Senior SRE
Instrumental
Palo Alto, CA, USA
Posted on Feb 3, 2026
Senior SRE
Palo Alto, CA
Engineering
Hybrid
Full-time
Founded by a team of ex-Apple engineers, Instrumental provides a collection of software technologies that enable brands and manufacturers to optimize their manufacturing process to cut waste by orders of magnitude compared to conventional solutions. This waste is non-trivial: 20 cents on every dollar spent in manufacturing is wasted in mistakes, experiments, downtime, yield loss, scrap, and returns. Our customers are top electronics companies, including Meta, NVIDIA, F5, and others.
The Instrumental platform collects, intelligently transforms, and contextually presents manufacturing data to technical end-users, enabling them to optimize their manufacturing process in real-time. Our core technology is proprietary ML algorithms, packaged in an accessible, user-centric user interface – we believe we must have both the best technology and the best access to that technology to win. We are experiencing incredible growth, especially in the AI-Infrastructure market segment.
Requirements:
- 5 or more years of DevOps or SRE experience deploying and operating commercial SaaS platforms on public cloud infrastructure, AWS preferred.
- Expert knowledge with Linux, shell, containerization, Kubernetes, IaC (terraform preferred), monitoring, logging, and APM tools.
- Proven ability to take initiative and drive impactful projects to completion efficiently and independently.
- Comfort with ambiguity, pace, and frequent pivots inherent in a startup environment, with a track record of creating clarity for teams.
- Experience introducing and integrating AI tools/processes into development and operation workflows.
- Demonstrated skill in setting, iterating on, and measuring KPIs to ensure ongoing performance, reliability and efficiency.
- Network/application security and compliance experience is a plus.
Who You Are:
- PSR-obsessed owner who takes responsibility for production reliability, performance, and customer impact, making pragmatic tradeoffs under pressure.
- Strong systems & infrastructure engineer with an everything-as-code, automation-first mindset.
- Thrives in ambiguity and high-growth environments; trusted, decisive, and calm when it matters most.
- Trusted, dependable partner known for sound judgment, clear communication, and calm execution—especially when things go sideways.
This position requires access to items and data that are developed under U.S. government contracts and subject to dissemination controls that limit access to U.S. citizens only.
We’re a growing team that works collaboratively, is supportive of each other, and is highly energized by the opportunity for a 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: $181-197k. Job level and salary opportunities are evaluated through our interview process – we review the experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of each applicant.
Instrumental is proud to offer a highly-rated variety of benefits, including health, vision, dental, commuter plans, and parental leave.
First name *
Last name *
Email *
LinkedIn URL
Phone number *
Location *
Resume *
Click to upload or drag and drop here
Cover letter
Click to upload or drag and drop here
Are you legally authorized to work in the United States?
Do you now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g. H1-B visa status)?
This is a hybrid role that requires you to be in-office M/W/F in Palo Alto, CA. Is this a schedule you are able to accommodate?
Req ID: R49