Solution Architect

BlackHawk Data • New York City, NY

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

BlackHawk is a rapidly growing technology solutions and managed services company that competes with major players like ePlus, Presidio, NTT, WWT, and Ahead. We are seeking an experienced, customer-facing Solution Architect with a background in VARs, MSPs, or IT services firms. This senior individual contributor role will be the primary technical partner for the sales team on strategic accounts, focusing on cybersecurity, infrastructure, cloud adoption, and network modernization. The role involves leading design sessions, scoping projects, building managed services proposals, and shaping the company's cybersecurity and infrastructure practice. Success will be measured by technical quality, revenue contribution, client retention, and the trust built as an advisor.

Requirements

• 7+ years of overall IT experience, including 3+ years in a customer-facing pre-sales Solution Architect, Consulting Architect, or Senior Systems Engineer role at a VAR, MSP, or IT services firm.
• Demonstrated experience leading technical discovery, architecture design, and pre-sales engagements for complex networking and cybersecurity solutions.
• Deep technical expertise in cybersecurity — including Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), endpoint detection and response (EDR/XDR), SIEM, and identity-based security.
• Strong working knowledge of enterprise networking: routing and switching, SD-WAN, LAN/WAN design, wireless (802.11ax/Wi-Fi 6), and network segmentation.
• Experience architecting hybrid and multi-cloud solutions (AWS, Azure, GCP) including cloud networking, security controls, and governance.
• Proven ability to build and present outcome-based business cases for managed services, recurring revenue programs, and multi-year technology roadmaps.
• Experience authoring technical documentation including solution designs, BOMs, SOWs, and RFP responses at a professional quality standard.
• Polished executive communication skills — you are equally comfortable presenting a Zero Trust architecture to a CISO and a cost justification to a CFO.
• Cisco CCNP Security, CCNP Enterprise, or equivalent professional-level certification (or obtainable within 6 months with BlackHawk support).
• Palo Alto PCNSE, PCSAE, or Prisma Certified (or obtainable within 6 months with BlackHawk support).
• Fortinet NSE 6/7 or Zscaler ZCCA-IA / ZCCP-IA (or obtainable within 6 months with BlackHawk support).

Nice To Haves

• Experience with SASE platforms: Zscaler (ZIA/ZPA), Palo Alto Prisma Access, Fortinet SASE, Cato Networks, Cisco Umbrella, or Cloudflare One.
• Hands-on familiarity with Zero Trust frameworks (NIST SP 800-207, Gartner ZTA) and their practical implementation in enterprise environments.
• Experience positioning and selling managed security services (managed SOC, MDR, managed SASE, managed firewall).
• Background in or exposure to compliance frameworks: NIST CSF, CIS Controls, SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, or CMMC.
• Prior quota-bearing or KPI-tied pre-sales experience at a firm competing with ePlus, Presidio, WWT, Ahead, NTT, or similar.
• CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional).
• AWS Solutions Architect – Professional or Azure Solutions Expert.
• Cisco CCIE Security or Enterprise (or in-progress).
• Zscaler Zero Trust Certified Architect (ZTCA).

Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior technical lead on strategic pre-sales engagements, orchestrating discovery, solution design, and presentation across all technology domains.
• Lead customer-facing design workshops and architecture sessions with both technical and executive stakeholders.
• Own the technical win strategy for complex, multi-tower opportunities involving networking, cybersecurity, SASE, Zero Trust, cloud, and managed services.
• Develop and deliver compelling executive briefings, whiteboard sessions, and proof-of-concept demonstrations.
• Architect comprehensive solutions across cybersecurity, enterprise networking, SD-WAN, cloud connectivity, and compute infrastructure.
• Produce high-quality network architecture diagrams, logical and physical designs, and solution overview documents.
• Build detailed Bills of Materials with full line-item accuracy, licensing structures, professional services hours, and margin integrity.
• Author Statements of Work (SOWs) and project scopes.
• Position and sell BlackHawk's managed services portfolio as the preferred operational model for clients.
• Build outcome-based business cases for recurring and managed services engagements.
• Structure multi-year managed services agreements with appropriate SLAs, pricing models, and renewal incentives.
• Partner with the services delivery team to design managed service architectures that are operationally viable and profitable.
• Maintain deep working relationships with BlackHawk's key vendor partners.
• Leverage vendor resources to support and accelerate strategic opportunities.
• Stay current on the SASE and Zero Trust product landscapes.
• Represent BlackHawk at vendor partner summits, technology briefings, and customer-facing events.
• Mentor junior and associate SAs, sharing design patterns, BOM best practices, and client engagement techniques.
• Contribute to BlackHawk's solution playbooks, standard architectures, and reference designs.
• Identify gaps and emerging opportunities in BlackHawk's portfolio and recommend new vendor partnerships or service offerings.

Benefits

• Competitive total compensation benchmarked to senior SA roles at ePlus, Presidio, and WWT — with an uncapped performance bonus tied to pipeline and closed revenue contribution.
• Full certification sponsorship, training budget, and access to vendor partner enablement programs.
• Vendor demo lab access, evaluation hardware, and cloud sandbox environments to support POC and client demonstration activity.
• Medical, dental, vision, 401(k) with employer match, Up to 22 days PTO.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed