Head of Manufacturing 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.