Principal Solutions Architect

Instrumental, Inc. • Palo Alto, CA

1d • $210,000 - $300,000

About The Position

This role is for a senior individual contributor who will work across a wide range of customer applications, including AI infrastructure, networking equipment, consumer electronics, and defense. The position involves combining mechanical design, electronics manufacturing expertise, and direct customer collaboration to build custom hardware and software solutions that are implemented in production lines. It offers a unique opportunity to gain strategic experience without leaving engineering, by owning solutions end-to-end, managing technical tradeoffs, and influencing business stakeholders. The role is akin to running a technical consulting practice, supported by a team with extensive problem-solving experience.

Requirements

• 15+ years in mechanical design, manufacturing engineering, product design, automation, test equipment, or related disciplines
• Excellent communication skills and genuine enthusiasm for working directly with customers
• Experience on high-volume electronics or NPI manufacturing floors, understanding production workflows, line constraints, and challenges in scaling from NPI to mass production
• Strong CAD skills (SolidWorks, Creo, NX, or similar)
• Real fluency in DFM, tolerance analysis, and mechanical design tradeoffs
• A builder's mindset with a proactive approach to solving ambiguous problems
• Willingness to travel occasionally to customer sites

Nice To Haves

• Startup experience or a track record of driving initiatives independently

Responsibilities

• Architect customer manufacturing solutions by partnering directly with engineering, manufacturing, and operations teams to understand their production processes, technical requirements, and constraints.
• Translate customer needs into end-to-end inspection solutions, determining the optimal placement of Instrumental stations to maximize coverage, throughput, and business impact.
• Lead technical customer engagements, serving as the technical point of contact throughout the customer lifecycle.
• Balance cycle time, manufacturability, ergonomics, cost, and inspection coverage in technical solutions, collaborating with Sales, Product, Hardware, Software, and Customer Success teams.
• Design production-ready hardware, defining technical solutions including station placement, imaging strategy, mechanical fixtures, optics, and lighting for seamless integration into high-volume lines.
• Turn manufacturing data into actionable decisions by understanding how customers utilize their data (images, test results, BOMs, production records) and building solutions that enhance visibility and expedite floor-level decisions.

Benefits

• Health
• Vision
• Dental
• Public Transit/Commuter Plans
• Maternity/Paternity Leave

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed