Vice President of Business Development
12 - 15 years
Rochester, NY
Full-time
Onsite
1 month ago
About the role
About the Role:
Photonect is seeking an exceptional Vice President of Business Development to join our leadership team and drive strategic growth initiatives in the cutting-edge photonic packaging technology sector. This role requires a visionary leader with deep technical expertise and proven ability to build partnerships, expand market presence, and drive revenue growth in emerging technology markets.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership
Partnership Development
Market Expansion
Technical Product Marketing
Qualifications:
Education
Professional Experience
Technical Expertise
Industry Experience (Required)
Leadership & Business Skills
Compensation & Benefits:
Photonect is seeking an exceptional Vice President of Business Development to join our leadership team and drive strategic growth initiatives in the cutting-edge photonic packaging technology sector. This role requires a visionary leader with deep technical expertise and proven ability to build partnerships, expand market presence, and drive revenue growth in emerging technology markets.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership
- Define and execute comprehensive business development strategy aligned with company vision and growth objectives
- Landscape, prioritize and pursue new markets and segments in emerging technology sectors including AI infrastructure, data centers, and advanced computing
- Lead cross-functional initiatives spanning product development, marketing, and sales
Partnership Development
- Build a structured pipeline of strategic opportunities that drive revenue and expansion
- Build and maintain executive-level relationships with key customers, partners, and industry stakeholders
- Negotiate and structure strategic partnerships with technology companies, research institutions, and industry leaders, building a strong pipeline and securing key deals to accelerate business growth
- Develop ecosystem partnerships to accelerate product adoption and market penetration
- Manage complex vendor contracts and IP licensing agreements
- Foster and manage collaborative relationships with foundries, suppliers, and technology partners
Market Expansion
- Work closely with customers to understand current and future requirements and translate them into product roadmaps
- Lead customer engagement initiatives with Fortune 500 companies and hyperscale data center operators
Technical Product Marketing
- Bridge technical innovation and market needs through strategic product positioning
- Collaborate with engineering teams to define product specifications and go-to-market strategies
- Define and communicate compelling value propositions for complex technical solutions
- Drive thought leadership through publications, presentations, and industry engagement
Qualifications:
Education
- PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Optics, or related field (strongly preferred)
- Proven academic excellence
Professional Experience
- 10+ years of progressive experience in technology companies
- Minimum 5 years in business development, product management, or technical marketing leadership roles
- Experience in semiconductor, photonics, networking, or AI infrastructure industries
- Track record of successfully launching and commercializing complex technical products
Technical Expertise
- Silicon Photonics, optical interconnects, co-packaged optics
- High-speed optical communications (25Gbps+ links, DWDM, PAM4)
- Semiconductor device physics (III-V materials, CMOS integration)
- Data center architecture and AI/ML infrastructure
- Product development lifecycle management
Industry Experience (Required)
- AI infrastructure, data center networking, silicon photonics, semiconductor manufacturing, HPC systems
- Preferred: experience with major tech companies such as NVIDIA, Intel, HP, Meta, Oracle
- Knowledge of Ethernet, InfiniBand, and AI workload architectures
Leadership & Business Skills
- Proven ability to operate effectively in a dynamic, fast-growing startup environment.
- Cross-functional leadership across engineering, marketing, and sales
- Demonstrated success in negotiating and closing high-value deals with strong executive communication skills.
- Ability to translate technical concepts into business value
- Demonstrated success building and maintaining strategic partnerships
- Experience working with government agencies and managing funded research projects
- Ability to collaborate with legal, procurement, and IP teams
- Strong network within the semiconductor and photonics industry
Compensation & Benefits:
- Base salary of $200K+
- Performance-based bonus structure
- Equity compensation (RSUs/stock options
Skills
Business Development and SalesTelecommunications