VP, Optical Engineering & Manufacturing

• • Set the global manufacturing and operations strategy for optical networking products, with emphasis on high-volume pluggable solutions and complex optical systems.

• • Own strategic engagement with global contract manufacturing partners, including key partners across Southeast Asia, to ensure scalable capacity, quality discipline, cost competitiveness, and supply continuity.

• • Lead and coordinate all pre-GA ramp activities across R&D functions, including hardware, PV&T, firmware, and OSG, ensuring seamless manufacturing readiness for successful product launches.

• • Drive design for Manufacturing (DfM) strategies across hardware, firmware, test, calibration, supply chain, quality, and manufacturing engineering teams to optimize scalability, quality, cost, and speed to volume.

• • Define and influence manufacturing CAPEX investments to maximize operational efficiency, support scalable production capacity, and minimize long-term impact on COGS.

• • Establish manufacturing processes, operating mechanisms, test infrastructure, and governance frameworks capable of supporting production volumes in the millions of units annually.

• • Own the CP-to-C5 manufacturing lifecycle, leading post-GA manufacturing performance, yield improvement initiatives, FMA activities, workforce training, test-time optimization, QRBs, binning strategies, and continuous process improvement.

• • Oversee a global manufacturing ecosystem spanning development, testing, qualification, and production sites across North America, Europe, and Asia.

• • Build executive-level relationships with external suppliers, contract manufacturers, and ecosystem partners while maintaining rigorous standards of operational performance and accountability.

• • Provide strong leadership and governance across a complex matrix organization, ensuring accountability, driving timely decision-making, and influencing senior stakeholders to achieve critical business outcomes.

• Senior manufacturing and operations leader with extensive experience (15+ years) in optical networking, photonics, telecommunications hardware, semiconductor-adjacent technologies, or comparable high-tech manufacturing environments.
• Strong industry credibility and technical depth in optical components, pluggable technologies, and complex electro-optical systems
• Proven record of scaling complex products from new product introduction, engineering validation, and pre-GA ramp through high-volume global production.
• Deep expertise across manufacturing engineering, product industrialization, supplier strategy, quality systems, operational excellence, and production governance.
• Demonstrated success leading complex, cross-functional global programs involving hardware, PV&T, firmware, OSG, supply chain, quality, and contract manufacturing partners.
• Exceptional communication, stakeholder management, and influencing skills with the ability to operate effectively in a global matrix environment.
• Ability to align senior leaders, create clear governance mechanisms, and hold stakeholders accountable for delivering manufacturing, quality, cost, and launch outcomes.
• High levels of resilience, credibility, executive presence, and leadership maturity.
• Experience working across geographically distributed teams and manufacturing ecosystems in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Success Factors

• Deliver scalable manufacturing operations capable of supporting significant growth in optical pluggables volumes, from pre-GA ramp through post-GA sustained production.
• Establish trusted partnerships with internal engineering organizations and external manufacturing partners.
• Drive operational efficiency, yield performance, test-time optimization, quality, cost, and delivery performance across the entire manufacturing value chain.
• Serve as a respected cross-functional leader who can align diverse stakeholders, enforce governance discipline, and execute complex global manufacturing programs with speed and accountability.