Director, Optics Strategy and Partnerships

About the role

NVIDIA is seeking a Director, Optics Strategy and Partnerships to join the networking product marketing team in Santa Clara. The role will influence the future of data centers and networking technology by developing and building the optics roadmap for scale‑out and scale‑up networking. The incumbent will simplify complex, competing requirements into clear working documents, communicate the vision to internal and external groups, and drive technology advancements and collaborations to support the roadmap. A deep understanding of the optics and interconnect ecosystems, extensive industry connections, and the ability to integrate these into NVIDIA development programs are essential. Experience preparing commercial agreements, statements of work, and backing investments into ecosystem partners to achieve roadmap objectives is required. The position collaborates closely with product, engineering, architecture, operations, and sourcing teams to pioneer innovative solutions.

Responsibilities

• Lead the optics product and technology roadmap process across all data‑center and networking platforms.
• Customer engagement: work directly with customers and developers to understand use cases, difficulties, and requirements, ensuring solutions meet and exceed expectations.
• Provide input and mentorship to architecture and development teams for optics and interconnects across switches, NICs, and compute platforms.
• Identify and evaluate new technologies, innovations, and partner relationships to align with the strategic technology roadmap.
• Thought leadership: produce technical content such as blogs, white papers, webinars, and tutorials that highlight the value and innovation of NVIDIA’s optics and interconnect platforms.

Requirements

• BS/MS/PhD in Electrical Engineering, Applied Sciences, or a related technical field (or equivalent experience).
• 15+ years of relevant industry experience, with at least 10 years in a leadership role.
• Proven experience and solid understanding of optical interconnects, silicon photonics, lasers, or closely related technologies in high‑performance data‑center settings.
• Practical knowledge of networking (switching & routing for Ethernet/Infiniband and/or compute fabrics) and data‑center infrastructure.
• Demonstrated experience building partnerships, managing business contracts, statements of work, and investment justifications.

Preferred qualifications

• Track record in product management or product marketing for optical transceivers, silicon photonics, or co‑packaged optics.
• Direct experience with high‑performance data‑center networking or computing platforms.
• Background in formulating product strategies or specifying requirements for networking or data‑center environments.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non‑technical audiences.

Compensation and Benefits

The base salary range is $216,000 USD – $345,000 USD, determined by location, experience, and comparable employee pay. The role also includes eligibility for equity and additional benefits.