Program Manager ILS and Customer Support

Optics11 is a fast-growing high-tech company based in Amsterdam, developing advanced fiber optic sensing systems for the most demanding environments. Our technology detects the earliest signs of failure in critical assets – from high-voltage energy infrastructure to subsea and defense applications – and gives our customers precise, real-time data they can act on.

Within our Underwater Security business we develop sensing technologies that help detect and monitor underwater threats. Our solutions include OptiBarrier, designed for immediate, over-the-horizon threat detection, and OptiArray, our low-power optical thin-line towed array for unmanned underwater vehicles and submarines.

Establish and develop Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) and Customer Support within the Project Management Office (PMO) of Optics11. The Program Manager will create the processes, tools and organizational capabilities needed to support products throughout their operational life, from delivery and commissioning to maintenance, upgrades and end of life.

Optics11 develops fibre optic sensing systems for demanding applications, including underwater security and energy infrastructure. This role connects engineering decisions with customer operating needs, helping ensure that delivered systems remain reliable, maintainable and supported at a sustainable cost.

Initially, the role combines program leadership with direct execution. As demand grows, the Program Manager will develop the business case, staffing plan and partnerships for a dedicated support organization.

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  Build the function: Assess current support activities, installed systems and contractual commitments. Define the service model, responsibilities, priorities and phased implementation roadmap. Manage the program budget, dependencies, risks and progress reporting.

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  Establish ILS: Create support plans for priority products and customer programs. Coordinate maintenance concepts, repair levels, spare parts provisioning, support equipment, technical documentation, training, and packaging, handling and storage requirements. Define lifecycle cost assumptions and obsolescence plans with Engineering and Supply Chain.

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  Embed supportability in development: Translate customer support requirements into product requirements and delivery acceptance criteria. Work with Engineering on reliability, availability, maintainability and failure analysis. Ensure service access, diagnostics, configuration records and support deliverables are addressed before release.

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  Launch Customer Support: Implement a clear contact point, case management, severity levels, escalation routes and customer communication. Define service hours and service level agreements aligned with customer needs and available capacity. Coordinate troubleshooting, field interventions, warranty cases, returns and repairs through to closure.

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  Prepare customers and partners: Coordinate commissioning support, operator and maintainer training, manuals and a practical knowledge base. Establish handovers from project delivery to ongoing support, including system configuration, warranty status and open issues. Clarify support responsibilities with integrators and service partners.

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  Develop sustainable services: Work with Sales and Finance to define and cost support packages, maintenance agreements, training and spare parts offers. Check that proposed customer commitments are deliverable and supported by resources, suppliers and budgets.

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  Improve products and service: Introduce service reporting and customer reviews. Use incident, repair and customer feedback data to drive corrective actions with Engineering and Quality. Maintain traceable service records and follow applicable customer requirements for information security and access.

• A degree in engineering, a technical discipline or equivalent practical experience.

• Substantial experience managing technical programs, ILS, product support or service operations for complex hardware and software systems.

• Evidence of establishing or significantly improving a support function, including processes, tools, responsibilities and performance reporting.

• Practical knowledge of maintenance planning, spares, technical publications, training, configuration management and lifecycle support costs.

• Experience translating customer and contractual requirements into executable plans, budgets and service commitments.

• Strong coordination and stakeholder management skills across Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Sales and Finance.

• Clear professional English and the ability to communicate effectively with customers, technical specialists and management. Willingness to travel to customer and partner sites as required.

A practical builder who can bring structure to a developing organisation and personally resolve early operational issues. The successful candidate sets realistic priorities, takes ownership of customer outcomes, communicates clearly under pressure and balances service quality with technical feasibility and cost. They can lead across functions and develop people as the support team grows.

Experience in defense, maritime systems, energy infrastructure or other demanding industrial environments is advantageous, as is familiarity with customer-specific ILS standards, service management tools and supplier or partner support networks.

You will work with clients in the defense and security sectors. Obtaining a Certificate of No Objection issued by the AIVD, the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service, is mandatory. This means you will need to undergo a security screening. We will explain the process and guide you through the applicable requirements.