Principal Solution Architect - IBM Mainframe, Z Systems Hardware Support Specialist

CDW

20d • $148,000 - $200,000

About The Position

At CDW, we make it happen, together. Trust, connection, and commitment are at the heart of how we work together to deliver for our customers. It’s why we’re coworkers, not just employees. Coworkers who genuinely believe in supporting our customers and one another. We collectively forge our path forward with a level of commitment that speaks to who we are and where we’re headed. We’re proud to share our story and Make Amazing Happen at CDW. Job Summary The Principal Solution Architect (PSA) is a field-based technical pre-sales role that focuses on developing comprehensive Hybrid Infrastructure solutions for CDW customers. This role involves providing consultative guidance, supporting partner product sales, scoping service offerings, and fostering strategic relationships to drive business growth. In this role you will be working with customers, delivery, and internal sales teams to develop and maintain strategic relationships and be a trusted advisor to grow our Hybrid Infrastructure services business. The IBM Z Systems Hardware Support Specialist provides technical expertise for the planning, deployment, operation, and ongoing support of IBM Z Systems environments. This role works closely with customers, sales teams, and technical stakeholders to ensure reliable, high-performance mainframe solutions that meet business and operational requirements.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of (8) years in technical, pre-sales, or post-sale delivery role.
• Motivated, self-starting, and able to independently perform high quality work with minimal guidance.
• Understand industry-specific challenges, regulations, and best practices.
• Tailored recommendations and position the company's solutions effectively within the industry landscape.
• A PSA should be able to work effectively in a team, lead technical discussions, and influence decision-making. They may also provide guidance and mentorship to junior team members.
• A PSA must have a customer-centric mindset and be able to understand and articulate customer needs effectively. They should possess excellent communication and presentation skills to engage with customers, gather requirements, and explain technical concepts in a clear and concise manner.
• Building relationships, understanding customer pain points, and providing tailored solutions are key aspects of this role.
• The candidate should have the ability to design and communicate comprehensive solutions that address customer requirements, business challenges, and build consensus around the final solution.
• They should be skilled in analyzing complex problems, identifying appropriate solutions, and translating technical concepts into understandable terms for customers.
• Strong problem-solving skills are crucial for identifying and resolving technical issues or gaps in proposed solutions.
• Willingness and ability to travel occasionally to customer locations across the United States, including some weekend availability work as required to support customer needs and project timelines.
• Demonstrated experience in planning, installing, configuring, and upgrading IBM zSystems Server technologies, including hardware lifecycle management.
• Strong hands-on experience monitoring, managing, and troubleshooting IBM zSystems server hardware, with the ability to perform effective problem determination and resolution.
• Proficiency using Hardware Management Console (HMC) and Support Element (SE) consoles on IBM zSystems servers for system configuration, diagnostics, and maintenance activities.
• Working knowledge of IBM zSystems storage solutions and peripheral devices, including integration considerations and operational support.
• Solid understanding of enterprise IT environments and the role of IBM zSystems within complex infrastructures.
• Working knowledge of the IBM z/OS operating system, including use of IBM TSO and the Hardware Configuration Manager (HCM) to configure IBM zSystems servers under z/OS, a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop appropriate assessment and service solutions for CDW customers, including architecture, optimizations, technology health checks, deployment services, and advisory services.
• Collaborate with customers, delivery teams, and internal sales to offer consultative guidance, plan sales strategy, and author statements of work (SOWs).
• Analyze technical and competitive considerations, defining actions to meet customer expectations in the sales cycle by uncovering customer long-term goals and requirements and crafting solutions that build towards the desired end goals.
• Maintain strategic relationships with Customers, Internal Sales & Delivery management, acting as a trusted advisor to drive business growth.
• Grow influence in your assigned territory by high levels of engagement with vendors/partners/customers/Sales as a strategic advisor and being seen by teammates as an expert in the field.
• Act as a subject matter expert in multiple families of products and solutions, providing regular contributions to CDW marketing approved online activities, such as LinkedIn, blog posts, online magazine, etc.
• Drive outreach initiatives, technical enablement projects, coaching, and mentoring for other SAs, Solution Executives, and Field Sellers.
• Mentoring and coaching of solution architects around best practices to engage with coworkers and customers.
• Provide ongoing technical, non-defect support for IBM zSystems hardware and related software components.
• Deliver education and technical guidance to system programmers and customer technical staff on new IBM zSystems features and capabilities.
• Support solution development activities, including architecture design, migration planning, implementation, and post-deployment support.
• Assist with problem analysis and escalation, coordinating with IBM and internal teams as needed to ensure timely resolution.
• Collaborate closely with CDW Sales Specialists and technical teams to support pre-sales activities related to IBM zSystems servers.
• Contribute to solution design discussions, helping craft technically sound and customer-aligned IBM zSystems solutions.
• Develop and deliver presentations, technical documentation, and project plans to support customer engagements and solution proposals.

Benefits

• Benefits overview: https://cdw.benefit-info.com/

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level