Senior Manager, Laser Development - Fremont, CA, United States
Originally posted 7 July 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role leads the development of InP-based semiconductor laser products for data communication applications. The position provides technical leadership across laser architecture, device design, and performance optimization from concept through qualification and volume production.
What you'll do
- Lead cross-functional development programs from concept through qualification and production release, coordinating epitaxy, wafer fabrication, assembly, characterization, reliability, and manufacturing. - Provide technical leadership for laser architecture, device design, and performance optimization across multiple programs. - Interface directly with strategic customers to capture requirements, communicate technical progress, and influence product roadmaps. - Collaborate with external partners, foundries, contractors, and suppliers to execute development activities. - Support technology roadmap development, strategic planning, and technical decision-making while balancing schedule, technical risk, and resources. - Mentor engineering team members and provide management oversight across hiring, performance management, and career development.
What you'll need
- M.S. or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, or a related field. - 15+ years of experience in semiconductor laser development. - 5+ years of technical leadership experience. - Deep understanding of semiconductor laser physics, including DFB lasers, waveguide design, optical confinement, grating design, and device performance optimization. - Demonstrated success developing semiconductor laser products from concept through volume production. - Experience with device modeling and simulation tools such as Ansys, Crosslight, FIMMWAVE, Lumerical, or equivalent. - Strong understanding of interactions between device design, epitaxy, wafer fabrication, assembly, reliability, and manufacturing.
Skills: InP-based semiconductor laser, laser architecture, device design, data communication, optical confinement
This role has been open 105 days — well above the 77-day median for Optical/Photonics IC Design roles.
Optical/Photonics IC Design · Photonics
|
Open roles in category
135
|
Median days open
77 d
|
Median salary
$197k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Coherent Corp | All employers we track in this specialty (135 roles · 29 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 16 | 135 |
| Median days open | 92 d | 77 d (+15 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $197k |
Skills observed across this category: InP-based semiconductor laser, laser architecture, device design, data communication, optical confinement
Who's hiring in this category
- Coherent Corp (this employer) · 17 open roles · median 91 d
- GlobalFoundries · 16 open roles · median 77 d
- Lightmatter · 15 open roles · median 96 d
- Lumentum · 10 open roles · median 78 d
- Intel Corporation · 8 open roles · median 64 d
- Marvell Technology · 8 open roles · median 43 d
How we counted: 135 open Optical/Photonics IC Design (Photonics) roles from 29 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 21 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there. Figures refresh nightly.