Director, Advanced Optical Components - OCS Technology

For our location in Berlin, Germany, we are looking for a 

Director, Advanced Optical Components, OCS Technology (m/f/d) 

Scope of Position:

• Oversee innovation and product development of advanced passive optical components for hyperscale data center and optical computing networks.
• Partner closely with Business Technology Directors, Commercial, Market Development, and Product Line Management to develop long-term and short-term roadmaps for new product introduction.
• Set the direction for technical capability enhancement and expansion to meet the business needs.
• Provide technical leadership for Global Business Teams, Business Team portfolio prioritization.
• Directorate budget responsibility.
• Responsible for the overall leadership of a global organization of ~100 full time employees; located across EMEA, U.S., APAC, and Mexico.

Responsibilities:

• Deliver differentiated solutions to key programs addressing customer needs, providing cost and sustainability advantages, considering manufacturing scalability requirements to grow Corning’s competitive advantage.
• Support early-stage product development in research and applied research and development (AR&D) with optical design and design for manufacturing expertise.
• Drive new product introductions as project sponsor or a member of steering team from project launch to product release to manufacturing.
• Accountable for delivering innovations on-budget and on-time and responsible for delivering against communicated and accepted financial objectives.
• Collaborate with Commercial teams to identify early- stage opportunities and evaluate business cases.
• Navigate complex stakeholder environments by balancing business priorities, technical requirements, customer expectations, and organizational dynamics with sound judgment and professionalism.
• Work with the Business Technology Directors, Market development, PLM and Manufacturing to develop 5-year plan.
• Engage in technical discussions with customers. Understand application requirements. Identify opportunities for competitive differentiation.
• Build trusted relationships with demanding internal and external customers, constructively addressing concerns, resolving friction, and maintaining alignment around shared business outcomes.
• Plan annual budget, manage directorate resources, leverage corporate capability and expertise.
• Promote cross-functional collaboration and customer driven mindset.
• Serve as a credible, steady leader in high-pressure situations, using influence, transparency, and fact-based decision-making to move work forward across organizational boundaries.
• Continuously seek ways to improve operation effectiveness
• Talent planning, supervising and mentoring.
• Provide periodical activity highlights and status reports.
• Conduct Communication meetings.
• Participate in technical and execution reviews.
• Invention Disclosure committee for Micro-optics products.

Required Skills and Education:

• Ph.D. or master’s degree in physics, Electrical Engineering, or other relevant and related STEM discipline.
• Knowledge and experience with optical communications manufacturing equipment processes and steps, materials processing within manufacturing, and optical communications applications.
• Extensive experience in the management of complex, cross-functional, culturally diverse teams containing both technical and non-technical roles.
• Minimum of 10 years total of functional leadership and 5 years project/technical leadership experience.
• Demonstrated personal initiative with a track record of completing challenging business objectives.
• Demonstrated communication, interpersonal, and influencing skills at all levels of an organization (team, peer, and executive levels) with a demonstrated ability to build relationships in a heavily matrixed, team environment. Collaboration to achieve Corning goals.
• Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority, manage competing stakeholder agendas, and resolve sensitive issues with discretion, diplomacy, and appropriate escalation when needed.
• Ability to educate and guide the application of Corning’s innovation process.
• Ability to solve difficult leadership tasks and implement executive decisions.
• Supplier and customer contact experience with the ability to translate needs into relevant and actionable requirements.
• Effective leadership, organization, and planning skills, with ability to handle ambiguity, changing priorities and changing requirements.
• Proven executive presence and resilience in ambiguous, high-friction, or highly matrixed environments, with the ability to maintain productive relationships while driving accountability and results.
• Change agent who continuously improves organizational practices and adapts to evolving business needs, structure, COC technology requirements.

Desired Skills and Education:

• Multiple-year work experience in at least two of the following areas: Commercial, Development, Manufacturing, or Engineering.
• Knowledge and experience with Co-Packaged Optics and Silicon Photonics.
• Innovation process experience.
• Ability to guide teams to apply scientific methods to resolve complex technical issues.
• Completion of formal project management and leadership training.
• Business and Financial acumen.
• Strategy and Intellectual Property creation experience.

Soft Skills:

• Strong independent work ethic with the ability to inspire a team to meet/exceed objectives and timelines.
• Attention to detail with superior organizational skills.
• Proactive communication skills effectively adapted to topics and audiences.
• Highly polished communicator who can tailor messages for technical, commercial, customer, and executive audiences while maintaining credibility and composure during difficult conversations.
• Ability to lead and interactively across cross-functional teams with linkages to Research, Early-Stage Development, Manufacturing, Commercial, Finance, GSM, and others as required.
• Strong political savvy and emotional intelligence; able to anticipate stakeholder concerns, de-escalate tension, and create forward momentum in complex business situations.

Travel Requirements:

• Typically up to 30-40% some international to EMEA and APAC specifically.