Sr Solution Architect (Pre Sales)

To thrive in this role, you need to have:

• Contributes to the development of complex solution architectures in specific business, infrastructure, or functional areas.

• Takes ownership of an assigned book of accounts, staying closely connected with partner contacts to help shape pipeline and account coverage plans.

• Runs discovery conversations with customers and turns the findings into a technology roadmap tied back to what the customer is actually trying to achieve.

• Carries a deal from initial discovery through internal sign-off, pulling together the cost/effort estimates and writing the resulting statement of work — covering what's in scope, key dates, the assumptions being made, and success criteria.

• Acts as the final review point before a proposal goes out, confirming the scope is well defined, realistic to deliver, and priced to protect margin.

• Identifies and evaluates alternative architectures and the trade-offs in cost, performance, and scalability.

• Accountable for understanding client requirements, collecting data, and delivering analysis and problem resolution.

• Tailors how a design is presented so each stakeholder — technical and business — can see how it meets their needs, including proof-of-concept (POC) and demos.

• Makes recommendations for the development of new go-to-market services and contributes knowledge on relevant verticals.

• Provides coaching and mentoring to less experienced Solutions Architects.

• Runs proof-of-concept and evaluation engagements needed to earn the technical win on assigned deals.

Knowledge and Attributes

• Strong verbal and written communication skills, coupled with excellent interpersonal skills, to build solid working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

• Ability to develop and leverage advanced specialist knowledge of reference architectures.

• Stays current on industry trends and emerging technologies in the secure networking space.

• Advanced ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams such as sales, product, and delivery.

• Can translate a proposed solution's value into both an engineering narrative and a dollars-and-cents business case.

• Comfortable running working sessions and presentations that break down technical material for both engineering teams and executive audiences.

• Curiosity toward applying AI and automation tools to streamline technical workflows and service delivery.

Academic Qualifications and Certifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in computer science, engineering, business, or a related field.

• General exposure to enterprise architecture / IT governance frameworks (e.g., TOGAF, ITIL, COBIT) or Scaled Agile (SAFe) certification is a plus.

• Technology partner certifications (e.g., Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, HPE Aruba) are a plus.

Required Experience

• Advanced technical experience designing and positioning secure networking solutions (e.g., SD-WAN, SASE, network security, segmentation, firewall) for enterprise clients.

• Advanced client engagement and consulting experience, including opportunity shaping, technical proposal/solution design, and client needs assessment.

• Experience partnering with Client Managers, Sales Specialists, and vendor/channel partners (Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, HPE Aruba) to identify and expand opportunities.

• Advanced experience in developing, selling, and delivering technical solutions.

• Advanced experience integrating a proposed solution with the client's broader business domain, enterprise concerns, industry standards, and established design patterns.

• Experienced in navigating extended sales cycles that involve several decision-makers and span more than one product or technology area.

• 6+ years of presales solutions architecture experience, or equivalent client-facing technical experience.

• Ability to travel domestically up to approximately 20% of the time to support customer-facing engagements.

Where required by law, NTT DATA provides a reasonable range of compensation for specific roles. The starting pay range for this remote role is $150,000 - 190,000. This range reflects the minimum and maximum target compensation for the position across all US locations. Actual compensation will depend on a number of factors, including the candidate’s actual work location, relevant experience, technical skills, and other qualifications. This position may also be eligible for incentive compensation based on individual and/or company performance.

This position is eligible for company benefits that will depend on the nature of the role offered. Company benefits may include medical, dental, and vision insurance, flexible spending or health savings account, life and AD&D insurance, short and long term disability coverage, paid time off, employee assistance, participation in a 401k program with company match, and additional voluntary or legally-required benefits.