Ecommerce Project Manager II

Thorlabs is pleased to play a role in advancing science through the components, instruments, and systems we design and manufacture. We believe that science and innovation have great potential to improve the world around us and are committed to advancing photonics (i.e., light-based) technologies that positively impact our customers, employees, and communities. Via educational outreach and more sustainable business practices, we continuously invest in a brighter future.

We recognize that each of our employees is a unique individual with the ability to contribute to our success and seek to find great people who will thrive in our fun, fast-paced culture.

Project Manager II is a key, visible contributor to the success of Thorlabs’ ecommerce platform, serving as a point of contact for initiatives and driving execution under the guidance of senior ecommerce leadership. This role regularly interfaces with business stakeholders, setting expectations, empathetically gathering requirements, and advocating for needed support resources across Thorlabs’ global footprint. The Ecommerce Project Manager II transforms business requests into actionable developer requirements;

resolves concerns without compromising the impacts of deliverables; provides timely, consistent guidance; and crafts and effectively communicates the near-term plan and backlog order within the business.

Although the position is based out of Newton, NJ, from time to time it may be required to undertake duties at other Thorlabs locations.

include the following, but are not limited to:

• Detailed, accurate collection of technical and business requirements, as they relate to customers, internal users, the ecommerce platform, and Thorlabs’ ERP.
• Representation of developers’ requirements and needs in discussions, ensuring feasibility and enabling speedy delivery for feature requests.
• Initial triage of issues and feature requests; timely escalation of urgent and/or high priority needs to Ecommerce Project Manager.
• Proposal and scoping of regularly scheduled broadly impactful code deliveries.
• Effective cross-functional communication between senior leaders, developers, QA specialists, and other stakeholders, such as engineering personnel, science writers, and Thorlabs’ sales and customer operations teams.
• Identification, assessment, and mitigation of risks to timeline and business value.
• Analysis of business fit and impact of proposed deliverables.
• Preparation of materials that guide requirements-gathering and task acceptance activities.
• Preparation of timeline and task visualizations, such as Gantt charts and dashboards, that create internal visibility.
• Refinement of business and technical requirements in direct conversation with stakeholders; review and evaluation of statements of work.
• Definition and clarification of acceptance criteria with our QA specialist.
• Formulation of detailed understanding of discussions, concerns, considerations, and action items from formal and impromptu meetings

The Company retains the right to change or assign other duties to this position.

• 5+ years of ecommerce project management for a manufacturing organization, ideally with diverse product families, scientifically or technically oriented audiences, and a global sales and support footprint. Experience with enterprise-wide and/or cross-functional large-scale initiatives with a high degree of complexity.

• B.A. or B.S. degree in physics or a closely related field.

• Functional, technical, detail-oriented understanding of the ecommerce platform’s technology stack, implementation details, and internally and externally facing features.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate with specialized, technical and non-technical staff, spanning all seniority levels.
• Demonstrated ability to convert business requirements into actionable tasks.
• Ability to embody the roles and responsibilities of internal and external users of the ecommerce platform.
• Fluency with an ERP system.
• Strong organizational and planning skills.
• Ability to flourish with minimal guidance, in a dynamic, fast-changing environment,…