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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for a Services Architect

💰 $140,000 - $210,000

TechnologyArchitectureCloud ComputingProfessional ServicesConsulting

🎯 Role Definition

As a Services Architect, you will be the primary technical authority and trusted advisor for our customers during the post-sales implementation and adoption lifecycle. You will immerse yourself in our clients' ecosystems to understand their unique challenges and strategic goals. Your mission is to design and orchestrate the deployment of robust, scalable, and elegant solutions that drive tangible business value. This role requires a blend of deep technical knowledge, a consultative mindset, and the ability to lead complex projects, ensuring that our technology is implemented to the highest standard and delivers on its promise.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Senior Solutions Engineer / Pre-Sales Engineer
  • Senior Technical Consultant / Professional Services Consultant
  • Lead Software Engineer with client-facing experience

Advancement To:

  • Principal Services Architect / Senior Principal Architect
  • Director of Professional Services
  • Enterprise Architect

Lateral Moves:

  • Solutions Architect (Pre-Sales focused)
  • Senior Product Manager
  • Engagement Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead technical discovery sessions and workshops with enterprise clients to deeply understand and document their business objectives, technical landscape, existing pain points, and success criteria.
  • Architect and design comprehensive, scalable, and secure end-to-end solutions that leverage our core platform, APIs, and a broad range of cloud-native services.
  • Develop and present detailed solution proposals, architecture diagrams, data models, and implementation roadmaps to a diverse audience, from C-level executives to engineering teams.
  • Act as the lead technical expert and trusted advisor throughout the project lifecycle, guiding clients and implementation partners on best practices for integration, security, and performance.
  • Create and deliver compelling proof-of-concept (PoC) and pilot implementations to demonstrate solution feasibility and showcase business value to key stakeholders.
  • Author high-quality, detailed technical documentation, including solution design documents (SDDs), integration guides, and operational runbooks to ensure successful project handover.
  • Translate complex business requirements into well-architected technical specifications and user stories for the implementation team.
  • Define and manage the technical scope of work, provide accurate effort estimations, and identify potential risks and dependencies for professional services engagements.
  • Guide clients on data migration strategies, including data modeling, cleansing, transformation, and validation to ensure a seamless transition to the new platform.
  • Collaborate closely with Product Management and Engineering teams to provide real-world feedback from the field, influencing the future direction and features of the product roadmap.
  • Provide hands-on leadership during the implementation phase, troubleshooting complex technical issues and ensuring the solution is built according to the specified design.
  • Develop and maintain a deep understanding of the client's industry and enterprise systems, including CRM, ERP, and other critical business applications, to design effective integrations.
  • Mentor and coach junior consultants and other technical team members, fostering an environment of technical excellence and continuous learning.
  • Drive the creation of reusable assets, best practice guides, and architectural patterns that can be leveraged across the Professional Services organization to increase efficiency.
  • Establish and maintain strong, long-term relationships with technical stakeholders at client organizations, becoming their go-to advisor for all architectural matters.
  • Proactively identify opportunities for expansion and new use cases within existing accounts, collaborating with the Sales and Account Management teams to grow the business.
  • Stay current with emerging technologies, cloud services, and industry trends to provide forward-thinking recommendations and maintain your status as a technical expert.
  • Conduct post-implementation architectural reviews to ensure solutions are operating optimally and continue to meet the evolving needs of the business.
  • Articulate the value proposition of professional services and our technology platform through technical presentations, whiteboarding sessions, and strategic discussions.
  • Manage multiple client projects simultaneously, balancing priorities and ensuring timely, high-quality deliverables for each engagement.
  • Serve as the technical bridge between clients and internal teams, effectively communicating client needs and project status to ensure alignment and successful outcomes.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
  • Contribute to internal knowledge bases, wikis, and forums to share expertise.
  • Assist in the technical screening and interviewing of new candidates for the services team.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Cloud Architecture: Deep, hands-on expertise in designing and deploying solutions on major cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
  • API Design & Integration: Proficient in RESTful and/or GraphQL APIs, webhooks, and modern integration patterns and platforms (iPaaS).
  • Identity & Access Management: Strong understanding of SSO, SAML, OAuth, and other authentication/authorization standards.
  • Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Experience with tools like Terraform or CloudFormation for automating infrastructure provisioning.
  • Scripting & Automation: Proficiency in at least one scripting language such as Python, PowerShell, or Bash for automation and integration tasks.
  • Database Technologies: Solid knowledge of both SQL (e.g., PostgreSQL, SQL Server) and NoSQL (e.g., MongoDB, DynamoDB) databases.
  • Enterprise Architecture: Familiarity with enterprise architecture frameworks (e.g., TOGAF) and designing for security, scalability, and reliability.
  • Containerization & Orchestration: Working knowledge of Docker and Kubernetes for building and deploying microservices.
  • Networking & Security: Strong grasp of core networking concepts (VPC, DNS, Load Balancing) and security best practices in a cloud environment.
  • CI/CD Pipelines: Understanding of modern software development lifecycle tools and CI/CD concepts (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI).

Soft Skills

  • Consultative Problem-Solving: Ability to analyze complex, ambiguous problems and formulate clear, actionable solutions.
  • Stakeholder Management: Adept at engaging with and influencing a wide range of stakeholders, from technical SMEs to senior executives.
  • Executive-Level Communication: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to distill complex technical topics into simple business terms.
  • Technical Storytelling: Capable of crafting and delivering compelling narratives and demonstrations that resonate with the audience.
  • Workshop Facilitation: Skilled in leading interactive design sessions and discovery workshops to drive consensus and clarity.
  • Empathy & Client Focus: A genuine desire to understand and solve customer problems, acting as a true advocate for their success.
  • Poise and Presence: Confident and credible when presenting to large groups and leading high-stakes meetings.
  • Strategic Thinking: Ability to see the bigger picture and align technical solutions with long-term business strategy.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's Degree or equivalent practical experience in a technical field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master's Degree in a technical field.
  • Relevant professional certifications (e.g., AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Google Professional Cloud Architect).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Computer Science
  • Information Technology
  • Software Engineering
  • Management Information Systems

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 7-12 years

Preferred: 8+ years of proven experience in a client-facing, hands-on technical role such as Professional Services Architecture, Technical Consulting, or Solutions Engineering, preferably within a complex enterprise SaaS, PaaS, or cloud-native environment. Experience leading the design and implementation of large-scale, multi-system integration projects is highly desirable.

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