Senior Project Manager, R&D

About Dream Photonics

Dream Photonics is a deep-tech startup based in Vancouver, BC, developing advanced manufacturing technology for next-generation photonic systems. We are developing PICTORTM, a manufacturing platform that uses precision 3D printing to create high-efficiency, low-loss optical connections for photonic integrated circuits. Our technology addresses one of the central bottlenecks in advanced photonics: how to reliably connect light into and out of chips at scale.

Our work is directly connected to the future of AI data centres, optical modules, high-performance computing, quantum technologies, sensing, and defence. As AI infrastructure pushes beyond the limits of conventional electronics, photonics is becoming essential for moving data faster, more efficiently, and with lower power. Dream Photonics is helping make that transition possible by rethinking how optical interconnects are designed, manufactured, and packaged.

Backed by angel, venture capital, and strategic investors, and supported by active customer engagement and government funding programs, we are scaling from an R&D team into a product company. We move fast, build technology with real-world impact, and give team members meaningful ownership of the problems they solve. If you are excited by the intersection of optics, semiconductors, 3D printing, and advanced manufacturing, Dream Photonics is a place where you can help define the future of photonic hardware.

The Role

We are looking for a Senior Project Manager, R&D to help define how our R&D organization plans, prioritizes, and executes work as we transition from a research-focused organization to a commercial product company.

This is a unique opportunity to help shape not only what we build, but how we build it. As Dream Photonics grows from an R&D-focused startup into a commercial product company, you will play a key role in designing the project management framework and execution culture that support our next stage of growth.

Working closely with the Director, R&D and the leadership team, you will help establish and continuously improve the project management practices, operating rhythms, decision-making processes, and execution framework that enable our technical team to scale effectively while preserving the agility and innovation that define our culture.

In addition to leading complex technical projects, you will partner with leadership to build the systems, processes, and organizational discipline that support long-term growth. This role combines hands-on project leadership with organizational development and change management, helping technical teams adopt new ways of working while maintaining focus on execution.

You will not have direct reports; instead, you will influence outcomes by building alignment, creating visibility, facilitating decisions, and helping technical contributors and leaders move work forward.

What You Will Do

• Partner with the Director, R&D and leadership team to define, implement, and continuously improve the project management framework supporting the R&D organization.
• Lead complex technical and R&D projects from planning through execution while ensuring alignment with business priorities.
• Work with technical leaders and the project team to convert complex, ambiguous objectives into practical plans, milestones, owners, deliverables, dependencies, risks, and decision points.
• Drive daily and weekly execution cadence across multiple concurrent R&D initiatives, ensuring consistent follow-up, accountability, and timely issue resolution.
• Lead portfolio planning and resource coordination across people, priorities, equipment, vendors, timelines, budgets, and technical dependencies.
• Identify execution risks, resource constraints, competing priorities, and organizational bottlenecks early enough for effective action.
• Support strategic decision-making by providing clear project reporting, dashboards, forecasts, risk assessments, and decision-support materials.
• Facilitate project meetings, design reviews, and decision forums that result in clear decisions, trade-offs, owners, timelines, and follow-up actions.
• Define and evolve a practical blend of agile, iterative, and hardware project management practices appropriate for advanced R&D environments, while avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Establish, manage, and monitor project budgets ranging from $50K to $1M+, ensuring projects remain aligned with financial objectives while proactively addressing cost variances.
• Help our technical team successfully adopt new ways of working through change management practices.
• Identify opportunities to improve organizational execution, collaboration, communication, prioritization, and project visibility across the R&D organization.
• Coach leaders and technical contributors on practical project planning and execution approaches appropriate for a fast-growing technology company.
• Foster a culture of accountability, execution, continuous improvement, and collaboration consistent with a venture-backed, early-stage technology company.

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years of project or program management experience, including significant experience managing engineering, technical, R&D, manufacturing, or product development projects.
• Experience working within an early-stage startup, scale-up, or rapidly evolving technology organization.
• Demonstrated success designing and implementing project management frameworks, operating rhythms, governance processes, or execution models that improved organizational performance.
• Demonstrated experience leading organizational change, including introducing new project management processes, operating models, or ways of working within technical organizations.
• Experience partnering with senior leaders to improve organizational execution, resource planning, prioritization, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Proven ability to deliver complex technical projects through ambiguity, changing priorities, evolving deliverables, and unresolved dependencies.
• Demonstrated success coordinating cross-functional teams across engineering, operations, leadership, vendors, and external partners, building alignment among stakeholders with differing priorities and perspectives.
• Experience managing project budgets, timelines, resource allocation, risks, dependencies, and competing priorities across multiple concurrent initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to influence technical teams and senior leaders without formal reporting authority.
• Strong facilitation skills, including leading meetings that drive alignment, decisions, ownership, trade-offs, and accountability.
• Experience preparing project plans, dashboards, executive updates, and reports that support informed decision-making.
• Working knowledge of Agile, Scrum, Kanban, Stage-Gate, Lean, or hybrid project management methodologies, with the judgment to apply the right level of process in an R&D environment.

Assets

• Experience in photonics, semiconductors, optics, advanced manufacturing, robotics, aerospace, medical devices, or another deep-tech engineering environment.
• Experience supporting organizations transitioning from academic research or advanced R&D into commercial product development or manufacturing.
• Experience commercializing new technologies or scaling technical organizations from research to product delivery.
• Experience establishing or leading project management standards, governance, or PMO practices.
• Experience with engineering documentation, design reviews, validation testing, engineering change management, product lifecycle management, or release readiness.
• Experience using project management and collaboration tools such as Jira, Asana, Monday.com, Microsoft Project, Notion, or Confluence.
• A degree or diploma in Engineering, Applied Science, Project Management, Business, or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and practical experience.

Personal Attributes

We are looking for someone who brings:

• Brings structure and organization to ambiguity, creating clarity without unnecessary process.
• Thinks strategically while maintaining strong operational discipline.
• Demonstrates intellectual curiosity and enjoys learning enough about complex technical work to support effective planning, coordination, and decision-making.
• Builds trust and credibility with engineers, scientists, leaders, and cross-functional partners through consistency, curiosity, and follow-through.
• Builds trust and brings people along through change, balancing empathy for existing ways of working with the confidence to introduce new processes, expectations, and operating disciplines.
• Is proactive, self-directed, and comfortable taking ownership in a fast-paced startup environment.
• Communicates with confidence, diplomacy, and empathy, adapting their approach to different audiences while keeping projects moving forward.
• Holds people accountable respectfully, influencing outcomes through collaboration rather than formal authority.
• Exercises sound judgment, knowing when to escalate issues, challenge assumptions, or facilitate decisions.
• Anticipates risks, identifies opportunities for improvement, and continuously strengthens how teams operate.
• Remains adaptable and composed as priorities evolve, balancing multiple projects and competing demands.
• Coaches leaders and teams in effective project planning, prioritization, and execution while fostering a collaborative, accountable environment

Location and Work Model

This is an on-site role based in Vancouver, BC.

Compensation: $120,000 to $160,000 CAD per year, depending on experience

Team Building

Equity, diversity and inclusion are essential to our company’s growth. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the BC Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Métis, Inuit, or Indigenous person.