Secure Network Solutions Architect

As a Solutions Architect, you will educate and collaborate with customers to create customized solutions for their specific business and technology needs, helping them increase business value and overcome challenges. You will drive the conversation in the Sales process that leads to discovery, propose technology and services that address business and IT needs and provide information that facilitates confidence in their business decision.

The SA is an integral Partner in the Sales process by performing the functions that ensure the successful pursuit of opportunities – providing knowledge, direction, and expertise that the client can rely on which builds value and comfort with new solutions and new technologies.

The ideal candidate is an excellent listener with a talent for creative solutions. You enjoy tackling a wide variety of technical challenges patiently and pragmatically, never losing sight of the customer’s business objectives.

Responsibilities

• Thorough, up to date knowledge of Secure Network technology solutions and packages leading to the ability to provide discovery of client needs, recommend solutions that best meet the business needs of the client, configure competitive high level designs, and present design solutions in a way that cause to understand the value and feel confidence in our ability to execute.

• Participate in detailed discovery sessions, provide customers with recommendations, provide high level designs, build BOMs and SOWs in a timely manner. Provide demo’s where applicable.

• Participate in the peer review process, internal and external kickoff meetings and provide consultation during project or onboarding work.

• Maintain a portfolio of relevant solutions within a designated technology specialty and proactively provide support and enablement, drive attention, interest and consequent sales in the portfolio with the purpose of consequently hitting growth targets through a variety of means:

• Make recommendations on the adoption of relevant solutions within technology focus
• Prepare ROI and competitive analysis to support adoption
• Collaborate with Post Sales Project and Support Teams on direction of new technology.

• Ensure Account Executives are enabled with the requisite knowledge on portfolio solutions to discover leads and generate interest/set meetings with existing and new customers.
  • Provide detailed training sessions
    • Include overview of solution
    • Include market drivers
    • Include key value of solution
    • Include the key credibility of solution
    • Include financial impact (ROI) and qualifying financial gates
    • Include analysis of solution vs competitive solutions

• Provide regular updates in sales meetings highlighting closed business, and the underlying success story and GP (ask CSS team if needed)

• Participate with AE and VP of Sales during the account planning and white space matrixing process to help determine which current clients are a target for the key solution(s).
  • Build relationships and mindshare with Account Executives in order to work as a team in driving through the annual white space target list.

• Work with Marketing to ensure website is useful as a customer resource when they search the web for solutions, alternative solutions, and credibility to support their decision such as technical write-ups, videos, white papers, eBooks, case studies, etc.

• Work with marketing to hold thought leadership events and provide follow-up materials for the marketing and sales team to provide in order to nurture attendees after the event.

• SA’s are responsible for building and maintaining solid relationships with the Manufacturer’s lead SA’s (in the case of Cisco, their specialized CSE’s) for the technologies they represent.

• SAs are an escalation point for project issues, especially customer expectation issues and customer sat issues and will contribute to postmortem lesson learn discussions.

• Keep professional certifications up to date. Execute professional development plan and continue to expand on technical capabilities with time, materials

• Continuous updates for the sales team on vendor incentive programs, rebates, and packaging. Work with AE’s on competitive pricing models and enhancing deal profitability through vendor programs.

• Assist in maintaining lab and Certifications as per Company and Vendor requirements.

Qualifications

• Expert level knowledge and 7+ years of experience as a Senior Network Engineer, Network Design Engineer, Network Solution Architect, Network Sales Engineer or related position in the Mid to Enterprise Market.
• Forward thinking, positive leadership talent, attention to detail, ingenuity, appreciation/empathy for customer perspective
• Must be willing to attend most initial client meetings in person.
• Must be comfortable managing multiple concurrent deals of varying size and complexity, leading presentations and discussions as needed.
• Must have excellent communication and interpersonal skills – presentations, written and oral communications. For this role, you must be comfortable presenting to and interacting with various levels of an organization, from operations up to the C suite.
• Fast pace and possess strong time management skills and the ability to manage a varying workload while meeting deadlines.
• Must be a team player willing to assist and participate even when it “is not your job”
• Demonstrated expertise in the following technologies:
• Switching and routing architectures across multiple manufacturers
• WAN architectures
• Network security products from multiple manufacturers

Additional Expectations

Communications SLA

Solutions Architects have an SLA with the AM’s to turn around customer facing documents within three business days once all relevant discovery has been collected, with the exception of 120 hour plus projects and RFP’s, which the AE and SA will discuss and agree on timing of deliverables. SA’s are also expected to acknowledge AM/AE requests for non-proposal information within 24 hours and customer requests for non-proposal information with 4 to 8 business hours. Conflict due to workload or competing AM/AE priorities to be handled with Management.

Kick off meetings

SA’s shall participate in any required internal or external kick off meetings to facilitate with the post sales team clear communications and clean handoff of responsibilities set forth in sales meetings with the client. SA’s must be in attendance for all external kickoff meetings.

Peer Reviews

All projects must have a peer review with the post-sale Technical Lead/Practice Manager.

Keep Current with Technology

The primary goal is to develop a reputation as having the most knowledgeable consulting and design engineers in our market area. The SA is the front man/woman that earns the customers trust in the engineering team, as such the SA is expected to:

• Have the ability to quickly learn the business and technical operations/needs of a prospective customer
• Maintain deep technical knowledge about the technologies we sell so as to be able to design the most efficient and effective solution
• Have an understanding of and be able to talk to and present the business benefits as well as technical benefits
• Maintain deep competitive knowledge of alternatives we do not sell
• Balance the need to design competitive solutions with the need for solutions to be profitable to the Company.

In order to meet this objective, as budget allows, the SA shall attend relevant Manufacturer training events, and become expert design engineers on new technologies by either utilizing demo or lab gear, attending formal training, shadow post sales engineers on deployments or perform actual deployments on all new technologies offered for sale.

Team Up with Technical Lead/Practice Managers

SA’s are expected to team up with their counterparts on the post sales team to facilitate the following:

• Learning
• Planning
• Training
• New Solution Evaluation and Launch

Key Performance Indicators

• Progression toward minimum expected growth target of product resale GP and Service Revenue within designated technology specialty. This is measured as year-over-year growth and bonused on a tiered scale to reward for expected growth as well as overachievement. To measure progress there will be:
  • Monthly evaluation of progress toward meeting with 80% of targets identified during sessions with AE and VP of Sales
  • Quarterly (minimum) meetings with Sales team to convey knowledge and promote success stories per the responsibility section above.
  • Execution of annual marketing plan and ongoing maintenance of marketing materials for the technology including event, web, blog, social media, collateral, etc.

• Submit sales logs on time each month
• Meet internal SOW/BOM SLA
• Attain timely peer reviews on all projects
• Annual meeting with leadership team to outline proposed relevant solutions for next period
• 86% internal and external customer satisfaction