--- title: 'Director of Product Management at Taara' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-product-management-taara-sunnyvale-c8wndxcamgwn' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-12' --- # Director of Product Management at Taara - **Company:** Taara - **Location:** Sunnyvale, CA - **Compensation:** $200k–$250k - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** hybrid - **Posted:** 2026-03-20 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-12 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/taaraconnect/2932d39a-1523-4e7c-a542-d4be0a8daa8f/application **Skills:** Product Management, Product Roadmapping, Telecommunications, Networking Concepts, FCAPS, Fiber Optics, Microwave Technology, Layer 2 Switching, On-prem Deployments, Backlog Management, Stakeholder Management, Optical Systems, Wireless Backhaul Technologies, AI-driven Systems, Data Analytics > The Director of Product Management will shape Taara's product portfolio, owning product direction from customer needs to revenue-driving capabilities. This role involves defining the roadmap, collaborating with engineering and sales, and mentoring team members to build scalable solutions in the optical wireless netw... ## Job description ## About the Team Taara extends and amplifies global communications infrastructure using beams of light to deliver high-speed connectivity. Born at X, Google’s moonshot factory, Taara works with telecommunications providers, partners, and internal teams to plan, deploy, and operate optical wireless networks around the world. As Taara scales, we are building a new category of connectivity, combining the speed of fiber with the flexibility of wireless. We are looking for a Director of Product Management to help define this category, drive adoption, and build products that solve real customer problems while scaling revenue. ## About the Role This role is responsible for shaping and driving a critical part of Taara’s product portfolio. You will own product direction end-to-end, from understanding customer needs to defining the roadmap and delivering capabilities that drive adoption, revenue, and long-term competitive advantage. You will work closely with engineering, design, sales, and customers to translate complex real-world problems into scalable product solutions. This role is ideal for someone who is comfortable operating in ambiguity, has strong technical depth, and is excited about building products in a frontier technology space. ## What You Will Own - Define and drive the product roadmap aligned with company goals, customer needs, and revenue opportunities - Own product outcomes, including adoption, customer satisfaction, and contribution to revenue growth - Translate customer needs into clear product requirements, while balancing user experience, technical feasibility, and business impact - Partner with engineering to deliver high-quality products on time - Work directly with customers to understand real-world use cases and validate product direction - Collaborate with sales, marketing, and customer success to enable successful product launches and adoption - Drive prioritization decisions across features, bugs, and technical investments - Mentor and coach PMs on the team ## How You Will Make 10x Impact - Build products that unlock new revenue streams and expand Taara’s market - Improve user experience and reduce friction across deployment and operations - Establish clear product direction in a fast-moving and ambiguous environment - Enable Taara to compete effectively with microwave, fiber, and satellite solutions - Translate complex telecom and infrastructure challenges into scalable product solutions ## What You Should Have - 10+ years of product management experience, preferably in telecom, networking, or infrastructure products - Strong understanding of networking concepts (e.g., FCAPS, fiber, microwave, Layer 2 switching, on-prem deployments) - Experience owning product roadmaps and driving cross-functional execution - Ability to translate customer needs into clear product direction and prioritized backlogs - Strong analytical and problem-solving skills - Excellent communication skills and ability to influence stakeholders - BSEE. Preferably an MBA - Ability to work in the Sunnyvale office at least 3 days per week. ## Nice to Have - Experience building products for telecom operators or large infrastructure customers - Familiarity with optical systems or wireless backhaul technologies - Experience working in startup or high-growth environments - Exposure to AI-driven systems or data/analytics products The US base salary range for this full-time position is $200,000-$250,000 + bonus + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your location during the hiring process. ## About Taara ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Taara uses invisible beams of light to deliver high-speed, low-latency wireless internet connectivity, acting as a fiber alternative for hard-to-reach areas. - **Entity Type**: Private (spun out from X, Alphabet’s Moonshot Factory in March 2025; backed by Series X Capital, with Alphabet retaining a minority stake) - **Headquarters**: Sunnyvale, California, USA - **Founded**: 2025 (spin-out); predecessor Project Taara began in 2017 - **Founders**: Mahesh Krishnaswamy ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Telecommunications technology / Free-space optical communications - **Target customers**: B2B – mobile operators, wireless ISPs, fiber operators, enterprises, smart city operators, government/emergency response, and innovation partners (satellite operators, photonics companies) - **Mission**: “Bringing high-speed, affordable and abundant connectivity to people everywhere using beams of light.” ## Products & Services - **Taara Lightbridge**: Free-space optical terminal delivering up to 20 Gbps over line-of-sight distances up to 20 km with carrier-grade availability. Used for backhaul, fronthaul, and mesh. - **Taara Lightbridge Pro**: Enhanced version offering “five nines” (99.999%) availability for mission-critical networks. - **Taara Beam**: First product built on Taara's Integrated Photonics Platform, designed for expansion with flexibility in a smaller form factor. - **Integrated Photonics Platform**: Silicon photonics chip that uses light to transmit data through the air, enabling miniaturized terminals and reduced mechanical complexity. