Director of Photonics Project Engineering

Monarch Quantum•San Diego, CA

7d•$160,000 - $240,000

About The Position

Join our fast-paced and passionate team as a Director of Photonics Project Engineering. As we scale, you will be instrumental in building our foundation from the ground up. This is a dynamic, hands-on role for a self-starter who thrives in a fluid startup environment. You'll have the opportunity to work on cutting edge technologies, work closely with leadership, and develop and implement engineering practices that support our mission and growth.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or a related field (master’s preferred).
10+ years of experience in photonics system or module development.
5+ years leading technical programs or project engineering teams.
Strong background in photonics technologies such as lasers, PICs, fiber-optic systems, opto-mechanics, and optical packaging.
Proven experience owning schedules, budgets, and resourcing for complex hardware programs.
Experience driving products from early development through production.
Strong technical judgment combined with execution focus.
Excellent cross-functional leadership and influence without direct authority.
Risk management and structured problem-solving.
Clear executive-level communication.
Ability to balance speed, cost, performance, and reliability in real-world hardware programs.
You're creative, flexible, and eager to wear multiple hats.
You're passionate about building systems from the ground up and comfortable with ambiguity and change.

Nice To Haves

High-volume manufacturing of photonics systems or modules.
Telecommunications, datacom, quantum, LiDAR, sensing, or laser-based systems.
Experience with advanced optical attach and packaging methods (active alignment, adhesive bonding, soldering, welding).
Familiarity with reliability engineering, qualification standards, and yield ramp.

Responsibilities

Lead, mentor, and grow a team of photonics project engineers.
Set best practices for project engineering, program execution, and technical accountability.
Align project engineers to programs based on technical complexity, risk, and resource needs.
Foster a culture of ownership, rigor, transparency, and continuous improvement.
Own end-to-end execution for new photonics systems and modules, including:
Schedule development and tracking
Budget planning and cost control
Resource planning and prioritization
Drive cross-functional execution across optics, lasers, PICs, electronics, firmware, mechanical, manufacturing, reliability, and supply chain.
Lead phase-gate or milestone-based development processes (concept, prototype, EVT/DVT/PVT, production release).
Proactively identify technical, schedule, cost, and supply risks and drive mitigation plans.
Ensure strong technical alignment across disciplines for complex photonics architectures.
Guide trade studies involving performance, reliability, manufacturability, and cost.
Ensure design decisions consider high-volume manufacturing, yield, reliability, and long-term scalability.
Partner with reliability and quality teams to ensure robust qualification and validation plans.
Provide clear, data-driven status reporting to executive leadership.
Communicate risks, tradeoffs, and recovery plans effectively.
Serve as the primary execution interface between engineering, operations, and product leadership.