---
title: 'Strategic Sourcing Manager at Lumilens'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/strategic-sourcing-manager-lumilens-san-jose-pp1w7cdzqvqg'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-14'
---

# Strategic Sourcing Manager at Lumilens

- **Company:** Lumilens
- **Location:** San Jose, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Posted:** 2026-06-25
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-14
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/lumilens/e1490520-8155-4bdc-8bd2-176422a08ca1

## Job description

## ABOUT LUMILENS

At Lumilens we are building the critical photonics infrastructure that powers tomorrow’s AI supercomputing. From chip-to-chip optical interconnects to scalable photonic engines, Lumilens is unlocking a new era of computing faster, cooler, and massively more efficient. We’re a well-funded startup backed by Mayfield and led by veterans who’ve built and scaled some of the most transformative technologies in the industry. This isn’t incremental innovation, it’s a ground-floor opportunity to rethink the optical layer from the silicon up. You’ll work alongside a team of world-class engineers solving some of the hardest challenges in optics, systems, and scale. Every decision you make will directly influence how we build, source, and deliver the infrastructure of tomorrow. If you're looking for mission, momentum, and the chance to make an outsized impact, jump on the rocket ship. We’re just getting started.

## POSITION OVERVIEW

We are seeking a Strategic Sourcing Manager to join our rapidly growing team. This role is critical in building and scaling a resilient, high-performance supplier network to support our next-generation photonics products. You will own supplier strategy, sourcing, commercial negotiations, and supply continuity across key categories including silicon photonics, advanced packaging, and optical components. The ideal candidate will build strong supplier relationships, negotiate pricing and terms, and work cross-functionally with engineering, operations, and manufacturing partners to align sourcing decisions with product development and production goals. This is a highly visible role with direct impact on cost, quality, scalability, and time-to-market.

## What You'll Do

- Develop and execute strategic sourcing plans aligned with product roadmaps and company growth objectives
- Identify, qualify, onboard, and manage key suppliers across component vendors, contract manufacturers, and strategic manufacturing partners
- Lead supplier negotiations across pricing, lead times, capacity, quality, and commercial terms. Negotiate and execute master supply agreements and other critical commercial agreements, including Statement of Work (SOW), development agreements, NDAs, etc.
- Drive cost optimization initiatives through early design engagement, market intelligence, should-cost modeling, supplier process improvement, and long-term supply agreements.
- Ensure supply continuity and mitigate risk through multi-sourcing, supplier performance management, and contingency planning
- Partner with cross functional teams to drive supplier selection process (own RFx), support component and module qualification during NPI programs and enable smooth transitions to high-volume manufacturing
- Collaborate with operations and manufacturing partners to align demand, capacity, and delivery commitments
- Develop and drive supplier performance against KPIs including cost, quality, delivery, responsiveness, capacity and innovation
- Act as the primary escalation path for his/her respective commodity.

## Key Qualifications

- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, Business, or related field
- 10+ years of experience in strategic sourcing, supplier management, or supply chain management within semiconductor, photonics, or high-tech industries
- Strong experience working with global suppliers including contract manufacturers, specialty component vendors, and strategic manufacturing partners
- Experience in optical technologies and demonstrated experience with deployment of manufacturing processes
- Proven track record supporting NPI to HVM transitions in complex hardware environments and with contract manufacturers
- Deep understanding of strategic sourcing fundamentals including cost modeling, supplier negotiations, contract terms, and risk management
- Experience working embedding with hardware engineering throughout product development process
- Ability to operate cross-functionally and influence stakeholders across engineering, product management, operations, and finance
- Actively participate in solving operational challenges to keep product schedules on track
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a data-driven mindset
- Experience in fast-paced, high-growth environments

## Preferred Skills

- Experience in silicon photonics, optical transceivers, or advanced packaging
- Familiarity with ERP/MRP systems and supply chain analytics tools
- Experience building supply chains from early-stage to scale
- Knowledge of global trade, logistics, and compliance considerations

