Head of Manafacturing Operations

About us:

Salience Labs is building an industry-defining approach to optical circuit switching for AI infrastructure, engineered for real latency reduction and cost savings. We're moving towards real-world deployment, and joining at this stage means genuine ownership over that next chapter, working alongside a highly technical team on one of the most consequential problems in AI infrastructure today.

The role:

We are looking for a Head of Manufacturing Operations to take ownership of how our photonic hardware is built, tested and qualified. You will lead our manufacturing engineering activities and work closely with engineering, product, commercial and external manufacturing partners to make sure our products meet the standards required for AI datacentre deployment.

This is a senior leadership role for someone with strong industrial experience in semiconductor or electronics manufacturing. You should be comfortable moving between technical detail, partner engagement, operational planning and clear communication with both engineering and commercial stakeholders.

You will also work directly with external manufacturing and test partners, guiding their activities, reviewing results and ensuring the quality of what they deliver meets the requirements for commercial deployment.

Set the direction and priorities for manufacturing operations and align them with company product and commercial goals

Lead and develop an engineering team, setting clear expectations and accountability

Manage relationships with external suppliers and manufacturing partners, including performance, escalation and corrective actions

Oversee packaging, assembly and test activities for photonic hardware

Ensure appropriate reliability, qualification and quality processes are in place

Drive improvements in yield, performance and cost

Work with engineering teams to ensure manufacturability, testability and reliability are considered throughout product development

Collaborate with product and commercial teams to ensure customer requirements are understood and met

Investigate and resolve manufacturing and quality issues, including root-cause analysis and corrective action

Support supplier visits, audits and technical reviews

Own operational risks, schedules and budgets for the function

Continuously improve processes, tools and reporting standards

Communicate technical findings clearly to both specialist and non-specialist stakeholders

The role will have significant ownership over manufacturing operations, with responsibility for ensuring work is appropriately planned, executed, reviewed and communicated from start to finish.

What we're looking for:

Significant industrial experience in semiconductor, photonics or electronics manufacturing

Experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams

Strong knowledge of semiconductor devices, electronics and packaging

A strong understanding of test, reliability, qualification and quality principles

Experience working with external suppliers, manufacturing partners or test houses

The ability to analyse complex datasets and turn them into practical decisions

Strong problem-solving and critical-thinking skills

Strong stakeholder-management skills across multidisciplinary teams

The ability to communicate complex technical subjects clearly and concisely

The confidence to challenge technical conclusions and provide clear guidance where required

Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining focus on key deliverables

Experience in photonics, optoelectronics or optical interconnect

Experience in a high-volume manufacturing environment

Strong knowledge of semiconductor packaging and assembly

Experience working directly with OSATs or other outsourced manufacturing partners

Experience auditing supplier quality, reliability or qualification activities

Experience supporting customer quality and reliability requirements

A background in failure analysis or root-cause investigation

Experience developing operational processes from the ground up

Exposure to data-centre, communications or other high-performance electronics environments

Experience balancing technical rigour with commercial and programme timelines

Relevant backgrounds might include semiconductor manufacturing, photonics or optical module production, packaging, product qualification or another technically demanding high-volume product environment.

This is an opportunity to take meaningful ownership of manufacturing within a fast-moving deep-tech environment, working across engineering, commercial and external partners to ensure advanced hardware is robust, well understood and ready for deployment.

You will have the scope to influence how manufacturing operations are approached as the organisation grows.

The role is UK-based and will require international travel, including to suppliers and partners across Asia, the US and Europe.

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