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed - **Key Metric**: Total funding – undisclosed round led by Series X Capital at spin-out (2025); Alphabet retains minority stake - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Series X Capital, Alphabet (via X Development); strategic partners include T‑Mobile, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Econet Group, Digicomm International - **Growth Signals**: Deployments in over 20 countries across Africa, India, North America, and Southeast Asia; recognized as TIME Best Invention of 2024 and Fast Company World Changing Ideas Award; successful live events connectivity (Coachella, Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta with T‑Mobile) ## Competitive Advantages - **No trenching or spectrum licensing**: Light beams travel through air, avoiding costly fiber deployment and radio spectrum constraints. - **Rapid deployment**: Can be deployed in hours instead of months – ideal for disaster recovery and temporary capacity. - **Silicon photonics platform**: Proprietary chip technology that shrinks hardware and lowers cost, enabling mass scalability. - **Fiber-class performance**: Delivers symmetrical 20 Gbps+ with ultra-low latency, competing directly with fiber in capacity. ## Strategic Focus - **Expand photonics-based connectivity** beyond telecom into data centers, industrial campuses, and satellite communications. - **Scale manufacturing** of its Integrated Photonics Platform to serve global demand. - **Deepen partnerships** with mobile operators, internet service providers, and government entities to close the digital divide. ## Why Work Here - **Innovation pedigree**: Born inside X (Google’s Moonshot Factory) – a culture of tackling world-scale challenges with ambitious technology. - **Mission-driven impact**: Work directly on bringing affordable internet to underserved communities and disaster zones. - **Cutting-edge tech**: Hands-on with advanced photonics, optical engineering, and system-level hardware/software design. - **Growth phase**: Recently spun out as an independent company – opportunity to shape engineering culture and processes from an early stage. - **Hybrid/office**: Based in Sunnyvale, CA; roles range from hardware engineering (optical, mechanical, FPGA) to software (backend, Linux, cloud) and go-to-market (sales, customer success). Per company careers page: open roles include Principal Optical Engineer, Director of Product Management, Senior Backend Software Engineer, etc. - **Perks & culture**: Described as “a new technological era” with a focus on collaboration, rapid iteration, and global impact. ## Sources 1. [taaraconnect.com](https://www.taaraconnect.com/) – Homepage product details 2. [taaraconnect.com/careers](https://www.taaraconnect.com/careers) – Open roles and engineering focus 3. [taaraconnect.com/about](https://www.taaraconnect.com/about) – Leadership, history, milestones 4. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taara_(company)) – Company overview, spin-out, funding, deployments ## Other roles at Taara - [Senior High-Speed Photonic Design Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-high-speed-photonic-design-engineer-taara-sunnyvale-0efpz5qbbqra) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Coherent Optical Systems Internship](https://feeny.ai/job/coherent-optical-systems-internship-taara-sunnyvale-f09xrc2ex19m) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Senior Technical Escalations Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-technical-escalations-engineer-taara-sunnyvale-ed981hzfns48) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Financial Operations Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/financial-operations-manager-taara-sunnyvale-zeppbj18c2g0) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Principal Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-analog-mixed-signal-asic-engineer-taara-sunnyvale-esst4g51npkn) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Director of Optical and Mechanical](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-optical-and-mechanical-taara-sunnyvale-xrh63xxgm2nd) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Growth Marketing Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/growth-marketing-specialist-taara-sunnyvale-st1es2a22n73) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Mechanical Design Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-design-engineer-taara-sunnyvale-b452mzmcts4a) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Customer Success Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/customer-success-manager-taara-sunnyvale-f3q87dr9k9ad) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Senior Hardware Program Manager - Manufacturing and Quality](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-hardware-program-manager-manufacturing-and-quality-taara-sunnyvale-bqfw0646aw6b) — Sunnyvale, CA