Head of Product

Company Overview

Taara, spun out of Alphabet’s moonshot factory, in 2025, develops high-speed connectivity solutions using free-space optical communication (FSOC), beams of light that deliver fiber-like speeds without cables. Its flagship product, the Taara Lightbridge, connects towers, rooftops, or other line-of-sight points to deliver up to 20 Gbps over distances of 20 km, making it especially valuable where laying fiber is costly or impractical, such as across rivers or rugged terrain. Taara’s mission is to bring abundant, secure, and affordable internet access everywhere, with deployments and pilots already active in India, Kenya, other parts of Africa, Australia, and the U.S., often in partnership with telecom operators like Airtel, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, and Vodafone.

To scale further, Taara is developing a solid-state silicon photonic chip that replaces moving parts with optical phased arrays, enabling smaller, cheaper, and more robust systems slated for release in 2026. The company has demonstrated early success in real-world deployments, from bridging the Congo River to boosting connectivity at large U.S. events, while raising external funding led by Series X Capital, with Google retaining a large minority stake.

Equity Sponsor(s) and Funding Status

Taara’s funding is currently led by Series X Capital, which is a venture fund formed in 2024 to support spin‐offs from Alphabet’s X (formerly Google X) research lab. It’s managed by Gideon Yu, a former YouTube and Facebook executive. The fund has a target fundraising goal of around $500 million, and its mission is to help early-stage companies emerging from X become independent entities; Taara and Chorus are among its known investments so far. Google LLC remains a minority stakeholder, which is the holding company formed in October 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google. It was co-founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, with the intent of making Google’s core internet services cleaner and more accountable while giving its other moonshot projects (e.g. in AI, self-driving cars, biotech) more independence under the same corporate umbrella.

Position Overview

The Head of Product will be a key member of the executive team, responsible for setting and executing the product strategy, enhancing product management processes, and leading a high-performing product management organization. This role requires a dynamic leader with a strong background in product management and a proven track record of driving successful product strategies and innovations. Ideally the candidate will have a proven track record in leading Product Management in a start-up environment as well as in a business at-scale.

Key Responsibilities

• Product Strategy: Develop and implement a comprehensive product strategy that aligns with the company’s vision and business objectives. Identify market opportunities, define product vision, and drive the roadmap to ensure the development of innovative and competitive products.

• Process Refinement: Enhance and streamline product management processes, workflows, and artifacts. Implement best practices for product planning, development, and lifecycle management to ensure efficiency, consistency, and high-quality outcomes.

• Leadership: Develop and maintain a high-performing team of product managers, providing guidance, support, and development opportunities to drive success and foster a culture of excellence.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with other senior leaders and departments to ensure alignment of product strategy with overall business goals. Work closely with sales, marketing, engineering, and customer support teams to integrate product initiatives and drive cross-functional success.

• Customer and Market Insights: Stay informed about industry trends, customer needs, and competitive landscape in order to determine product market fit. Leverage this knowledge to make data-driven decisions and ensure the product offerings meet market demands and customer expectations.

• Product Lifecycle Management: Oversee the entire product lifecycle, from ideation to launch and beyond. Ensure that products are delivered on time, within scope, and meet quality standards.

• Continuously evaluate and optimize product performance and make necessary adjustments. Establish and drive execution towards product priorities.

• Innovation: Foster a culture of innovation within the product management team. Encourage “outside the box” thinking and experimentation to drive the development of groundbreaking products and features.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field. An advanced degree (e.g., MBA or M.S. in a relevant field) is preferred but not required.

• Proven experience in a senior product management role with a strong track record of success within a high growth start up. Experience in leading and scaling product management teams is essential.

• Deep understanding of product strategy, product lifecycle management, and product management best practices. Experience in developing and executing successful product roadmaps and strategies.

• Exceptional leadership and people management skills. Demonstrated ability to build, lead, and motivate high-performing product teams. Strong capability to influence and collaborate with cross-functional teams.

• Strong strategic and analytical skills, with the ability to make data-driven decisions and manage competing priorities effectively.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas and concepts clearly to diverse audiences, including senior executives and stakeholders. Someone that can switch from strategic to tactical and roll up their sleeves.

• Must be able to bridge highly technical engineering innovation with practical market needs, shaping the roadmap for both current-generation and next-generation products.

• Ability to partner closely with sales, marketing, and business development to create a product-led organization. Skilled at identifying the right market segments, packaging solutions, and enabling adoption across telcos, ISPs, governments, and enterprise customers, moving beyond “engineering-led selling” to scalable GTM strategies.

• At least 10+ years of experience managing a team of product managers and product developers in a fast-paced and high-growth work environment. Will play a key role in unifying seasoned employees and new hires into a cohesive, product-driven culture.

• A “learning machine” who can operate at multiple altitudes: shaping company strategy, influencing fundraising narratives, and inspiring customers, while also rolling up sleeves to product work and define product requirements, work with engineers, and iterate quickly on solutions.

• Polite, grounded. Someone that thinks bigger and bolder but can be precise in execution.