CEO

Stealth Startup; United States; On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Stealth Startup is seeking an experienced product leader to define the commercial and product strategy for an early-stage deep tech startup developing next-generation optical connectivity technology for AI infrastructure and high-performance computing.

This role sits at the intersection of product, engineering, and business development, working with the founding team to pick opportunities, translate customer needs into direction, and build relationships with major infrastructure and

Qualifications

• Deep expertise in optical interconnects, silicon photonics, co-packaged optics or high-speed communications hardware.
• Experience building products in early-stage hardware or deep-tech startups, or as a technical founder.
• Strong understanding of enterprise infrastructure customers, especially in AI infrastructure, networking or semiconductor ecosystems.
• Existing relationships with cloud infrastructure providers, networking vendors or semiconductor companies is highly desirable.
• Proven ability to translate complex customer requirements into actionable product strategy and engineering execution.
• Advanced degree in a closely related technical field is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Own the product roadmap and drive prioritization based on customer feedback and market demand.
• Lead development of market requirements, including market sizing, segmentation, and long-term strategy.
• Translate customer needs into clear, engineering-ready product requirements and specs.
• Lead strategic customer discovery with hyperscalers, networking vendors, and enterprise infrastructure customers.
• Build and manage executive relationships with prospective customers, partners, and industry stakeholders.
• Drive strategic commercial engagements, including evaluations, pilots, LOIs, and partnership agreements.
• Develop a structured customer qualification process to align commercial efforts with company strategy.

Skills

Optical interconnects

Silicon photonics

Co-packaged optics

High-speed hardware

Enterprise sales/BD

Strategic product leadership

Education

Master's or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Photonics, Optical Communications, Physics

Job description

We're looking for an experienced product leader to help define the commercial and product strategy for an early-stage deep tech startup developing next-generation optical connectivity technology for AI infrastructure and high-performance computing.

This is a highly strategic role that sits at the intersection of product, engineering, and business development. You'll work directly with the founding team to determine which market opportunities are worth pursuing, translate customer needs into product direction, and build relationships with some of the largest infrastructure and semiconductor companies in the world.

Success in this role requires balancing deep technical understanding with strong commercial judgment—focusing on the right opportunities rather than simply closing the most deals.

What You'll Do:

• Own the product roadmap and drive product prioritization based on customer feedback and market demand.
• Lead development of market requirements, including market sizing, segmentation, customer prioritization, and long-term product strategy.
• Translate customer needs into clear, engineering-ready product requirements and technical specifications.
• Lead strategic customer discovery with hyperscalers, networking equipment vendors, semiconductor companies, and other enterprise infrastructure customers.
• Build and manage executive relationships with prospective customers, partners, and industry stakeholders.
• Drive strategic commercial engagements, including evaluations, pilot programs, letters of intent, and partnership agreements that validate product-market fit.
• Develop a structured customer qualification process to ensure commercial efforts align with long-term company strategy.
• Partner closely with the executive team to align product strategy with engineering execution and company growth.

What We're Looking For:

• Deep expertise in optical interconnects, silicon photonics, co-packaged optics (CPO), optical networking, or high-speed communications hardware
• Experience building products within an early-stage (Seed or Series A) hardware or deep-tech startup, or experience as a technical founder.
• Strong understanding of enterprise infrastructure customers, particularly within AI infrastructure, networking, or semiconductor ecosystems.
• Existing relationships with major cloud infrastructure providers, networking vendors, optical module manufacturers, semiconductor companies, or adjacent enterprise customers are highly desirable.
• Proven ability to translate complex customer requirements into actionable product strategy and engineering execution.
• Master's or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Photonics, Optical Communications, Physics, or a closely related technical field is preferred.