Who we are and what we do:

Zemax enables our customers to quickly bring new optical products to life through Zemax Virtual Prototyping: a collaborative workflow in which complete optical products can be simulated before ever manufacturing a part. Businesses using ZVP beat their competitors through faster times to market, decreased costs, and improved optical system performance. Zemax is the only company that offers optical, mechanical, structural and thermal engineers the ability to work together with fewer hand-offs and better workflows, which means optical products get manufactured faster without iterations of physical prototypes.

Since 1991, Zemax has been driven by people passionate about the optical design space, and that legacy continues to this day. In the last few years, Zemax has seen dramatic growth, both in sales and headcount. The recent strategic investment by EQT Partners positions the company to triple our sales in the next 3-5 years. Headquartered in Kirkland, WA, Zemax has expanded sales and service support globally with operations in London, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Taipei.

Zemax is a company where every individual makes an impact, and employees are our greatest assets. At Zemax, you get to work with a diverse group of passionate people developing products that are changing the way optical products are designed.

Who will love this role:

• Visionaries who can see the big picture, identify the steps required to arrive there, and execute
• Skilled communicators who can translate the technical details into value for the customer
• Persuasive influencers who can align differing views, motivate cross-functional teams, remove obstacles, ask questions, and seek understanding
• Decision makers who can talk to customers and stakeholders, review the data, think of long-term implications, achieve concordance, and then quickly act

What you’ll do:

Having delivered the industry’s leading tools for optical design with OpticStudio and for opto-mechanical design and packaging with LensMechanix, Zemax continues to expand support for the industry in their journey to bring optical products to market by working on the next set of challenges in virtual prototyping The New Ventures Product Manager will manage the investigation of customer pain points, evaluate possible solutions and then drive product development. This role requires initiative, flexibility, the ability to prioritize, and a deep technical understanding of how customers are using virtual prototyping to bring optical products to market. You will become our in-house expert on the solution(s) developed. The position will report to Matthew Sutton, Principal Product Manager.

This role must engage with the customer base to understand customer needs, and work with product management to articulate the value of any new solutions. The position will:

• Engage with customers to understand and prioritize needs
• Develop the technical roadmap for the next 1-2 years
• Drive the technical content, release notes, and related messaging
• Lead roadmap briefings to strategic accounts

Success will look like:

In the first year, a high performer will have accomplished the following:

• Evaluated customer needs, and ideated one product
• Defined the minimum viable product (MVP) versions of the new product, and created a list of technical tasks required to deliver the MVP
• Created milestones for delivery of the MVP, and defined a project plan for the product team to ensure on-schedule delivery
• Generated technical content needed for the successful commercial launch of the new product, as well as for near-term marketing of the product
• Created a prioritized technical roadmap for the new product covering the next 1 to 2 years, working with product marketing and the full product management team to connect the roadmap with commercial drivers

What you’ll bring:

• Degree in Physics or Engineering; Optical or Mechanical Engineering preferred
• 5+ years industry experience
• Familiarity with engineering software tools, specifically CAD (SolidWorks, Creo Parametric, or similar) and CAE (ANSYS, NASTRAN, or similar)
• An in-depth knowledge of engineering and customer needs in the area of virtual prototyping
• A history of successfully bringing new software products to market
• Demonstrated ability to wear many hats in a start-up environment
• Exceptional communication skills
• A flexible and adaptable attitude toward responding to change
• The ability to take on extensive responsibility and excel in a small team environment