Solution Architect

We are looking for a Solution Architect - Data & AI to join our Microsoft professional services Engineering and Architecture (EAG) team that is part of Industry Solutions Delivery (ISD), and lead AI transformation of our largest customers

We are Microsoft Industry Solutions, and are passionate about delivering Microsoft’s mission: “to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more”.

Microsoft Industry Solutions’ mission is to lead and serve Microsoft’s customers and partners as they realize their full potential through Microsoft software and services. Microsoft Industry Solutions and its partners bring the deepest expertise of Microsoft solutions—from enterprise planning to deployment and support—that helps our customers innovate to strategic advantage in their respective industries.

**Responsibilities**:
This role will have a strong focus on infusing Data & AI workloads into Digital Transformation opportunities and ensuring the full ISD value proposition is positioned with these customers. The roll will also drive high quality delivery outcomes and collaborate with Microsoft Product groups, Data Science teams and Account teams with the ultimate goal of supporting customer project success.

**Responsibilities**

Understanding Customer/Partner Technical Environment
- Gathers customer/partner insights from a broad range of stakeholders as well as the main business sponsor to shape and form both the definition and ongoing execution of projects. Identifies and evaluates industry trends (customer industry verticals, information technology [IT] industry). Adapts business models, plans, and solutions to insights.
- Works with customer/partner stakeholders (e.g., Enterprise Architects, Security Team, Development Team, Operations Team) and business sponsor to socialize both the business solution and the project approach to determine if changes are needed to the business solution. Where the cost of change is accepted by the customer, shares this feedback with the project team and the broader account team to make the necessary adjustments using mechanisms such as updating the solution approach and projected costs in presales and change requests in delivery. Contributes to Microsoft-centric operations and cadences to align with customer feedback.
- Uses evidence-based approach to represent the customer/partner as a customer advocate and share insights with Product Engineering teams and the business with a view to improving Microsoft technologies, products, services and offerings such that they can better meet customer/partner needs across a territory.

**Architecture Design and Deployment**
- Leverages a structured approach to Architecture Projects using existing methodologies (e.g., Waterfall, Agile, Iterative) that make use of existing reference architecture and established architectural styles and design patterns. Proposes and develops new solutions to scale across multiple customers/partners. Builds and maintains an architecture description document, an architecture decisions log, and a requirements/constraints traceability matrix to ensure the rationale for the business solution's Architecture is known and understood.
- Defines and documents the architecture through an architecture description document, an architecture decisions log, and a requirements/constraints traceability matrix to communicate the value proposition of the business solution along with the project approach. Leads complex cost-based and technology-based discussions to explain the Architecture in terms of its build, deployment, and ongoing operational use to determine customer appetite for the business solution. Uses a business-value approach that values return on investment (ROI) and customer costs-savings over technical ease of execution.
- Collaborates with the Project Manager to jointly drive project/technical governance of the design, build, and deployment of proof of concepts (POCs), pilots and production deployments, using enterprise architecture processes and ensuring quality control through peer review. Works with customers to understand and demonstrate business value (e.g., release of revenue, cost savings) that the business solutions realize.
- Works with the business sponsor and customer/partner stakeholders (e.g., Business users, Enterprise Architects, Security Team, Operations Team) to gather and ratify requirements and constraints. Manages and resolves complex ambiguity in the requirements and constraints and documents assumptions and implications where it cannot be resolved. Maintains the requirements/constraints traceability matrix to prove that solution components have a rationale/justification for inclusion in the architecture of the business solution. Drives development and execution of test plans to prove that each requirement/constraint has been implemented as expected by the customer. Where there are defects, works in close collaboration with the Project Manager and Customer to r