Photonic Instrumentation Product Line Manager

Photonic Instrumentation Product Line Manager

Thorlabs · Ann Arbor, United States · Full-time · Posted 2026-03-25

Salary: USD 110,000–130,000

Workplace: on_site

Department: US - Office of the CTO

Description

At Thorlabs, we design and manufacture components, instruments, and systems that transform the world by identifying, enabling, and accelerating key photonics (i.e., light-based) technologies. Backed by a dedicated workforce of more than 3,000 employees worldwide, Thorlabs contributes to cutting-edge research and real-world innovation.

Whether you're early in your career or bringing years of experience, you’ll find opportunities to grow, take ownership, and make meaningful contributions from day one. We know every employee brings unique talents and perspectives that fuel our success, and we seek driven individuals who are excited to make an impact in a fun, fast-moving culture.

The Photonic Instrumentation Product Line Manager (PLM) is a member of the Office of the CTO (OCTO) and is accountable for driving the commercial success and the strategic direction and alignment of Thorlabs' Photonic Instrumentation portfolio. The portfolio encompasses benchtop photonic, electronic, and opto-electronic instruments.  These instruments are used as test and measurement equipment, instrumentation, and control electronics supporting multiple markets including, but not limited to, commercial and university basic research, quantum optics, spectroscopy, and datacom-telecom. The product line will be developed and produced across multiple Business Units (BUs) and legal entities globally. The PLM owns the definition and execution of product roadmaps, go-to-market strategies, and portfolio optimization initiatives.

The PLM works closely with engineering, manufacturing, marketing, sales, and executive leadership to identify growth opportunities, strengthen product positioning, and expand both catalog and OEM/custom business.

Success in this role depends on the ability to combine technical credibility, commercial insight, and cross-functional leadership to align multiple organizations behind a common product strategy and successfully execute it.

Essential Job Functions:

• Portfolio Ownership & Strategic Steering

• Own and actively steer the Benchtop Instrumentation portfolio across participating BUs, ensuring alignment with corporate strategy and market requirements.

• Define, prioritize, and drive and govern roadmap execution, including new product development, product lifecycle management, and rationalization of underperforming offerings.

• Maintain a comprehensive understanding of market segmentation, competitive positioning, and Thorlabs’ relative strengths.

• Market Intelligence & Growth Leadership

• Lead market analysis efforts to identify trends, adjacencies, and whitespace opportunities, translating insights into actionable portfolio decisions.

• Drive initiatives to increase market share and wallet share within key accounts in close collaboration with Sales and Applications teams.

• Originate and lead strategic OEM and custom solution opportunities, coordinating efforts between customers and internal engineering/manufacturing teams.

• Cross-Functional Alignment & Execution

• Act as the central decision-making and coordination point across BUs for the assigned portfolio, ensuring alignment on priorities, timelines, and resource allocation.

• Partner with Marketing and Tech Marketing to define and enforce high-quality, consistent digital content, specifications, and application positioning.

• Shape and guide a coherent tradeshow and business development strategy for the portfolio.

• NPI Governance & Delivery

• Play a leading role in the New Product Introduction (NPI) process, including concept approval, prioritization, and design validation.

• Hold teams accountable to agreed development timelines, milestones, and deliverables.

• Ensure that new product introductions are aligned with portfolio strategy and commercial objectives.

• Performance Management & Accountability

• Define, monitor, and report on key portfolio KPIs, including:

• New product introduction timelines

• R&D investment allocation and effectiveness

• Revenue growth and gross margin performance

• Take corrective actions where performance deviates from plan, including reprioritization of projects and resource reallocation.

Requirements

Experience:

• 8+ years of experience in photonics, opto-electrical, or optical instrumentation, or a related high-technology industry.
• Demonstrated experience in product management, product line management, systems engineering, applications engineering, business development, or a comparable cross-functional leadership role.
• Strong understanding of photonic instrumentation markets, particularly research instrumentation, test & measurement, and quantum/AMO laboratory environments.
• Experience with sales, marketing, use or integration of both photonic and electronic test equipment, familiarity with automation and/or system integration preferred.
• Experience working with cross-functional teams spanning engineering, manufacturing, sales, marketing, and operations.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and lead without direct organizational authority.
• Proven ability to build consensus across multiple organizations while maintaining focus on business objectives.
• Strong decision-making skills with the ability to balance competing priorities.
• High degree of ownership, initiative, and accountability.
• Ability to think strategically while maintaining attention to execution and operational detail.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in physics, Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, or a related technical discipline. An advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) is preferred

Specialized Knowledge and skills:

·Strong commercial acumen with the ability to balance customer needs, technical capabilities, and financial objectives.

·Familiarity with benchtop instrument UI/UX and remote-control hardware interfaces and APIs based on hands-on experience

·Understanding of photonic and/or electronic measurement tools and techniques, hands-on experience with low-noise, high-speed, or complex measurements preferred

·Excellent understanding of product lifecycle management, portfolio optimization, and New Product Introduction (NPI) processes.

·Ability to translate market opportunities into actionable product strategies and development priorities.

·Strong analytical skills with experience using market, competitive, and financial data to support decision-making.

·Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with customers, senior management, and technical teams.

·Comfortable presenting to customers, executive leadership, and at industry conferences.

Be willing to travel domestically and internationally around 20% of their time.

Direct Reports: None

The estimated pay range for this role is $110,000 - $ 150,000 annually

Thorlabs values its diverse environment and is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.  All qualified individuals will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identify or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age or veteran status. Job descriptions are not intended as and do not create employment contracts.  The organization maintains its status as an at-will employer.  Employees can be terminated for any reason not prohibited by law.

Benefits

Thorlabs offers a complete benefits package that includes medical, dental and vision insurance, company paid life insurance, a generous PTO package, a 401(k) plan, and tuition reimbursement just to name a few.

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