Senior Principal Architect, NextGen Instrument Platforms

Keysight's Software and AI Labs (SAL) is leading the evolution of software-centric instruments, modernizing how instruments are architected, composed, and scaled across hardware, software, and distributed systems. This transformation strengthens long-term competitive differentiation and increases architectural reuse across businesses.

SAL is seeking a Senior Principal Architect, NextGen Instrument Platforms to provide enterprise-wide architectural leadership focused on software-centric instrument platforms. This role shapes the upper layers of the instrument stack-including orchestration, distributed control, connectivity, automation, user interaction, and lifecycle architecture-ensuring coherent, scalable, and reusable software foundations across product lines.

This position operates at company-impact scope, guiding architectural direction across multiple businesses and serving as a senior technical advisor to executive leadership. The role partners with peer hardware and firmware architecture leaders to provide end-to-end architectural stewardship across the instrument platform stack.

• Define and institutionalize the architectural direction for software-centric instrument platforms across Keysight, establishing standards and reusable frameworks adopted across multiple businesses and product families.
• Establish reference architectures and technical guardrails for:
• Distributed orchestration and control
• Instrument connectivity and secure command layers
• High-performance data movement and streaming
• Automation, synchronization, and multi-instrument coordination
• Application and user interface integration
• Set long-range technical direction for distributed software platforms, guiding major cross-business decisions involving orchestration, connectivity, lifecycle management, and platform evolution.
• Ensure architectural scalability across the installed base and future platform generations.
• Drive platform reuse across product families to reduce duplication and improve portfolio-level time-to-market.
• Partner with peer architecture leaders to maintain alignment from silicon through application layers.
• Design and validate reference implementations or prototypes to reduce risk in major architectural transitions.
• Identify structural technical risks and scalability constraints that could impact long-term competitiveness.
• Lead high-impact initiatives advancing modularity, componentization, and distributed system design across the portfolio.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on architectural trade-offs, investment priorities, and long-range platform strategy.
• Monitor advances in distributed systems and software platform design, translating relevant developments into competitive advantage.

• Advanced degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field (PhD preferred).
• 12+ years in senior technical architecture roles with increasing scope and business impact.
• Demonstrated success shaping cross-organization platform or architectural transformations.
• Recognized technical authority in large-scale software systems and distributed architectures.
• Experience establishing architectural standards adopted across multiple product lines.
• Strong executive communication skills and ability to influence without formal authority.
• Understanding of hardware-software system integration and performance optimization.
• Experience integrating emerging technologies into scalable software platforms is advantageous.

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Santa Rosa, CA Salary Range: MIN $180,360.00 - MAX $300,590.00

Colorado Springs, CO Salary Range: MIN $166,990.00 - MAX $278,320.00

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