safe work environment together.

Security is a shared responsibility. At SMART Photonics, we are committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and respectful workplace, where everyone is treated fairly. Together, we protect our people, information, technology, and operations. Every employee is expected to work responsibly by following approved procedures, using our systems and information with care, and speak up when something doesn't seem right. By applying, you agree to uphold our security principles and Code of Conduct.