Applied AI Architect (Principal/Lead)

Salesforce•Burlington, MA

7d•$162,960 - $217,980

About The Position

Salesforce is hiring an Applied AI Architect at the Principal/Lead level. The architect team is organized across four domains: Platform Advantage, Emerging Tech & UI Innovation, Data & AI Excellence, and Governance & Trust. The role may be assigned to any domain based on the candidate’s expertise and the team’s needs at the time of hire. The architect leads with customers’ business and technical problems rather than a product pitch, understands Salesforce and alternatives, and stays engaged through execution so recommendations are delivered. Day-to-day work focuses on one or two areas: agent architecture; MCP and capability architecture; Data 360 and semantic architecture; headless and composable architecture; AI-assisted development; or AI governance and security. Across domains, the architect collaborates with pre- and post-sale teams, aligns C-suite stakeholders on business problems and actionable capabilities, helps resolve platform-fit ambiguity—including issues arising from troubled rollouts—and routes ambiguous work to the appropriate domain. Final domain assignment is made during interviews based on demonstrated expertise and current team needs.

Requirements

At least 5 years of enterprise or solutions architecture experience, including direct influence with senior technical and business stakeholders.
Experience using AI tooling to build solutions, learn new skills, and work more efficiently.
Deep, credible expertise in at least one of the six stated focus areas.
Fluency across the Salesforce platform or at least one major alternative or adjacent technology relevant to the candidate’s focus area.
A track record of staying engaged through delivery, including recovering stalled or politically stuck work.
B.S., M.S., or PhD in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or MIS.

Nice To Haves

Working knowledge of a second stated focus area, sufficient to recognize when to hand work off rather than overreach.
Experience untangling a failed or stalled enterprise rollout involving data, MDM, a platform, or AI.
Strong visual communication skills for architecture storytelling.

Responsibilities

Work in one or two focus areas depending on domain placement: agent architecture; MCP and capability architecture; Data 360 and semantic architecture; headless and composable architecture; AI-assisted development; or AI governance and security.
Collaborate across multiple pre-sale and post-sale teams.
Align C-suite stakeholders around a shared understanding of a business problem and map it to an actionable capability.
Help customers resolve platform-fit ambiguity, conflicting internal recommendations, and issues with troubled prior rollouts.
Explicitly identify ambiguity and route it to the appropriate domain.
Stay engaged through execution and help deliver recommendations, including recovering stalled or politically stuck work.