Associate Product Manager
LIGHTERA has one of the longest and most respectable corporate lineages in American business, tracing back to Alexander Graham Bell and the invention of the telephone over a century ago. We have a proven track record of industry firsts, including application-specific fibers, optical connectors, ribbon cables, erbium-doped fibers, Raman fiber lasers, and fiber gratings. Our mission is to provide leading optical innovations and solutions by designing, manufacturing, and supplying the best optical fibers, fiber cable, components, and devices for our customers, with exceptional service that creates value for our shareholders, customers, and employees.
About the role
The Associate Product Manager is a developmental position designed to build future Product Line Managers through a combination of product development support, customer engagement, market analysis, and business strategy experience. This role provides structured exposure to the product lifecycle while supporting cross-functional teams responsible for developing, launching, and sustaining products and solutions. Working closely with Product Line Management, R&D, Sales, Marketing, Manufacturing, Operations, and Finance, the Associate Product Manager will coordinate new product development activities, support portfolio management initiatives, analyze market opportunities, and help translate customer needs into actionable product requirements. The position serves as a training ground for future Product Line Manager and Program Manager roles.
Responsibilities
- Support the development and execution of product and business plans for assigned product lines and strategic initiatives.
- Assist in defining product requirements by gathering customer, market, sales, and technical inputs.
- Participate in product lifecycle management activities, including product launches, product enhancements, portfolio reviews, and product optimization initiatives.
- Support product profitability analysis through evaluation of pricing, cost, revenue, inventory, and operational performance metrics.
- Contribute to business cases, product positioning, value propositions, and recommendations for new product or market opportunities.
- Conduct market research, customer analysis, and competitive benchmarking to identify growth opportunities, market trends, and customer requirements.
- Help gather and organize current and future product requirements from customers, Sales, channels, and internal stakeholders.
- Assist in the development of product value propositions, customer presentation materials, training content, and marketing collateral inputs.
- Support PLM managers with analysis work such as deep cost reviews and other detailed cost analysis.
- Work with the Pricing Reporting team to develop reports, dashboards, presentations, and executive summaries for management review.
- Help coordinate cross-functional projects involving new product development, process improvement, cost reduction, capital implementation, and commercialization activities.
- Develop and maintain project plans, schedules, milestone tracking, risk assessments, and status reporting.
- Other duties as assigned.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Marketing, or a related technical field required.
- 1+ years of work experience.
- Demonstrated ability to support cross-functional projects and coordinate multiple stakeholders.
- Strong organizational, analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills.
- Strong knowledge of Microsoft Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, MS Word), ability to build pivot tables or other analysis methods of large data sets, and understanding of Gantt charts creation.
Preferred Qualifications
- Exposure to product management, market analysis, pricing, financial analysis, customer engagement, or lifecycle management.
- Knowledge of fiber optic products, optical connectivity, telecommunications infrastructure, cable systems, or related technologies.
General Expectations
- Demonstrate effective communication (verbal, written) skills.
- Proficient with MS Office applications.
- Maintain discretion when working with confidential and proprietary information.
- Strict adherence to company safety policies and procedures.
- Conform to all aspects of Lightera’s “Standards of Conduct”.
- Serve as a role model for safe work practices and behaviors.
- Additional duties as assigned.
Benefits
- Competitive salaries
- Medical and dental coverage
- Tuition reimbursement
- Matching 401(k) plan
Visa sponsorship is not available. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States now and in the future.
About Lightera
Lightera is a global leader in optical fiber and connectivity solutions, delivering innovative technologies that drive communication networks, data centers, and specialty photonics applications. With a deep legacy of expertise in optical science, we provide high-performance solutions that enable faster, more reliable, and more sustainable connections for businesses, communities, and industries worldwide. Headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, U.S.A., Lightera operates with a global footprint, serving customers across telecommunications, enterprise, industrial, generative AI, data centers, 5G/6G, utilities, medical, aerospace, defense, and sensing markets. Lightera is part of Furukawa Electric Group, a multi-billion-dollar leader in optical communications.