Instrumental
Lead Product Manager
$210-250K base salary + equity•Palo Alto, CA (Hybrid)
Company
The Opportunity
About Us
Instrumental is the world's first Manufacturing Optimization Platform. We aggregate valuable data from assembly lines — images of key states of assembly, measurements, and functional performance — into a rich digital record. That record powers AI tools that engineers use to proactively identify issues, find root cause, intercept problems in real time, and deliver production results.
Twenty cents of every dollar spent in manufacturing is wasted. We've set an ambitious goal: cut manufacturing waste in half. We've combined world-class expertise in hardware, software, and artificial intelligence to build the technology that makes this possible.
We're at a significant inflection point. The explosion in AI compute is driving manufacturing at a scale and speed never seen before. Instrumental has become a key tool helping companies like NVIDIA meet demand. We're simultaneously improving our existing product suite, expanding into new use cases, and building entirely new 0-to-1 products to add even more value.
Highlights
NVIDIA's Manufacturing AI
Instrumental's AI is deployed across NVIDIA's global manufacturing network, GB200 and GB300 lines — speeding up final system builds by up to 14 days. Multiple new AI infrastructure customers recently signed but not yet public.
True 0-to-1 Opportunity
Build a brand new product line from scratch. You'll define the customer problem, build the vision, and ship an MVP — all in 2026.
Rocketship Growth
3x revenue growth in trailing 12 months with a clear path to repeat. Over $70M raised from Canaan, Root Ventures, Eclipse, First Round Capital.
World-Class Customers
Meta, Bose, Cisco, NVIDIA, and other leading AI infrastructure and electronics brands trust Instrumental to optimize their manufacturing.
Massive Market
AI compute is driving manufacturing demand at a scale and speed never seen before. Instrumental sits right at the center of it.
Team
CEO & Co-Founder
Stanford & MIT. Former Apple product design engineer (iPod, Apple Watch).
Director of Product (Hiring Manager)
Former PM at Meta and Amazon. MIT Sloan. 2x founder.
Notable Advisors: Keith Lucas (Former CPO/CTO of Roblox), Andre Neumann-Loreck (Former VP of Engineering and Ops at Cisco)
Candidate
Is This You?
You're a skilled problem solver who gets your hands dirty — comfortable in technical manufacturing environments and excited to learn the details. You don't need manufacturing experience, but you need the grit to embed with customers on factory floors and deeply understand their problems.
Your Mission
Build a brand new product line that expands Instrumental's value beyond visual inspection. Today, Instrumental captures images at key points in the assembly process and uses AI to catch defects. But customers sit on a goldmine of other data — from factory equipment, supply chain systems, and quality processes — that nobody is using well. Your job is to figure out what to do with it.
The CPO is doing early discovery work now. You'll take the baton and run: talk to customers, identify the highest-value problems, define the product vision, and ship an MVP by end of year. This is the real deal — no inherited roadmap, no incremental features on an existing product.
What you'll get to do
- Own Discovery & Vision: Work directly with manufacturing engineers and operators to understand where defects come from, where costs hide, and what data can unlock new capabilities.
- Build 0-to-1: Work across engineering (ML, factory software, app teams) and design to build and launch a new product this year. Direct access to leadership, fast iteration cycles.
- Embed with Customers: Visit factories, see how operators and engineers actually work, develop real empathy for their problems. This is consultative, embedded product management — not optimizing metrics from a dashboard.
- Unlock New Growth: Combine Instrumental's visual AI with manufacturing and supply chain data to build something customers don't have today. Take noise from dozens of factory systems and turn it into actionable intelligence.
- Shape the Product Org: This is the first of three PM hires. Help define how product management works at Instrumental as the team scales.
What we're looking for
- 7+ Years PM Experience: In enterprise SaaS, ideally with complex technical products. Fewer years considered for candidates with relevant manufacturing/industry experience.
- Comfort in Technical Environments: You're not intimidated by factory floors, production constraints, or hardware workflows. You don't need manufacturing experience — you need the willingness to roll up your sleeves and learn.
- Data-Driven: Experience working with large, diverse datasets from multiple sources (factory, supply chain) to standardize and create actionable intelligence.
- Self-Starter: Proven ability to take initiative and drive impactful projects to completion quickly with minimal oversight. Comfortable with ambiguity and frequent pivots.
- AI-Forward: Spot and execute opportunities to apply AI to accelerate workflows. Experience introducing AI tools/processes into product development.
Bonus Points
- Manufacturing, hardware NPI, or industrial experience
- Experience building products for technical/engineering users
- Supply chain or logistics background
- Startup experience without large support structures
Interview
What to Expect
Here is a preview of what you can expect:
Intro Call
Hiring Manager Screen
On-Site
- Take-Home Exercise: Product case study with group review.
- Leadership: Interviews with CEO and CTO.
- Grit Interview: Assessing resilience, scrappiness, and hands-on orientation.
- Engineering: Discussion on collaboration, working style, and technical depth.
Details
The Fine Print
- Compensation: $210-250K base + equity
- Reporting: Erik Charpentier (Director of Product)
- Location: Palo Alto, CA — in-office Monday/Wednesday/Friday
- Work Authorization: Transfer only — Instrumental can transfer an existing visa but cannot sponsor new work authorization.
Next Steps
Interested?
Schedule a confidential conversation with Product Scout.