AI Solutions Architect

ABOUT THE ROLE We're seeking an AI Solutions Architect to join Instacart's Enterprise Solutions team, building a first-of-its-kind business by embedding directly with enterprise retail and CPG partners to design, sell, and deliver AI-powered solutions at scale. As a senior technical authority, you will own the data and AI architecture, integration design, and governance across every engagement the team runs. This is a hands-on, field-first role that requires embedding with partner engineering teams to map data ontologies, design integrations, and co-build solutions that work in real partner environments. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Own data modeling, integration design, and governance across every engagement, serving as the senior technical authority from pre-sales through delivery. - Map customer data and Instacart's data ontology together, and gate technical feasibility before any build begins. - Establish integration patterns between the Intelligence Platform and partner systems, such as POS, ERP, loyalty, CRM, Snowflake, proprietary APIs, and mobile surfaces. - Bridge partner technical requirements with Instacart R&D roadmaps, APIs, and SDKs, and surface gaps and advocate for platform changes needed to serve the field. - Prototype and code in real-time alongside partners. - Review designs and unblock the Forward Deployed Engineers to ensure architectural integrity across the team's engagements. - Codify reusable integration patterns into scalable architecture templates as the team scales. WHAT YOU'LL NEED - 10+ years in solutions architecture, data engineering, or senior software engineering, with demonstrated experience designing enterprise-scale systems. - Deep expertise in data architecture and modeling across messy, heterogeneous enterprise environments, with enough AI/ML familiarity to understand how data quality and structure determine what is possible on the intelligence layer. - Experience designing integrations across complex enterprise environments including ERP, POS, Snowflake, and proprietary APIs. - Hands-on coding is non-negotiable – the ability to build is as important as the ability to design. - Proven customer-facing experience presenting technical architectures to both engineering and executive audiences. - Strong systems thinking – able to hold the full technical picture of a complex engagement while also working in the details. - Comfort defining architecture from first principles in greenfield, ambiguous environments. WHY REMOTE Instacart is a Flex First team, offering a flexible approach to where we work. As a remote employee, you will have the flexibility to choose where you do your best work – whether it's from home, a coffee shop, or anywhere else that suits you. This role is eligible for remote work and the base pay range for a successful candidate is dependent on their permanent work location. BENEFITS - Highly market-competitive compensation and benefits. - Eligible for a new hire equity grant as well as annual refresh grants. - Comprehensive benefits package, including health plan, parental leave, and education stipend. - Flexible schedule and remote work options. - Opportunities for professional growth and development in a dynamic and innovative environment.