Position Summary
The Vice President, External Manufacturing is responsible for defining and executing external manufacturing strategy, with direct accountability for Contract Manufacturers (CMs) and Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) partners. This role ensures successful industrialization, qualification, and scaling of photonics products while meeting aggressive targets for quality, cost, yield, and delivery. The Vice President will serve as the primary executive interface to manufacturing partners and play a critical role in transitioning products from development to high-volume production.
Key Responsibilities
External Manufacturing Strategy
- Develop and execute a comprehensive external manufacturing strategy encompassing CMs and OSATs to support current and future photonics product roadmaps.
- Drive long-term manufacturing scalability while maintaining performance, yield, and cost competitiveness.
- Contract Manufacturer & OSAT ManagementIdentify, evaluate, qualify, and manage CMs and OSAT partners for photonics assembly, packaging, testing, and system-level manufacturing.
- Lead commercial negotiations including pricing, capacity commitments, SLAs, quality agreements, and long-term strategic partnerships.
- Establish executive-level governance models, business reviews, and escalation paths with key manufacturing partners.
- Manufacturing Execution & Operational ExcellenceLead product and technology deployment: Oversee new product introduction (NPI) and manage technology transfer to external manufacturing partners.
- Drive operational excellence: Ensure process qualification, yield ramp, and volume readiness at contract manufacturers (CMs) and OSATs, while defining and tracking KPIs across quality, delivery, cost, yield, and responsiveness.
- Foster continuous improvement: Collaborate with engineering and quality teams to implement corrective actions, conduct root cause analysis, and enhance yields through ongoing improvement initiatives.
- Cross-Functional LeadershipWork closely with R&D, product engineering, supply chain, procurement, quality, and customer teams to ensure seamless external manufacturing execution.
- Align manufacturing capabilities with product design, test strategies, and lifecycle management.
- Collaboration with Quality & ReliabilityPartner closely with Quality and Reliability teams to ensure CMs and OSATs support audits, qualifications, and corrective actions.
- Lead containment and recovery actions during manufacturing excursions.
- Drive timely execution of corrective actions as defined by Quality.
- Risk Management & ComplianceProactively manage risks related to supplier concentration, capacity constraints, geopolitical exposure, and supply chain disruptions.
- Ensure compliance with customer requirements, regulatory standards, and industry certifications (ISO etc.).
- Organization & Talent DevelopmentBuild and lead a high-performing external manufacturing organization, including supplier management and operations.
- Develop internal capabilities for managing complex CM and OSAT ecosystems at scale.
- RequirementsEducational Background – Master's degree in Engineering, Physics, Photonics, or a related discipline; MBA or PhD preferred.
- Leadership Experience – 20+ years in manufacturing/operations leadership, including 8+ years managing external manufacturing, CMs, and OSATs.
- Industry Expertise – Proven track record in photonics, optoelectronics, semiconductors, and advanced packaging environments.
- Operational Excellence – Demonstrated success scaling production through OSATs and contract manufacturing partners.
- Technical & Commercial Skills – Strong knowledge of photonics assembly, packaging, test flows, and quality systems; deep experience with Asia-based OSATs and global CM networks; excellent negotiation and executive communication abilities.
