Solutions Architect

Education and Experience Required:

Industry experience - 5 years or less.
Bachelor's degree in computer science or related field, or equivalent experience.
Knowledge and Skills:
Architecting:

Ability to understand the customer's business problem, need, or opportunity and to design an IS solution that appropriately addresses the business problem.
Ability to create the design, development, deployment, and technical quality of small to medium IT-based solutions (typically within one technology or specialty area).
Able to provide architectural direction for a single small to medium sized projects.
Understands the company's architecture methodology. (HPGM for ITSA).
Applies appropriate methodologies and SME knowledge to resolve business issues. For example, when planning an operational solution (rather than a project solution), the architect understands how to use the company's Solution Development Lifecycle (SDL).

Business Acumen:

Identifies technical risks and challenges the customer should expect to encounter with the solution.
Translate a customer RFP into a requirements document and proposal.
Ability to apply business management and financial concepts and general aspects of business contracts. Use this knowledge to analyze business needs and develop meaningful technical recommendations.
Translate verbal requirements gathered in customer meetings into requirements documents, statements of work, and proposals.

Technical:

Basic IT industry knowledge in specific areas.
Is aware of future technology or operational trends as they relate to and support customer technical requirements.
Demonstrates a basic knowledge across multiple technical or operational disciplines.
Is a master of at least one technical or operational discipline.
Able to design planning for accessibility, scalability, and availability.

Engagement Delivery:

Ability to write Statements of Work for small to medium size solutions for single technologies or operational areas.
Ability to apply program/project management methods and processes to define, plan, cost, resource, track and ensure the accomplishment of targeted goals for small to medium size projects.
Able to assist the project manager to develop detailed project plans and work breakdown structures.
Successfully works on project teams (individual success is defined by impact to the project).

Opportunity Pursuit:

Able to play a leadership role in business development activities for small to medium opportunities.
Lead in identifying, qualifying, and closing small to medium opportunities.
Develop and deliver sales presentations at CIO and IT management levels for small to medium opportunities (R).
Position the company offering against the competition.
Play key role in preparing proposals and bids for small to medium opportunities .
Participate in internal review and Solution Opportunity Approval and Review (SOAR) process.
Demonstrates good consultative, solution selling skills.

Leadership

Assists the project manager as necessary. For architectures of project scope may include the technical management of staff assigned to implementation team.
Participates in the Architect profession at the local level.
Collaborates effectively with the project manager to implement HPGM for PM or for OM project plan.
Coaches and mentors aspiring architects.
Participates in defining the company unit's processes, standards, and policies.
Serves as a lead architect of small to medium projects.

Consulting:

Build and manage relationship at CIO and CIO Staff level.
Has the ability to influence customers.
Ability to technically or operationally consider all sides of an issue within the contexts of time, breadth, and range of options.
Ability to systematically gather, assess and apply technical or operational and sales/marketing information for business decisions.
Ability to prepare clear, concise, and persuasive communications for multiple audiences, including demonstrating effective writing and presentation skills, listening actively, and projecting a trustable image.
Ability to articulate technical or operational problems or issues into understandable business terms.

Communication:

Able to design and present high-impact messages to customer.
Able to use a wide variety of presentation tools to persuasively communicate complex messages to multiple audience levels.
Ability to use prepared and original materials to communicate with the customer. Communicates mostly tactical information and some strategic information.
Excellent speaking and writing skills.

Encompasses multiple disciplines, including technology architects, solution architects, and enterprise architects.
Architects: Are responsible for delivering business value to customers by architecting effective information systems solutions that address the customer’s business problems, needs and opportunities, in a manner consistent with company’s strategic and business goals. Have knowledge of architectural frameworks, methodologies, and tools and understand how to apply this knowledge to successfully deliver customer projects. Establish and maintain a professional working relationship at multiple levels both internally and with the customer by understanding the customer’s business context and their unique situation. Collaborate with both internal and external/industry experts to anticipate customer needs in order to facilitate the definition and development of the solution.
Strong supporters of the professional development framework for their profession and use the knowledge and best practice derived from their professional associations to the benefit of their customers. Collaborate with project managers to ensure effective and efficient development, delivery, deployment, operation and support of these IS solutions. Collaborate with the account team to meet or exceed revenue, product, customer satisfaction and market share goals for assigned account(s).

Responsibilities:

Architect custom solutions of project or operational scope.
Customize reusable solutions of project and program or operational scope.
Capture and share architectural IP at the component level.
Contribute to the profession within a GBU. Note for project-based solutions only: Oversee the implementation of architectures of project scope.
Contribute to the Architect profession at local and regional level.
Contribute as a team member to an operational, integration or application architecture, requirements, design, implementation, or on-going operations deliverables.
Tailor the company product and service offerings to architect solutions to meet customer needs.
Assess technical impact of multiple technologies/strategies.
Identify and address technical or operational risks .