VP & GM Optical Systems Division

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

Business Leadership & P&L Ownership

• Own and drive the global end-to-end performance of the Optical Systems business, including revenue growth, profitability, and market share expansion across all geographical segments. 
• Define and execute the multi-year business strategy, aligned with company objectives and evolving market dynamics. 
• Establish clear operating rhythms, performance metrics, and accountability across the organization. 

Product Strategy & Portfolio Leadership

• Lead the definition and evolution of the Optical Systems product portfolio, including Open Line Systems, transponders/muxponders, and coherent optics solutions. 
• Translate market requirements into differentiated product strategies and roadmaps, balancing innovation, time-to-market, and return on investment. 
• Ensure strong alignment between product management, engineering, and operations to deliver competitive and scalable solutions. 

Customer Engagement & Market Development

• Build and maintain executive-level relationships with key customers, with a strong focus on hyperscale network operators, cloud providers, and select Tier 1 service providers. 
• Act as a senior external representative of the business, shaping customer perception and influencing strategic technology direction. 
• Drive deep understanding of customer architectures, deployment models, and long-term infrastructure needs to inform product and business strategy. 

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Lead and align cross-functional teams including Product Management, R&D/Engineering, Operations, and Customer-Facing organizations. 
• Foster a culture of accountability, innovation, and execution excellence across geographically distributed teams. 
• Provide oversight and guidance on R&D investments and priorities (direct management of R&D is a strong plus). 

Strategic Partnerships & Ecosystem Development

• Identify and develop strategic partnerships across the ecosystem, including technology partners, system integrators, and service providers. 
• Strengthen the company’s position within industry standards bodies and key technology forums where relevant. 

Market Intelligence & Competitive Positioning

• Monitor market trends, competitive dynamics, and emerging technologies to proactively shape business strategy. 
• Position the business to capitalize on shifts such as AI-driven data center growth, DCI expansion, and routed optical networking adoption.

Qualifications

 

•  20+ years of experience in the telecommunications, optical networking, or data center infrastructure industry. 
•  Strong background in product management and portfolio leadership, with a track record of bringing successful products/platforms to market. 
•  Demonstrated experience in a general management, business unit leadership, or P&L ownership role. 
•  Deep understanding of optical networking technologies, including DWDM, DCI, coherent optics, and routed optical networking architectures. 
•  Proven ability to engage and influence hyperscale customers and Tier 1 operators at the executive and technical levels. 
•  Strong business acumen, including financial planning, investment prioritization, and market-driven decision-making. 
•  Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills across global teams.
BSc. or Ph.D. in a science or engineering field. MBA is a strong asset

 

Skills & Other Requirements

 

•    Prior leadership roles within leading networking or optical system vendors. 
•    Experience overseeing or closely partnering with R&D/engineering organizations. 
•    Track record of scaling businesses or leading through technology and market transitions. 
•    Familiarity with open networking models, pluggable optics ecosystems, and disaggregated architectures. 
•    Strategic thinker with a strong execution mindset. 
•    Customer-centric, with the ability to translate complex technical needs into clear business direction. 
•    Comfortable operating at both executive and operational levels, bridging strategy and day-to-day execution. 
•    Builds high-performing teams and drives alignment across diverse functions.
 

 

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