Principal Systems Specialist

Overview

Waters Corporation's Field Services Organization is comprised of highly skilled, motivated, and customer-focused professionals who are recognized experts in supporting Waters' industry-leading scientific instrumentation and software solutions. Within this organization, the Principal Systems Specialist represents a highly experienced technical leader responsible for providing advanced system-level expertise, escalation support, training, and mentorship across the Waters product portfolio.

We are seeking a Principal Systems Specialist to support customers and field service teams throughout the Central and Western United States. This role requires frequent travel to customer sites and Waters facilities across both geographies. The successful candidate will serve as a senior technical resource for complex customer escalations, specialist development, training delivery, process improvement initiatives, and the creation of technical content supporting next-generation service tools, including AI-driven troubleshooting and knowledge management solutions.

Candidates with experience supporting Wyatt Technology detector systems and applications are highly desired.

Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain strong collaborative relationships with customers, field service teams, sales organizations, product support groups, and other internal stakeholders to ensure customer success.
• Serve as the highest level of technical support for complex instrument, software, and application escalations across the Waters portfolio, including Wyatt technologies, LC, LC/MS, HPLC/UPLC, SFC, Andrew Alliance, Aura, and related products.
• Lead system-level troubleshooting and root cause analysis efforts to resolve challenging customer situations and minimize downtime.
• Partner with Field Service Specialists, Escalation Support Teams, Sales, Product Management, R&D, and other stakeholders to drive timely resolution of complex technical issues.
• Manage customer expectations through clear communication, documentation, and follow-up plans to ensure successful outcomes.
• Act as a technical mentor and coach for Field Service Specialists, helping develop troubleshooting, systems knowledge, and customer engagement skills.
• Develop and deliver advanced technical training programs for Field Service Specialists at Waters facilities and regional training events.
• Deliver system-level customer training on installation, operation, troubleshooting, maintenance, and best practices.
• Provide technical leadership and support for strategic customer projects, instrument deployments, upgrades, and service initiatives.
• Support the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of service processes, procedures, and best practices.
• Create and maintain technical content for knowledge management systems, remote support tools, AI-assisted troubleshooting platforms, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) models, triage solutions, and other digital service initiatives.
• Maintain detailed and accurate case, escalation, service, and training records within Salesforce Field Service Lightning and other business systems.
• Ensure compliance with customer regulatory requirements, Waters quality systems, and applicable health and safety standards.
• Manage service inventory and resources in accordance with company policies and operational requirements.
• Maintain expert-level knowledge of Waters technologies, industry trends, and customer application requirements across pharmaceutical, life sciences, chemical materials, clinical, food, environmental, forensic, academic, and government markets.
• Collaborate with commercial teams to identify opportunities for additional customer support, service offerings, and business development initiatives.
• Serve as a subject matter expert and technical resource for new products, emerging technologies, and field service readiness programs.                                                                                          #LI-Remote 

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biology, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related scientific or technical discipline preferred.
• Equivalent combination of education, technical training, and relevant field experience will be considered.

Work Experience

• Minimum of 8+ years of experience supporting analytical instrumentation, laboratory software, or related scientific technologies in a customer-facing environment.
• Demonstrated expertise in troubleshooting and supporting complex scientific instrumentation and integrated laboratory systems.
• Experience providing advanced escalation support and resolving highly complex technical issues.
• Proven experience delivering technical training to customers, service engineers, and cross-functional teams.
• Experience mentoring, coaching, and developing technical professionals.
• Experience leading or supporting strategic technical projects, process improvement initiatives, and cross-functional collaborations.
• Experience creating technical documentation, troubleshooting guides, knowledge articles, or digital support content.
• Experience supporting AI-enabled service tools, knowledge management systems, RAG-based solutions, or technical content development is highly desirable.
• Strong preference for candidates with hands-on experience supporting Wyatt detector technologies and associated applications.
• Experience with Waters products, including LC, UPLC, LC/MS, SFC, and related laboratory technologies, is highly desirable.
• Ability and willingness to travel extensively throughout the Central and Western United States (up to 50-75%).

Required Competencies

• Advanced troubleshooting and system-level diagnostic skills.
• Deep technical knowledge of analytical instrumentation, laboratory workflows, and scientific applications.
• Strong customer-focused mindset with a commitment to delivering exceptional service experiences.
• Excellent verbal, written, and presentation communication skills.
• Proven ability to train, mentor, and develop technical teams.
• Strong problem-solving, critical thinking, and root cause analysis capabilities.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and perform effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated leadership and influence without direct authority.
• Strong project management and organizational skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and executive-level stakeholders.
• Proficiency with service management and CRM platforms, including Salesforce Field Service Lightning.
• Adaptability and willingness to learn new technologies, products, and digital support tools.
• Commitment to quality, compliance, safety, and continuous improvement.
• Ability to independently manage a geographically dispersed territory while maintaining a high level of customer engagement and responsiveness.

Location: Central United States or Western United States (remote/home office based)

Travel: Frequent travel to customer sites and Waters facilities throughout both geographies.

Preferred Expertise: Wyatt detector technologies, advanced system troubleshooting, technical training delivery, mentorship, escalation management, and AI-assisted service content development.

Company Description

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) is a global leader in life sciences and diagnostics, dedicated to accelerating the benefits of pioneering science through analytical technologies, informatics, and service. With a focus on regulated, high-volume testing environments, our innovative portfolio harnesses deep scientific expertise across chemistry, physics, and biology. We collaborate with customers around the world to advance the release of effective, high-quality medicines, ensure the safety of food and water, and drive better patient outcomes by detecting diseases earlier, managing routine infections, and combating antibiotic resistance. Through a shared culture of relentless innovation, our passionate team of ~16,000 colleagues turn scientific challenges into breakthroughs that improve lives worldwide. 

Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our core values at Waters Corporation. It benefits our employees, our products, our customers and our community. Waters complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws. Qualified applicants are considered without regard to sex, race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, marital status (including civil unions), military service, veteran status, pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions), genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, legally recognized disability, domestic violence victim status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Waters is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. All hiring decisions are based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.

Key Words

Principal Systems Specialist, Technical Specialist, Field Service Engineer, Escalation Support, Technical Leadership, Wyatt Technology, MALS, DLS, HPLC, UPLC, LC/MS, Mass Spectrometry, Analytical Instrumentation, Scientific Instrumentation, System Troubleshooting, Root Cause Analysis, Customer Training, Technical Training, Mentoring, Coaching, SME, Knowledge Management, RAG, AI Content Development, Process Improvement, Salesforce, Life Sciences, Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology