Lead the translation of product vision into execution in manufacturing AI, working closely with customers and engineering teams to deliver fast iterations that solve complex problems on the factory floor.
Instrumental is used by the world's most admired AI and electronics brands — NVIDIA, Cisco, and Meta — to eliminate the $12T in annual waste caused by downtime and defects on the factory floor. Our platform connects cloud analytics, edge computing, and proprietary AI to catch and resolve failures in real time, driving better yield, quality, and time to market.
We're at an inflection point: AI compute demand is pushing manufacturing to a scale and speed the industry has never seen. Our customers need lines running faster and cleaner than ever — and Instrumental has become a critical tool to make that happen. We're now expanding beyond visual inspection into the full manufacturing data stack, building next-gen agentic capabilities that change how factories operate.
The Role: Product Lead
You've spent time on the floor. You know the difference between what an engineer specifies and what actually happens on the line. You've chased major production line problems, investigated bottlenecks, and sat in yield review meetings. That experience is exactly what this role is built around.
Instrumental is hiring a manufacturing expert to be embedded with our most strategic customers — companies running high-complexity, high-volume electronics assembly — and turn deep manufacturing intuition into shipped product. You'll work as a true partner with a tech lead: you bring the process knowledge, the customer reality, and the ability to decompose messy production problems into solvable pieces. They bring the technical possibility. The best solutions come from that intersection.
You'll own translating product vision (set with the CPO) into a concrete plan, then drive execution with a small engineering pod. Instead of writing traditional PRDs, you'll collaborate directly and use AI agents to handle coordination and backlog work — freeing you to focus on what only you can do: understanding what's actually broken on the line, judging what matters most, and shipping fast iterations that deliver real value to process and quality engineers in the field.
Your north star is customer outcomes and iteration speed — moving from prototype to GA as quickly as the product and customers allow.
This role reports directly to the CPO.
We're looking for someone who is:
- A problem decomposer — you take a big, ambiguous problem from the exec team or a customer and break it into smaller pieces that a small team can ship in days, not months. This is your core skill.
- Customer-embedded — comfortable on the factory floor, in the customer's ops center, or wherever the real workflow lives. You don't just visit customers; you live in their world enough to know when a solution actually changes their workflow versus when they're being polite.
- A strong partner to technical co-owners — you co-design solutions with your tech lead, not hand off specs. You have opinions about what to build and can hold your own in technical conversations, even if you're not writing the code.
- Wired for fast iteration — you ship small, validate quickly, and course-correct. You'd rather ship something imperfect this week than something polished next month.
- Strong at turning vision into plan into execution — you take a strategic direction, figure out what needs to happen, and drive it through to shipped product.
- AI-forward — using AI tools daily for research, analysis, prototyping, and coordination. This is an evaluation criterion, not a nice-to-have.
Reasons you should *not* join Instrumental:
- You've never worked at a startup before
- You expect a 9-5 (we have a global customer base and operations)
- You want a remote job
- Ambiguity and urgency stress you
- You want to do pure research/discovery without shipping — this role ships iterations weekly
Core Missions:
- Turn product vision and strategy into a concrete plan, then decompose that plan into smaller, shippable pieces that your pod can tackle iteratively.
- Own your pod's outcomes while collaborating with your tech lead — together you design solutions, make tradeoff decisions, sequence work, and ship.
- Be forward-deployed with your design partner customer — spend real time in their environment, build custom solutions that solve their specific problems, then work to scale what works into repeatable product. Be in the factory, on the calls, in the data.
- Ship small iterations that deliver value consistently — this is how we validate product direction. Speed of validated learning is the metric.
- Make daily judgment calls on scope and priority without escalating — if the CPO becomes a bottleneck for your pod, the system is broken.
- Use AI for coordination, documentation, and task management — freeing your time for the work that actually matters: problem decomposition, customer truth, and judgment.
Requirements:
- 5+ years of experience in a role that required breaking down complex, ambiguous problems and delivering solutions with a small team — product management, forward-deployed engineering, solutions engineering, technical program management, or founding a company.
- Deep comfort in manufacturing or adjacent industrial environments — you speak the language of quality engineers, line operators, and manufacturing managers. Or you've worked in a similarly complex operational domain and can learn manufacturing fast.
- Demonstrated ability to work in a tight partnership with engineering — co-designing solutions, not just writing requirements.
- Track record of shipping fast in ambiguous environments with minimal process overhead.
- Strong customer-facing skills — you've spent real time with customers in their environment, not just in conference rooms.
- AI-forward in how you work — using AI tools aggressively for your own productivity.
We’re a growing team that consistently works collaboratively, is supportive of each other, and is highly energized by the opportunity for large impact. We actively work to promote an inclusive environment, valuing passion and the ability to learn.
You’re encouraged to apply even if your experience doesn’t precisely match the job description!
The following is a representative annual base salary range for this position within the Bay Area: $170,000-228,000. In addition, job level & salary opportunity is evaluated through our interview process – we review experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of each applicant.
Instrumental is very proud to offer a highly-rated variety of benefits including: Health, Vision, Dental, Public Transit/Commuter Plans, and Maternity/Paternity Leave.
Instrumental Palo Alto, California, USA Office
909 Alma Street, Palo Alto, CA, United States, 94301
Similar Jobs
Cloud • Computer Vision • Information Technology • Sales • Security • Cybersecurity
The role involves leading vulnerability detection efforts, developing detection solutions, collaborating with teams, and managing projects in the cybersecurity space.
Top Skills:
Ai/MlGoPerlPython
Cloud • Information Technology • Security • Software • Cybersecurity
The role involves leading a technical roadmap for modernizing enterprise platforms, developing resilient microservices solutions, and driving quality coding practices. Responsibilities include collaboration with product teams and managing service lifecycles using container technologies in cloud environments.
Top Skills:
AWSAzureCassandraCosmos DbDockerGCPGoGrafanaIstioJavaKafkaKubernetesLinkerdMongoDBMySQLPostgresPrometheusRabbitMQRustSpring BootSqs
Machine Learning • Payments • Security • Software • Financial Services
The Software Engineer Sr leads UI design and development, optimizing scalable applications, mentoring staff, and ensuring compliance with standards while collaborating with teams.
Top Skills:
AngularAWSAzureCi/CdCSS3CypressGitHTML5JasmineJavaScriptJestJSONPlaywrightReactRest ApisScssTypescriptVue
What you need to know about the San Francisco Tech Scene
San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area attracts more startup funding than any other region in the world. Home to Stanford University and UC Berkeley, leading VC firms and several of the world’s most valuable companies, the Bay Area is the place to go for anyone looking to make it big in the tech industry. That said, San Francisco has a lot to offer beyond technology thanks to a thriving art and music scene, excellent food and a short drive to several of the country’s most beautiful recreational areas.
Key Facts About San Francisco Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 365,500; 13.9% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: Google, Apple, Salesforce, Meta
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, fintech, consumer technology, software
- Funding Landscape: $50.5 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, Greylock Partners, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins
- Research Centers and Universities: Stanford University; University of California, Berkeley; University of San Francisco; Santa Clara University; Ames Research Center; Center for AI Safety; California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
