Practice Architect II

TEKsystems•Baltimore, MD

7d•$148,200 - $222,400•Remote

About The Position

Think of TEKsystems Global Services (TGS) as the growth solution for enterprises today. We unleash growth through technology, strategy, design, execution and operations with a customer-first mindset for bold business leaders. We deliver cloud, data and customer experience solutions. Our partnerships with leading cloud, design and business intelligence platforms fuel our expertise. We value deep relationships, dedication to serving others and inclusion. We drive positive outcomes for our people and our business, and we stay true to our commitments and act in harmony with our words. We exist to create significant opportunity for people to achieve fulfillment through career success. Ready to join us? Here’s what the opportunity supported through our TGS Talent Acquisition Team requires: The Practice Architect II (PA II) position is a leadership position in the organization that is responsible for managing multiple consulting and delivery projects and account teams/programs. The Practice Architect II provides consulting and delivery assurance of services for clients through a range of internal and external functions in the following areas: Consulting, Account Interaction, Service Delivery and Practice Delivery responsibilities. The position of Practice Architect II is distinguished from more senior Practice Architect positions by the nature of the engagements or programs involved; deal sizes range from transactional solutions of < $1M to multi-year outsourcing solutions of > $10M. As a second level Practice Architect, the PA II is expected to have the experience and background to perform all the duties described below for engagements that are focused on consulting / delivery management within the defined subject matter area, including resource management, deliverables development, project planning and executions, adherence to contract attributes and costing, customer interaction, and other key aspects of solution-based managed services. For a PA II, these engagements will typically be delivered at one of our North America Solution Centers, India Solutions Center, or at the customer location, usually North American based. They are expected to have advanced level skills required for complex deliverable-based, fully outsourced, or extremely large-scale engagements or programs and contribute input to a larger cross-functional project / program. The different types of projects / engagements may include, but are not limited to the following: • Existing environment assessments and road maps • New architecture designs and implementations • Modernization efforts, including: o Large-scale upgrades and / or migrations o Remediation of identified deficiencies o Re-designs and reconfigurations • High-availability and disaster recovery systems • Full systems management lifecycle (provision, deploy, monitor, patch, upgrade, and retire) solutions • Operational maintenance and optimizations, including: o Monitoring and management o Automated Deployments o Patching and vulnerability remediation o Administration and support o Process refinement and automation The primary focus of this architect role will include the following technologies / subject matter areas: • Primary technology expertise required: o Enterprise network infrastructure design, implementation, and optimization (LAN/WAN, routing, switching, and wireless). o Software-Defined Networking (SD-WAN, SD-Access) and network automation platforms. o Network security technologies including next-generation firewalls, segmentation, and zero trust architectures. o Wireless site survey and RF planning tools (e.g., Ekahau) for validating coverage and capacity in complex environments. o Cloud-delivered Network-as-a-service(NaaS) architecture and management platforms (e.g., Cisco Meraki, Juniper Mist) • Secondary expertise: o Understanding and managing change control processes, maintenance windows, and operational constraints in live network environments. o Able to effectively present and explain complex technical concepts to executives and other non-technical persons. o Unified Communication and VoIP infrastructure, including call control platforms, SIP trunking, and QoS network design (e.g., Cisco CUCM/Webex Calling, Microsoft Teams Direct Routing) Key Accountabilities and Priorities Solution Delivery • Gain a clear understanding of customers’ business requirements and their technical requirements based upon the developed solution and agreed statement of work (SOW). • Understand, develop, and mature the solution design by collaborating with customers and stakeholders to manage their expectations and resolve project, stakeholder, and delivery issues in a timely manner. • Facilitate internal communication and coordinate the assembly of a delivery team for new engagements to include practice support, delivery (regional and/or practice), and account team members. • Consolidate delivery status and agreed costing information across the project stakeholders. • Ensure delivery escalation procedures are addressed and communicated to client, consultants, and managers. • Implement knowledge management strategy and communicate process and procedures for knowledge transfer from sales/solutions to delivery. • Perform delivery risk and issue management and facilitate issue resolution with proper notification to all affected parties. • Identify and coordinate the delivery change control process. Practice & Product Line Management • Perform periodic project/program analysis, product line review, and product line “health checks” with practice and delivery resources. • Examine customer reference-ability and establish on-going relationships with the customer and account team members. • Refine practice pipeline and product line attributes based upon metrics and analysis as well as overall fit within the marketplace and technological changes. • Support the development and execution of an Account Strategy in collaboration with internal stakeholders. • Capture, develop, and refine intellectual property (IP) based upon projects, programs, and engagements; develop IP to be reusable for future training and delivery requirements. • Coordinate subject matter material with team members for development of best practices for product lines and delivery improvements. Management Responsibilities • Understand and manage customer requirements (delivery and environmental factors) to ensure contract understanding and acceptance for deliverables, cost, contract type, timeline, risk and assumptions, and customer satisfaction. • Ensure delivery methodology is understood by team from project initiation to project closeout; sales/solution to delivery knowledge transfer. • Financial and contractual responsibility for engagement profitability. • Maintain awareness for additional business opportunities and support pursuit of future business through quality results and escalation to internal stakeholders when additional business opportunities may present themselves. • Ensure delivery management methodology is followed on all client opportunities. • Mentor, manage and develop product/project team members. Team size varies from 3 team members up to 8-10 team members. • Conduct annual reviews and provide feedback throughout the year on employee performance where required. • Ensure Human Resources policies and procedures are communicated and executed according to internal and consultant HR policies. Job Qualifications and Experience: Knowledge Skills and Abilities: • 12-15 years’ experience in enterprise networking, information technology and/or professional services, with emphasis on subject matter expertise. • Experience in delivering projects/programs, delivering and administrating client professional services agreements including the change management process. • Frequent interactions with external customers at the Director level or above; normal level of interactions at the CXO level; established consulting and interpersonal skills with 12-15 years’ experience • 12-15 years of "in-depth hands-on” experience of the above listed primary technologies • 5+ years of experience in three or more of the above listed secondary technologies • Ability to work remotely as primary location but can also travel to customer sites as needed, up to 50%, depending on the project / engagement • Strong conceptual and analytical skills, which demonstrate out of the box problem solving • Proven ability to appropriately prioritize and plan complex work in a rapidly changing environment • Team player with experience leading and collaborating cross-teams to deliver successful solutions • Excellent oral and written communication skills (English language). • Superior people and personnel management skills. Education: Bachelor’s degree in information technology or a related field, or equivalent training/educating/experience required. • Certification(s) in one or more of the above technologies, such as Cisco CCNA/CCNP/CCIE, Juniper JNCIA/JNCIS/JNCIE, Palo Alto PCNSA/PCNSE, Aruba ACSA/ACCP, or equivalent enterprise networking vendor certifications • Intermediate MS Office Skills • Deep understanding of network, storage, server, and application architecture • Knowledge of ITSM concepts – ITIL Certification is an asset • Sufficient understanding of Services Outsourcing, PMI PMBOK. PMP, IAOP (Outsourcing Professional), or other relevant certification a plus related to the subject matter area.