Why Join Us? ● Competitive salary commensurate with experience ● Comprehensive benefits package including health insurance ● Professional development opportunities and certification support ● Access to cutting-edge photonics and advanced manufacturing technologies ● Collaborative work environment with cross-functional teams solving complex challenges Lumilens is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, gender, identity, orientation, veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

## About Lumilens

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Lumilens designs and manufactures next-generation photonic interconnects to massively scale AI compute infrastructure.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series B – led by Accton Technology; prior Series A of $30M from Mayfield and Spark Capital)
- **Headquarters**: San Jose, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2024
- **Founders**: Ankur Singla (CEO), Samuel Liu (VP Products), Ritesh Kapahi (VP/GM India), Dave Friedman (VP Operations)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Photonics / optical interconnects for AI data centers
- **Target customers**: Large-scale AI providers and hyperscale data center operators (B2B, Enterprise)
- **Mission**: “To rapidly innovate in photonics and connectivity architectures to enable the massive scaling of compute infrastructure required to deliver the full potential of AI.”

## Products & Services
- **Photonic Interconnects (Scale-Out & Scale-Up)**: High-density, low-latency optical links that enable cluster-to-cluster and direct GPU-to-GPU connectivity. Supports 100x higher quantity of GPU direct connections than legacy approaches.
  - *Type*: Hardware (silicon photonics modules) + integrated manufacturing
- **Automated Manufacturing Platform**: End-to-end custom robotics and AI-optimized production processes to maximize yield, quality, and supply-chain flexibility.
  - *Type*: Service / Manufacturing capability (in-house)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available
- **Key Metric**: Total funding – $30M Series A (June 2024); Series B led by Accton Technology (amount undisclosed)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Mayfield, Spark Capital, Accton Technology
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Headcount grew 287% YoY (54 employees as of mid-2025) [linkedin.com]
  - Operations in 8 countries: USA, India, Thailand, Poland, Singapore, Czechia, South Korea, Malaysia
  - 48 active job postings (+23.1% monthly growth) [linkedin.com]
  - Leadership team with deep photonics/networking experience from Cisco, Juniper, Meta, Lumentum, Coherent

## Competitive Advantages
- **In-house silicon photonics development** – full control over design and supply chain
- **Systems-level expertise** – can partner on both scale-out and scale-up architectures
- **Manufacturing automation** – robotics + AI processes enable faster innovation, higher quality, and predictable deployment
- **Standards-based interconnects** – easy deployment into existing infrastructure
- **Manufacturing anywhere** – supply-chain continuity and scalable manufacturing

## Strategic Focus
- Enable massive scaling of AI infrastructure by overcoming electrical/copper limitations with advanced photonics
- Disaggregate GPUs to mitigate power and density challenges in data centers
- Expand manufacturing capacity globally and continue to automate production
- Align product roadmap with industry standards to accelerate adoption

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Fast-paced startup environment with deep technical expertise; mission-driven focus on enabling the future of AI
- **Work policy**: In-office (HQ San Jose, CA with Bengaluru, India as major hub) [builtin.com]
- **Perks**: Opportunity to work on cutting-edge photonics, robotics, and AI manufacturing; direct impact on world’s largest AI infrastructure
- **Engineering culture**: Heavy emphasis on silicon photonics, hardware design, robotics automation, and system-level architecture. Teams are led by veterans from Cisco, Juniper, Meta, Lumentum, Coherent.

## Sources
1. [lumilens.com](https://lumilens.com/) – Company overview, mission, leadership, products
2. [lumilens.com/company](https://lumilens.com/company) – Vision, investors, leadership team
3. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/lumilens) – Career page, employee count, year founded, office policy
4. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/lumilens) – Headcount, funding details, geographic/department breakdown, job trends, talent sources
5. [jobs.ashbyhq.com](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/lumilens) – Current job openings (48 listings)

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