Azure Solution Architect (Presales)

Job Summary:

We’re looking for an experienced candidate for Pre-Sales Solution Architect. The candidate should have specialisation in Azure, including hands-on experience. To ensure alignment with our multi-cloud business, the candidate should also have experience in designing solutions on both AWS and/or GCP.

The candidate will work in close collaboration with the sales, solutions and delivery team to design specific and innovative Cloud Platform, Managed Services and Professional Services components relating to our customers’ requirements. The candidate will provide leadership and ownership of the wider end-to-end solution including platform design, managed services, security, data/AI.

In addition to the above, it is desirable for the candidate to have Pre-Sales and/or hands-on experience in designing Data and AI Solutions for organisations within the EMEA region.

Responsibilities

• Develop deep professional relationships with clients and act as a trusted business and technical advisor for client executives. Well versed in related topics with the ability to navigate complex negotiations.
• Provides guidance, expertise, and training to new team members.
• Exercises independent judgment in selecting methods, techniques, and evaluation criteria for obtaining results.
• Determines methods and procedures on new assignments with little instruction. Influence is beyond their personal role and leads pre-sales projects with impact across multiple teams including but not limited to Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), Product Management and the Solutions and Sales teams.
• Leads customer workshops to educate on specific technologies and concepts.
• Evaluates customer needs and provides customer with direction on technical and transformational concepts that solve for current and future challenges.
• Full understanding of the tools of the solutioning trade (Salesforce, Proposal Tools, Project Scoping and Technology Tools).
• Writes formal project proposals, responds to RFIs, RFPs and bids, and statements of work that capture the customer’s requirements, propose innovative solutions that meet their business and technical objectives and estimate the effort required to execute projects aimed at specific goals and target outcomes.
• Determines level of effort for project tasks within applicable methodologies, i.e. Agile or Waterfall project management.
• Recognises buying signs, compelling events, and decision makers.
• Foresees potential technical and business customer objections early in the sales cycle.
• As a Trusted Advisor, with deep understanding of the customer's business, uncovers both overt and latent pains specific to their specialty domain expertise.
• Decisions impact the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of own function/client group.
• May impact other related teams through quality of output and service provided.
• Demonstrates strong judgment and creativity in selecting methods and techniques for obtaining solutions.
• Works on complex problems of diverse scope where analysis of data requires evaluation of identifiable factors.

Qualifications

• Experienced professional using best practices and knowledge of internal or external business issues to improve products or services.
• Recognised within the organisation for their proven extensive technical knowledge within a specific domain (Azure).
• Maintains broad knowledge of other Cloud Hyperscalers (i.e. AWS, GCP).
• Understanding of modernising legacy applications into modern applications via methodologies such as rehosting, re-platforming, serverless or container adoption.
• Understanding of data and AI solutions.
• Builds and maintains strong knowledge of the entire portfolio.
• Builds and maintains deep and focused knowledge on products and services within their specialty domain including expertise that extends beyond the portfolio.
• Knowledge of CI/CD pipelines with respect to serverless and container application preferred.
• Excellent attention to detail, communication skills (written and verbal) and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to prioritise deals, training, and initiatives through highly effective time management.
• Excellent problem solving, analytical, presentation, and whiteboarding skills.
• Track record of success working through technical pre-sales challenges requiring specialty knowledge within enterprise organisations.
• Track record of success dealing with ambiguity (internal and external) and working collaboratively with other departments and organisations to solve challenging problems.
• Advanced knowledge and thought leadership on technology and industry trends that affect development decisions for enterprise organisations.
• Demonstrates knowledge of complex designs of engineering assemblies and sub-assemblies, process, layouts, and schematics; familiar with development of product test methods.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, or Business required or close to 10+ years of working experience in a similar capacity in a technical presales capacity.
• At least ONE industry certifications required: Azure