Photonics Product Planner

Keysight Technologies, Inc. • Böblingen, Kreis Böblingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany • 3w ago

Overview

Ke ysight is at the forefront of technology innovation, delivering breakthroughs and trusted insights in electronic design, simulation, prototyping, test, manufacturing, and optimization. Our ~15,000 employees create world-class solutions in communications, 5G, automotive, energy, quantum, aerospace, defense, and semiconductor markets for customers in over 100 countries. Learn more about what we do.

Our award-winning culture embraces a bold vision of where technology can take us and a passion for tackling challenging problems with industry-first solutions. We believe that when people feel a sense of belonging, they can be more creative, innovative, and thrive at all points in their careers.

About the Job:

The Photonics Product Planner plays a key strategic role in defining, shaping, and driving Keysight’s photonics test & measurement portfolio. This position operates at the intersection of advanced optical technologies, semiconductor photonics, and high‑speed communications. You will guide product and solution planning across multiple photonic domains supporting both near‑term product execution and long‑term technology roadmaps.

Working closely with R&D, marketing, order fulfillment, and customer‑facing teams, you will translate market needs and technology trends into actionable product strategies and growth initiatives, influencing next‑generation photonics products and solutions.

About the Team:

You will join a highly motivated, international, cross‑functional team within Keysight’s Digital and Photonics – Center of Excellence collaborating with experts across photonics R&D, systems engineering, high‑speed digital planning, and product marketing. The team operates with a strong innovation mindset, leveraging deep technical expertise to drive industry‑leading photonic test platforms

Responsibilities

Own the short‑ and long‑term roadmap and strategy for a family of Keysight photonics products.
Conduct comprehensive market analysis, competitive assessments, and monitor industry trends to identify threats and opportunities.
Identify emerging opportunities for innovation and strategic investment based on new industry’s requirements.
Present strategic recommendations and insights to senior executives, advocating for data-driven business and investment decisions.
Engage with key customers and lead the efforts of customer requirements gathering and validation throughout the product and solution development processes.
Embrace a customer-first and result-oriented mindset, bringing a “can do” attitude to the team.
Collaborate with global cross-functional teams including R&D, Manufacturing, Marketing and Sales to ensure effective execution of the growth strategy and successful market launches of new products and solutions.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Optics, Photonics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
At least 5 years of relevant experience in strategic planning, business development, marketing or application engineering.
Self-motivated, fast learner and results-driven with minimal supervision.
Demonstrated ability to work in cross-functional teams and work effectively in a fast-paced, collaborative multi-disciplined environment.
Excellent English written and verbal communication skills.
Demonstrated skill and sustained interest in the disciplines listed below, with a deep understanding of market dynamics and technology trends.
Optical Communications & Datacenter Interconnects
Silicon Photonics & PIC Ecosystems
High-Speed Photonic Test & Measurement

Nice to have Qualifications:

PhD in Photonics, Optical Communications, Integrated Photonics, or related technical field.
Industry experience in:
Optical transceiver manufacturing.
Quantum photonics, Lidar, or advanced optical sensing.
German language proficiency.

Careers Privacy Statement***Keysight is an Equal Opportunity Employer.***

TECHNICAL & MARKET ANALYSIS | Appended by Quantum.Jobs

The Product Planner function is structurally necessary for translating complex, low-TRL photonic research—including emerging quantum photonics—into commercially viable, high-volume test and measurement (T&M) solutions. This strategic enablement role operates at the critical interface between advanced R&D and the market's evolving demand curve for integrated optical infrastructure. Its existence directly addresses the commercialization gap by setting long-term product roadmaps that standardize the validation of next-generation components, such as Silicon Photonics (SiPh) and high-speed optical interconnects. The role's value-chain impact is realized by accelerating the industrial adoption of precision measurement platforms, thus reducing integration friction for quantum hardware developers and advancing overall ecosystem maturity. Success is benchmarked against market share capture in nascent technological domains and the speed of translating customer requirements into manufacturable T&M solutions.

This role is situated in the enablement layer of the quantum technology value chain, specifically focused on the critical Test and Measurement (T&M) infrastructure required for both classical and quantum photonics. The macro constraint this function mitigates is the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) mismatch between highly complex research-grade photonic components and the rigorous, repeatable T&M standards necessary for industrial-scale deployment. The industry is rapidly converging on integrated photonics, primarily Silicon Photonics (SiPh) platforms, to solve high-bandwidth data center interconnect challenges, but this convergence is also essential for scaling photonic-based quantum computing architectures.

The strategic planner must track the parallel evolutions of high-speed classical communications (800G, 1.6T) and the niche but high-value demands of advanced optical sensing and quantum photonics. The lack of standardized, high-performance T&M tools for these emerging areas creates significant adoption barriers and slows innovation cycles. Vendor fragmentation in the specialized photonics component and T&M sub-sectors necessitates a planning function that can unify diverse customer requirements into a coherent, commercial product strategy.

Furthermore, the talent shortage in individuals capable of bridging deep technical expertise (optics, electrical engineering) with market and business development acumen is a critical workforce constraint across the ecosystem. This product planning function acts as a strategic intermediary, synthesizing signal from early-adopter customers and public R&D investment cycles to ensure T&M resources are prioritized for the technologies demonstrating the most significant commercial translation potential, particularly in areas like quantum information science where measurement fidelity is paramount. This enables a coordinated approach to infrastructure development that directly supports the scaling goals of the broader quantum ecosystem.

The core technical architecture leveraged by this strategic role centers on market and product lifecycle management capabilities specific to high-capital-expenditure engineering tools. Required capability domains include sophisticated market modeling for long-term technology roadmapping, competitive intelligence analysis focused on T&M solutions, and rigorous voice-of-customer (VoC) validation across diverse customer segments, from semiconductor foundries to aerospace and defense contractors. The interface points are inherently cross-functional, demanding seamless synthesis between R&D teams designing next-generation optical hardware/software and the global commercial teams driving sales and adoption. This planning capability is vital because it translates esoteric technical specifications, such as phase noise and spectral purity required for quantum applications, into quantifiable business cases for internal investment prioritization. Effective application of this skill architecture ensures product development is not merely technology-driven but market-validated, thereby accelerating the time-to-market for tools that enable standardized, high-throughput characterization, which is essential for industrializing any photonic-dependent system. The integration of advanced simulation software tools (e.g., RSoft, CODE V) into the planning process is critical for early-stage feature definition and validation. - Directs capital allocation for high-risk, high-reward photonic test technology platforms.

- Establishes product roadmaps that anticipate and meet next-generation optical communication standards.

- Accelerates the transition of integrated photonics research into commercial manufacturing flows.

- Reduces technical adoption friction for emerging quantum photonics and Lidar systems.

- Coordinates cross-functional resource deployment across R\&D, manufacturing, and global sales organizations.

- Mitigates commercial risk by performing comprehensive competitive and market opportunity assessments.

- Drives standardization in the characterization and validation of Silicon Photonics components.

- Shortens the product iteration cycle for complex, high-speed test and measurement instruments.

- Informs senior executive investment decisions with data-driven strategic portfolio insights.

- Ensures the T\&M infrastructure evolves to support hybrid classical-quantum integration requirements.

- Strengthens supply chain resilience by validating commercial viability for critical component suppliers.

- Translates specific customer requirements into defensible, high-margin intellectual property.Industry Tags: Photonics, Integrated Optics, Test and Measurement, Product Strategy, Silicon Photonics, Optical Communications, Quantum Enabling Technology, Technology Roadmapping, Market Intelligence, Lidar

Keywords:

NAVIGATIONAL: Senior Photonics Product Planner Keysight

Photonic Test Measurement Strategy role

Optical Interconnects Business Development career

Strategic Planning Integrated Photonics jobs

Product Management Photonics Systems expert

High Speed Photonic Design T\&M

Optical Component Manufacturing Strategy

TRANSACTIONAL: Define commercial roadmap photonic products

Translate customer requirements into product features

Conduct market analysis for photonic T\&M tools

Prioritize strategic investment in optical technologies