SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT
IIW Hosting is actively looking for candidates for the post of Solutions Architect. We are looking for the experienced presales professionals in utility cloud and hybrid managed hosting (specifically disciplines including Evangelist, Architect and Solution Designer) or at a more junior level, those with deep and relevant technical knowledge who also have the customer-facing skills to engage in our wide range of solution opportunities.
The Solutions Architect is a key contributor to our consistent delivery of outstanding customer outcomes.
Our ideal candidates will be dynamic and experienced presales engineers with superb oral and written communication skills and a proven track record of success. You will have a background and experience in a client facing role with detailed awareness of utility cloud and hybrid managed hosting, and will be passionate about helping to define and provide effective client solutions. You will provide technical designs to both new and existing customers which fit defined technical and budgetary requirements and constraints.
You will also be regularly engaging and consulting with IIW Hosting Support, Finance & Product teams as part of your design process. Your engagements will see you identifying, technically qualifying, and addressing the prospect’s business and technical requirements by consultative methods.
As a member of the Solutions Architecture & Engineering team you will be able to design complex technical solutions across a multitude of service models and technologies. Solutions will commonly blend classic managed dedicated hosting with leading cloud based infrastructure as a service (comprising of utility compute, storage and network resources).
You will have confidence in knowing your skills (and limitations), you are calm and collected under pressure and always available to mentor the less experienced. Your colleagues see you as a good team player who is keen to share knowledge as well as to listen and learn from others.
ACCOUNTABILITY EXAMPLES:
You should expect to have varying levels of responsibility (subject to level) in the following areas:
- Act as managed hosting & cloud subject matter expert
- Able to design data centre / solution migration and transformation strategies
- Consulting with both potential and existing customers, building solution roadmaps
- Presenting business solutions to board level of Fortune 1000 companies
- Presenting technical solutions and strategies to technical stakeholders (application and infrastructure)
- Leading the technical interests in bids, including content writing
- Responsible for architecting & designing solutions
- Actively contributes to strategic planning at both opportunity & account level
- Work with all areas of business operations in developing solution for prospects
ACCOUNTABILITY EXAMPLES (LEAD ROLES) :
Additional responsibilities in the context of a small team of 3-4 Solutions Architects or Engineers:
- Own deal review process
- Actively promote shadowing and mentoring
- Qualify and manage workload
- Run weekly team meetings
- Control and contribute to team goals
QUALIFICATIONS :
- All successful candidates will demonstrate a technical depth, commercial awareness and innate ability to articulate complex matters in a simple and engaging manner.
- 3+ years’ relevant industry experience (preferably with 1+ years’ design / presales experience) OR 1+ years’ experience in a customer facing solutions design capacity with a hosting services provider.
- You should be able to sustain occasional travel
- Ability to read, write and converse in English is essential and other language skills are an advantage
PERSONAL SKILLS :
You should have varying degrees of capability (subject to level) in some or all of the following areas:
- Able to lead a virtual team on pre sales opportunities requiring expert judgment and initiative for transformation & consolidation projects
- Teaching, coaching and mentoring skills
- Can present technical concepts in authoritative and clear manner to customers through white boarding, presentations and proposals
- Have experience in providing mentoring for team members and Sales Representatives
- Have a number of years’ experience in infrastructure design and understands implications and the impact to the business, both IIW Hosting & customer/prospect
- Have experience leading customer workshops exploring requirements and mapping solutions
- Demonstrate expert knowledge of a chosen technology area (Subject Matter Expert)
- Tenacious problem solver, will own issues until full resolution o Ability to create wow / delighter moments with customers
- Effective with time management and expected deliverables o Communication skills, both written and verbal with great attention to detail
- Negotiation and objection handling skills
BUSINESS & COMMERCIAL EXPERIENCE :
You should have varying degrees of experience (subject to level) in some or all of the following areas:
- Develop thought leadership relationships that enable strategic change within our customers
- Provide authoritative advice to internal and external stakeholders with regard to SLA terms within a contract
- A high level of business awareness and commercial acumen
- Organisational, time management and prioritization skills
- Able to take a creative approach to situations and problem solving
- Have experience with developing ‘win themes’ and customisation of value propositions to client needs and write technical responses to bids (RFPs & RFIs)
- Able to evangelise disruptive proposals when necessary
- Be able to work with Sales Representatives of varying skill sets and adjust the strategy/approach accordingly
PROFESSIONAL SKILLS (IDEALLY MATCHED BY CERTIFICATIONS) :
Experience or awareness of (subject to level) in some or all of the following areas is desirable:
- Pre Sales experience dealing with external customers
- Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery planning
- Application development methodologies *(Agile, SCRUM, Waterfall, DevOps)*
- Service Management frameworks such as ITIL *(ITIL Foundation)*
- Project Management understanding *(PRINCE, PMI)*
- Enterprise Architecture awareness *(TOGAF, ISEB, Zachman)*
Apply Now
iiwhosting.com