Tech Program Manager, Silicon Photonics

OpenLight Photonics Inc.; Goleta (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Incentive stock options

Health insurance

401k match

Unlimited vacation

Spot bonuses

Positive work environment

Job summary

OpenLight Photonics Inc. in Goleta, CA is seeking a Technical Project/Program Manager to coordinate and drive cross-functional engineering and customer programs.

You will help bring silicon photonics technologies from development through qualification and production, working with engineering, operations, product management, and suppliers. This role requires strong technical foundation in semiconductor hardware, excellent communication, and the ability to manage schedules, risks, and budgets.

Qualifications

• :Experience working with cross-functional engineering, operations, or manufacturing teams.
• :Understanding of semiconductor, photonics, electronics, or other hardware product development and manufacturing processes.
• :Ability to develop and manage project schedules, risks, action items, dependencies, and deliverables.
• :Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• :Strong problem-solving, written communication, interpersonal, and presentation skills.
• :Ability to communicate effectively with engineers, suppliers, customers, and business stakeholders.
• :Proficiency with project management and collaboration tools such as Microsoft Office, Microsoft Project, Jira, Smartsheet, or similar platforms.
• :Proactive and collaborative working style, with a strong sense of ownership and urgency.
• :Ability to balance technical scope, schedule, quality, resources, and cost when supporting project decisions.
• :Familiarity with hardware development lifecycles, engineering qualification, reliability testing, and manufacturing ramp activities.
• :Experience coordinating projects with external foundries, suppliers, or manufacturing partners.
• :Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline; an advanced degree is a plus.
• :5+ years of relevant professional experience, including experience managing or coordinating technical engineering projects.
• :Experience in silicon photonics, semiconductor wafer fabrication, photonic integrated circuits, optoelectronics, or advanced packaging.
• :Willingness and ability to travel domestically or internationally as business needs require (approximately 10%, based on your work location).

Responsibilities

• :Coordinate multiple technical projects and programs from planning through completion.
• :Work with engineering and business stakeholders to define project objectives, requirements, milestones, deliverables, schedules, and resource needs.
• :Develop and maintain detailed project schedules, including dependencies, critical paths, and key decision points.
• :Track project progress and proactively identify schedule, technical, resource, and supplier risks.
• :Coordinate risk mitigation and recovery plans with project leads and cross-functional teams.
• :Facilitate regular project meetings, milestone reviews, and technical discussions.
• :Document decisions, action items, owners, and due dates, and ensure timely follow-through.
• :Coordinate activities across multidisciplinary teams, including wafer processing, photonic device and PIC design, layout, PDK, systems engineering, test, reliability, and qualification.
• :Own and / or support projects and work-in-progress involving external suppliers and manufacturing partners, including foundries, material suppliers, PCB fabrication and assembly vendors, packaging houses, and test facilities.
• :Maintain accurate and current project documentation, dashboards, schedules, and status reports.
• :Prepare concise program updates for management, highlighting progress, risks, decisions, and required support.
• :Work closely with product management, business development, sales, operations, and engineering to align project execution with customer and business priorities.
• :Help establish and improve project management processes, tools, templates, and workflows.

Skills

Cross-functional teams

Hardware development

Project scheduling

Organization & detail

Problem solving & communication

Stakeholder communication

PM tools (MS Office, Jira, Smartsheet)

Ownership & urgency

Trade-off decisions

Hardware lifecycle & testing

Foundries & suppliers coordination

5+ years experience

Silicon photonics

Willingness to travel

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, or related technical discipline

Tools

Microsoft Office

Microsoft Project

Jira

Smartsheet

Job description

OpenLight Photonics Inc. in Goleta, CA is seeking a Technical Project/Program Manager to coordinate and drive cross-functional engineering and customer programs.

You will help bring silicon photonics technologies from development through qualification and production, working with engineering, operations, product management, and suppliers. This role requires strong technical foundation in semiconductor hardware, excellent communication, and the ability to manage schedules, risks, and budgets.