Principal Engineer - Salesforce Business Consultant

Role - Salesforce Business Consultant Base Location - East Coast Working Model - Remote Employment type - Full-time Employee Job Overview: Salesforce Business Consultant/ Solution Architect Key Responsibilities: • Client Advisory & CRM Transformation. • Lead discovery workshops with manufacturing clients to understand strategy, sales and service models, channels (direct, OEM, distributor, dealer), and key KPIs. • Assess current CRM/legacy landscape, identify gaps, and define a Salesforce-centric target state. • Design CRM transformation roadmaps with Salesforce as the strategic CRM platform, including phases, scope, and rollout plan. • Redesign end-to-end business processes (Lead-to-Opportunity-to-Order / Quote-to-Cash, Key Account Management, After-Sales & Service, Warranty, Field Service, Partner/Dealer Management) aligned to Salesforce best practices. • Act as trusted advisor to senior client stakeholders (Sales, Service, Operations, IT leadership) on CRM strategy, governance, and operating models. Salesforce Solution Architecture & Design: • Own end-to-end Salesforce solution architecture for manufacturing CRM engagements, primarily across Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Experience Cloud, and, where relevant, Manufacturing Cloud, Field Service, Revenue Cloud/CPQ, and CRM Analytics. • Define data model, object relationships, security model, environment strategy, and integration patterns with ERP (SAP, Oracle, Dynamics, Infor), MES, PLM, pricing engines, and other systems. • Produce solution blueprints, high-level design, and effort estimates; ensure designs are scalable, maintainable, and aligned to Salesforce best practices and platform limits. • Guide functional consultants and technical teams during delivery, reviewing user stories, configurations, and customizations for alignment with the solution design. • Contribute to internal accelerators, templates, and industry-specific assets for manufacturing CRM. Pre-sales, Demos & Proposals (Consulting/SI Context): • Partner with sales and account teams to qualify opportunities and define solution and delivery approaches. • Lead Salesforce demos tailor-made for manufacturing scenarios (e.g., key account planning, complex opportunity management, CPQ • quoting flows, warranty and service flows, dealer/distributor portals, field service scenarios). • Prepare solution slides, architecture overviews, and walkthroughs for client presentations, including oral RFP defenses. • Translate RFP/RFI requirements into Salesforce-based solutions and clearly documented scope, approach, and assumptions. • Build and articulate the business case and ROI for CRM transformation, linking Salesforce capabilities to commercial and operational outcomes (pipeline growth, win rates, forecast accuracy, service response time, first-time-fix rate, dealer performance, customer satisfaction). Change Management, Adoption & Governance: • Advise clients on CRM governance, operating models, and Salesforce roles (product owner, key users, admins, CoE structure). • Support definition of role-based Salesforce usage models for sales reps, KAMs, service agents, and partner users. • Provide input to change, communication, and training plans and help design meaningful KPIs and dashboards to monitor CRM adoption and performance. Promote data quality and disciplined CRM usage (account/contact hygiene, opportunity and pipeline management, case and service data) to enable reliable reporting and analytics. Delivery Oversight & Quality Assurance: • Serve as design authority for one or more projects, ensuring coherence across workstreams and vendors. • Participate in and sometimes lead key Agile ceremonies (workshops, backlog refinement, sprint planning, showcases), clarifying requirements and validating sprint outcomes. • Identify risks and issues related to solution design, scope, or integration early and propose mitigation options. • Support UAT planning, test scenario definition for end-to-end CRM flows, go-live readiness assessment, and hyper care. Good to Have: Salesforce in Manufacturing cloud. Professional Background: • 8 - 12 years total experience, with at least 5+ years focused on Salesforce CRM (Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and/or Experience Cloud). • 4 - 6 years working with manufacturing organizations or clients (discrete, process, industrial equipment, automotive, high-tech manufacturing, etc.). Significant experience in an SI/consulting environment in client-facing roles (consultant, lead consultant, solution architect, engagement lead). • Proven track record of leading 2 – 3 years + full lifecycle Salesforce implementations from discovery through go-live and adoption. • Experience delivering Salesforce in ERP-integrated enterprise environments. Education & Certifications: • Bachelor’s degree in business, Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related discipline. • MBA or other advanced business degree is an advantage. • Salesforce certifications strongly prefer