Product Line Manager, Optical

Ekinops is looking for a new Product Line Manager experienced in Optical transport and with strong project management skills. The candidate will at start being in charge of coordinating the introduction of a new product line to an important Customer. This includes project management and coordination of internal resources to insure compliance with the customer contract and frequent follow-up meetings with the customer up to the complete delivery of the solution.  This position will report to the Ekinops PLM& Marketing Director of the Optical division and integrate the Product Line Management (PLM) team.

As such, the candidate is also responsible for the coordination of the various departments involved in delivering the solution (Research &Development, Industrialization, Manufacturing, Quality and Customer Support Organization) inside the Ekinops team to guarantee that company objectives and contractual commitments are met, and to develop the revenues associated with this specific project.

As PLM, the candidate will define and follow the development of new platforms, network architectures and software functionalities across the Ekinops portfolio, as well as interaction with third-party products.

Responsibilities will include:

• Following up contract progress, reporting (internal and to the end customer) and managing project dashboard of key metrics and indicators.
• Defining new features requirements and managing the roadmap based on end customer requirements
• Developing the business cases, pricing strategies and discounting guidelines that support product development and positioning in the target markets.
• Providing sales team support for RFI/RFQ answers
• Collaborating with Marketing to develop value proposition, define positioning collateral and develop and/or assist in the development of applicable sales tools
• Communicating with the customers on all aspects related to the progress of the contract execution.

The position will be based in Lannion, France & report to the Director of Product Line Management and Marketing, based in the Ekinops office in Rockville, MD, USA.

Position subject to frequent travels within Europe and North America.

Required Skills

• Master’s degree in engineering
• At least 5 years of Product Line Management experience in optical transport, preferably with a company that is successful in this space
• Strong project management skills including, leadership , priority management and a strong customer focus
• Strong technical knowledge in optical transport, for both WDM and OTN technologies.
• In-depth knowledge of market trends and applications as well as networking/telecom technologies and standards is required
• In-depth understanding of optical networking, as it relates to Tier-1/2/3s, MSOs, ICPs and Data Center operators
• Extensive experience involving customer interaction in a marketing or a sales support role
• Excellent sense of relationship with customers
• Experience presenting to wide ranging audiences, including internal stakeholders, Webinars, trainings, customer visits, trade shows and industry events.
• Outstanding organizational skills to coordinate various creative, technical, and administrative projects across the company organization; Ability to work with and lead cross-functional teams in a matrix organization without formal authority
• A team player, open to discussion and frequent interactions with people from different departments and cultures within the company
• Flexibility to work under pressure within an environment of rapid and constant changes
• Very good communication skills, English, or French as native language, fluent in both
• A proven history of being able to work with customers, balancing their needs with general market requirements