Director of Product Line Management (US - Remote)

AXON-Networks•Irvine, CA

4d•$220,000 - $320,000•Remote

About The Position

AXON Networks is seeking a Director of Product Line Management to define, build, and scale a portfolio of telecom enterprise services and network products. This leader will own the strategy and business performance of offerings that enable enterprises and service providers to connect locations reliably, securely, and at scale. The role involves translating customer and market requirements into differentiated architectures, investment priorities, roadmaps, launch plans, and lifecycle decisions. The ideal candidate will have experience bringing purpose-built products from concept through certification, scale, and end-of-life, and understanding how these platforms become repeatable, SLA-backed services.

Requirements

12+ years in product management or product line leadership in telecom, networking, or enterprise connectivity, including 5+ years leading teams or major portfolios.
Proven product delivery: A record of launching and scaling physical networking products such as Layer 2 switches, NIDs/eNIDs, access devices, routers, or edge appliances, together with software and service capabilities.
Business ownership: Demonstrated responsibility for a product line business plan, revenue and margin performance, pricing, roadmap investment, and lifecycle decisions.
Technical fluency: Ability to engage credibly with system architects and engineers on hardware, silicon, NOS/software, optics, protocols, APIs, telemetry, and deployment tradeoffs without losing sight of customer and commercial outcomes.
Market leadership: Strong understanding of enterprise buyer needs, telecom operator economics, global competitive dynamics, routes to market, and standards-based service delivery.
Cross-functional influence: Success aligning Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Sales, Marketing, Finance, Legal, and external partners around high-stakes product decisions.
Executive influence: Exceptional communication and cross-functional leadership skills, with the ability to simplify complex topics, align senior stakeholders, and drive decisions.
Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Telecommunications, or a related field.

Nice To Haves

MBA or advanced technical degree preferred.
Demonstrated depth across several of the following areas: Layer 2 switching (Ethernet switching architectures; VLANs and IEEE 802.1Q; QinQ/802.1ad; LAG and MC-LAG; STP/RSTP/MSTP; LLDP; QoS, buffering, multicast, and resiliency).
Carrier Ethernet and MEF services (E-Line/E-LAN/E-Tree service constructs, EPL/EVPL, bandwidth profiles, class of service, service OAM, SLA design, UNI/NNI concepts, and MEF-aligned lifecycle automation).
Network demarcation and access (NIDs/eNIDs, CPE/uCPE, fixed and mobile access, multi-rate GbE interfaces, optics, synchronization, timing, and carrier-grade deployment considerations).
Hardware and software platforms (Merchant silicon and SDK ecosystems, BSPs, embedded systems, network operating systems, APIs, telemetry, secure boot, software maintenance, component lifecycle, and supply-chain risk).
Service assurance and automation (IEEE 802.1ag CFM, ITU-T Y.1731, performance monitoring, fault isolation, zero-touch provisioning, streaming telemetry, orchestration, inventory, and closed-loop assurance).
Commercial product management (Market sizing, competitive analysis, portfolio economics, pricing, gross margin, unit cost, forecasting, business cases, channel strategy, and contract or SLA implications).

Responsibilities

Portfolio strategy and P&L: Set the multi-year strategy, market segmentation, investment thesis, pricing, packaging, revenue plan, margin targets, and portfolio rationalization decisions using customer and competitive insight.
Product creation: Lead the end-to-end development of Layer 2 switching, Carrier Ethernet demarcation, NID/eNID, access, and edge products, including market requirements, business cases, PRDs, platform choices, feature priorities, release criteria, and lifecycle plans.
Enterprise service portfolio: Build scalable services including Ethernet Private Line and Virtual Private Line, E-LAN, DIA access, managed LAN, cloud connectivity, and adjacent secure or assured connectivity offers.
Technical and platform direction: Partner with Engineering and Architecture on switching silicon, system architecture, network operating software, optics, timing, power, thermal, security, manageability, and service-assurance requirements.
Partner and supply ecosystem: Evaluate and manage chipset, ODM/JDM, contract manufacturing, optics, software, certification, and technology partners; balance cost, differentiation, quality, availability, and roadmap control.
Product lifecycle governance: Establish disciplined stage gates from discovery and concept through development, field trials, launch, sustaining engineering, refresh, migration, and end-of-sale/end-of-support.
Go-to-market leadership: Define positioning, competitive differentiation, sales plays, solution bundles, enablement, launch readiness, reference customers, and adoption programs with Sales and Marketing.
Operational readiness: Ensure products and services are deployable, observable, supportable, and automatable through OSS/BSS, inventory, orchestration, telemetry, assurance, and zero-touch provisioning capabilities.
Team leadership: Build, coach, and develop a high-performing product line management team; create clear decision rights, operating rhythms, accountability, and succession plans.

Benefits

Full-time leadership position
Remote collaboration environment
Flexibility to work across global time zones
Support for important customer, partner, launch, or operational matters outside standard business hours when reasonably necessary
Ability to travel domestically and internationally, typically up to 25-35%
Valid passport and no material travel restrictions
Extended computer use
Periodic visits to offices, laboratories, manufacturing partners, data centers, and customer network sites
Annual salary range: $220,000 - $320,000
Promote equal opportunities in all recruitment processes
Ensure non-discrimination on the basis of gender, age, origin, disability, or any other personal circumstances
Assess talent based on objective criteria
Foster an inclusive and diverse working environment