Location: Remote – Bay Area / South Bay proximity strongly preferred
Work Setting: Remote, with regular customer engagement and travel
Travel: Approximately 25%–40%, including domestic and international travel
Compensation: Target total cash compensation of approximately $230,000–$280,000, structured as a 60% base salary / 40% sales incentive plan
Equity: RSU eligibility may be available based on experience and level
Benefits: Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, 401(k), paid time off, incentive compensation, and comprehensive employee benefits package
Position Summary
A global leader in photonics, lasers, optics, and advanced technology solutions is seeking a Strategic Account Manager to lead a major relationship with one of the world's leading semiconductor equipment manufacturers while supporting additional strategic customers.
This is not a traditional transactional sales or cold-hunting role. The focus is on customer intimacy, technical alignment, design wins, account strategy, forecasting, and long-term business growth. You'll work closely with customer engineering, purchasing, program management, operations, quality, and executive teams to understand future technology roadmaps and identify where advanced laser, optics, optical assembly, and precision component solutions can support upcoming programs.
The ideal candidate combines the technical credibility of an engineer with the relationship-building and commercial skills of a strategic sales leader — someone who can comfortably discuss technology with engineers while also managing a complex, high-value global account.
Key Responsibilities
- Own and execute the strategic business plan for a major global semiconductor equipment customer
- Develop deep relationships across engineering, purchasing, program management, operations, quality, management, and executive stakeholders
- Understand customer technology roadmaps and align future requirements with internal product and technology strategies
- Lead design-win strategies and identify opportunities to expand business across new and existing programs
- Represent a portfolio of advanced technologies including lasers, optics, optical assemblies, precision stages, chucks, and related components
- Manage account forecasts, bookings, revenue expectations, business reviews, and long-term growth opportunities
- Lead commercial discussions and support contract negotiations with key customer stakeholders
- Develop account plans and relationship maps to strengthen engagement across a complex global customer organization
- Coordinate engineering, product management, service, quality, logistics, operations, and leadership teams to deliver on customer commitments
- Serve as the voice of the customer internally while ensuring technical, commercial, service, and quality priorities remain aligned
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Physics, Optics, Photonics, or a related science or technical discipline strongly preferred
- Experience in strategic account management, technical sales, business development, field applications, product management, or another customer-facing technical role
- Technical background in lasers, optics, photonics, optoelectronics, semiconductor equipment, or related advanced hardware
- Ability to communicate credibly with customer engineers and internal technical teams
- Experience managing complex B2B technical customer relationships
- Demonstrated ability to influence design wins, technical qualifications, product adoption, or customer technology roadmaps
- Strong commercial judgment, communication, presentation, and problem-solving skills
- Executive presence with the ability to develop relationships across technical, commercial, and senior leadership organizations
- Ability to operate effectively within a complex, global, matrixed organization
- Willingness and ability to travel approximately 25%–40%, including internationally
Preferred Backgrounds
- Laser, optics, or photonics sales and account management
- Semiconductor equipment or semiconductor capital equipment industry experience
- Experience selling or supporting lasers and optical technologies within semiconductor equipment applications
- Strategic account experience with large global technology or semiconductor equipment manufacturers
- Field Applications Engineering or Applications Engineering experience with customer and design-win ownership
- Product Line Management or technical Product Management experience within lasers, optics, photonics, or advanced hardware
- Engineering background followed by a transition into technical sales, business development, or account management
- Advanced degree in engineering, physics, optics, photonics, or a related technical discipline
- Experience working with global customers and manufacturing operations across the U.S., Europe, and Asia
Ideal Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate is an “extroverted scientist” — technically curious, commercially minded, and energized by developing sophisticated customer relationships.
You don't necessarily need to come from a traditional quota-carrying sales career. Successful candidates may come from technical sales, field applications, product line management, business development, applications engineering, or another highly customer-facing technical role.
What matters most is the ability to understand complex technology, earn credibility with engineers, build relationships across a large customer organization, and translate technical roadmaps into meaningful business opportunities.
Why This Opportunity
- Own a strategic relationship with a major global semiconductor equipment manufacturer
- Work at the intersection of photonics, lasers, optics, and advanced semiconductor technology
- Highly strategic role focused on customer roadmaps and design wins rather than transactional selling
- Represent a broad portfolio of advanced laser, optical, and precision technology solutions
- Significant interaction with engineering teams, executives, product leaders, and global manufacturing organizations
- International exposure across customers and production facilities in the U.S., Europe, and Asia
- Strong total compensation opportunity with a 60/40 incentive structure and potential RSU eligibility
- Excellent opportunity for a technically strong engineer, FAE, product leader, or sales professional ready to take ownership of a major strategic account