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# Systems Architect, Instrumentation R&D Lead

- **Company:** Alcon Inc
- **Location:** Lake Forest, CA, United States
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Salary:** $254,150 - $328,900
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Systems Engineering, Configuration Management, Firmware, Requirements Management, Systems Modeling Language, Systems Architecture, Systems Integration, Multiplatform
- **Published:** October 27, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.careerbuilder.com/job-details/systems-architect-instrumentation-r-d-lead-lake-forest-ca--c275a6ab-1ca8-4216-b23f-0504ceb3eb14

## About the Role

System Architecture, Instrumentation, Research & Development (R&D), International Health, System Architecture, Multiplatform/Cross-Platform, Instrumentation, Research & Development (R&D), Technical Strategy, Business Strategy, * Bachelor's Degree or Equivalent years of directly related experience (or high school +18 yrs; Assoc.+14 yrs; M.S.+7 yrs; PhD+6 yrs)

 * The ability to fluently read, write, understand and communicate in English.
 * 10 Years of Relevant Experience, * 15+ years of engineering experience in complex product development environments, including substantial leadership in systems engineering, architecture, platform development, or advanced technology development.
 * Experience in medical devices or another regulated product development environment strongly preferred.
 * Demonstrated ability to lead architecture across hardware, software, electronics, firmware, optics, mechanical systems, and system integration boundaries.
 * Experience with systems engineering, MBSE, SysML, requirements management, architecture modeling, interface management, design verification, risk management, and configuration management.
 * undefined

## Description

The Lead Systems Architect is responsible for defining and governing the technical architecture strategy across the Instrumentation R&D portfolio. This leader enables scalable, modular, and reusable products and technologies that accelerate innovation, improve development efficiency, and increase leverage across platforms.

This role is on-site in our Lake Forest, CA location and a typical day would include:

Enterprise Architecture Leadership

 * Establish and maintain the Instrumentation R&D architecture strategy, principles, and roadmap.
 * Define future-state product and technology architectures across the portfolio.
 * Connect business strategy, product roadmaps, technology investments, and architecture priorities.
 * Lead architecture reviews and governance for major development programs.
 * Serve as the escalation and decision authority for cross-platform architecture matters.

Systems Engineering Excellence

 * Establish systems engineering methods, practices, and standards across the organization.
 * Drive adoption of model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and systems-thinking approaches.
 * Develop frameworks for requirements management, functional decomposition, interface management, integration, verification, and validation.
 * Improve the consistency and effectiveness of systems engineering across sites and product teams.
 * Mentor engineering leaders and practitioners in architecture and systems engineering.

Platform Strategy and Reuse

 * Identify and prioritize architecture reuse opportunities across products, programs, and technology platforms.
 * Define modular architectures that support scalability, flexibility, serviceability, and future product evolution.
 * Establish reusable system building blocks, common interfaces, and reference architectures.
 * Balance product-specific requirements with enterprise reuse and lifecycle considerations.
 * Track reuse adoption and the value delivered through shared architecture assets.

Cross-Functional Technical Leadership

 * Partner with product-platform leaders to ensure architecture supports portfolio and program objectives.
 * Facilitate technical trade-off decisions involving performance, risk, cost, schedule, and reuse.
 * Resolve architectural conflicts across programs and engineering disciplines.
 * Lead architecture forums and technical decision reviews.

Technical Standards and Governance

 * Establish architecture standards, decision criteria, and review processes.
 * Maintain documentation of architecture decisions, interfaces, and technical rationale.
 * Monitor adoption of architectural standards and address justified exceptions.
 * Partner with Communities of Practice to translate enterprise architecture into discipline-level methods and standards.

Capability Building

 * Assess systems engineering and architecture capability needs across the organization.
 * Develop technical talent through coaching, mentoring, and targeted learning.
 * Support recruitment and development of systems engineering expertise.
 * Build a culture of technical rigor, reuse, and enterprise learning.