Director, Product Management

About the role

Reporting to VP & GM, this product management position will play a key role in the growth of optical business at Coherent. This role requires a strong understanding of disaggregated optical line system and coherent modem/pluggable technologies. The successful candidate will collaborate closely with customers and our internal sales, R&D, product management, system architecture, marketing teams to drive the product strategy, roadmap execution, and lifecycle management.

Responsibilities

• Define and communicate long-term product vision and value proposition for the product portfolio.
• Drive revenue and gross margin for the business.
• Develop and manage strong business/technical relationships with customers, and drive customer engagements such as roadmap discussion, RFP/RFQ, and lab certification.
• Conduct market research and competitive analysis, identifying customer needs and pain points, and translating them into product requirements and release priorities.
• Lead cross-functional teams and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, such as Engineering, Operations, Finance, Legal, and Partners to deliver high-quality products on time.
• Prioritize product features and initiatives using data, customer insights, and business impact.
• Work with Marketing and Sales team to develop go-to-market strategies and enablement materials.
• Manage product lifecycle management from ideation to delivery and sunset, ensuring quality, timeliness, and customer satisfaction.
• Help with product financials include forecasting, pricing, and profitability.
• Work with operations team to monitor and coordinate order fulfillment processes to meet cost, lead-time, on-time delivery, volumes, quality, and margin objectives.
• Influence organizational priorities through compelling storytelling and strategic rationale.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in related engineering field.
• MBA or advanced technical degree is a plus.
• 10 to 15 years of optical networking industry experience, with a proven track record of developing successful products.
• Strong understanding of optical line system and coherent modem/pluggable technologies is preferred.

Skills

• Seasoned business judgment and superior analytical abilities, particularly in strategic business and financial analysis.
• Strong communication skills (both verbal and written) and business acumen.
• Must be able to judge situations with regard to the larger business picture as well as the immediate need.
• Strong planning and leadership ability to get tasks accomplished through non-direct reports.
• Ability to persuade and motivate others.
• Strong negotiation skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively at all levels of organization and with various individuals and personalities.
• Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously and follow through.
• Understanding of business strategies and ability to formulate/execute plans to support business strategies.
• Ability to train, coach, and mentor others.

Schedule

• Hybrid role. Remote work is possible but on site is preferred.
• Travel up to 20% is anticipated.
• May require occasional overtime and flexibility in work hours to accommodate customer needs.