Requirements

12-15 years’ experience in enterprise networking, information technology and/or professional services, with emphasis on subject matter expertise.
Experience in delivering projects/programs, delivering and administrating client professional services agreements including the change management process.
Frequent interactions with external customers at the Director level or above; normal level of interactions at the CXO level; established consulting and interpersonal skills with 12-15 years’ experience.
12-15 years of "in-depth hands-on” experience of the primary technologies listed (Enterprise network infrastructure design, implementation, and optimization (LAN/WAN, routing, switching, and wireless); Software-Defined Networking (SD-WAN, SD-Access) and network automation platforms; Network security technologies including next-generation firewalls, segmentation, and zero trust architectures; Wireless site survey and RF planning tools (e.g., Ekahau); Cloud-delivered Network-as-a-service(NaaS) architecture and management platforms (e.g., Cisco Meraki, Juniper Mist)).
5+ years of experience in three or more of the secondary technologies listed (Understanding and managing change control processes, maintenance windows, and operational constraints in live network environments; Ability to effectively present and explain complex technical concepts to executives and other non-technical persons; Unified Communication and VoIP infrastructure, including call control platforms, SIP trunking, and QoS network design (e.g., Cisco CUCM/Webex Calling, Microsoft Teams Direct Routing)).
Ability to work remotely as primary location but can also travel to customer sites as needed, up to 50%, depending on the project / engagement.
Strong conceptual and analytical skills, which demonstrate out of the box problem solving.
Proven ability to appropriately prioritize and plan complex work in a rapidly changing environment.
Team player with experience leading and collaborating cross-teams to deliver successful solutions.
Excellent oral and written communication skills (English language).
Superior people and personnel management skills.
Bachelor’s degree in information technology or a related field, or equivalent training/educating/experience required.
Intermediate MS Office Skills.
Deep understanding of network, storage, server, and application architecture.
Knowledge of ITSM concepts.

Nice To Haves

ITIL Certification is an asset.
Sufficient understanding of Services Outsourcing, PMI PMBOK. PMP, IAOP (Outsourcing Professional), or other relevant certification a plus related to the subject matter area.
Certification(s) in one or more of the above technologies, such as Cisco CCNA/CCNP/CCIE, Juniper JNCIA/JNCIS/JNCIE, Palo Alto PCNSA/PCNSE, Aruba ACSA/ACCP, or equivalent enterprise networking vendor certifications.

Responsibilities

Manage multiple consulting and delivery projects and account teams/programs.
Provide consulting and delivery assurance of services for clients.
Perform consulting / delivery management within the defined subject matter area.
Manage resource allocation, deliverables development, project planning and execution.
Ensure adherence to contract attributes and costing.
Manage customer interaction and other key aspects of solution-based managed services.
Deliver complex engagements that are deliverable-based, fully outsourced, or extremely large-scale.
Contribute input to larger cross-functional projects / programs.
Perform existing environment assessments and road maps.
Design and implement new architectures.
Manage modernization efforts, including large-scale upgrades/migrations, remediation of deficiencies, and re-designs/reconfigurations.
Implement high-availability and disaster recovery systems.
Manage the full systems lifecycle (provision, deploy, monitor, patch, upgrade, and retire) solutions.
Perform operational maintenance and optimizations, including monitoring, management, automated deployments, patching, vulnerability remediation, administration, support, process refinement, and automation.
Gain a clear understanding of customers’ business and technical requirements based upon the developed solution and agreed statement of work (SOW).
Understand, develop, and mature the solution design by collaborating with customers and stakeholders.
Manage customer expectations and resolve project, stakeholder, and delivery issues in a timely manner.
Facilitate internal communication and coordinate the assembly of a delivery team for new engagements.
Consolidate delivery status and agreed costing information across project stakeholders.
Ensure delivery escalation procedures are addressed and communicated.
Implement knowledge management strategy and communicate process and procedures for knowledge transfer.
Perform delivery risk and issue management and facilitate issue resolution.
Identify and coordinate the delivery change control process.
Perform periodic project/program analysis, product line review, and product line “health checks”.
Examine customer reference-ability and establish on-going relationships.
Refine practice pipeline and product line attributes based upon metrics and analysis.
Support the development and execution of an Account Strategy.
Capture, develop, and refine intellectual property (IP).
Coordinate subject matter material for development of best practices.
Understand and manage customer requirements to ensure contract understanding and acceptance.
Ensure delivery methodology is understood by the team from project initiation to project closeout.
Manage engagement profitability.
Maintain awareness for additional business opportunities and support pursuit of future business.
Ensure delivery management methodology is followed on all client opportunities.
Mentor, manage and develop product/project team members.
Conduct annual reviews and provide feedback throughout the year on employee performance.
Ensure Human Resources policies and procedures are communicated and executed.