Solutions Development Architect
About The Position
The Solutions Development Architect is part of Cisco Customer Experience’s consultative pre-sales Solutions Development Architecture team. The team translates complex customer challenges into multi-architecture frameworks, blueprints, and multi-year transformation journey maps designed to deliver measurable business outcomes. It partners with Service Sales, the Deal Acceleration Team, CX Product Management, and the CX CTO/CTAO to identify and qualify transformational lifecycle opportunities, connecting pre-sales solution design with post-sales CX delivery for strategic global customers. The role leads pre-sales architecture for complex customer requirements, advances lifecycle opportunities and strategic deals, and serves as the CX Lead Architect for strategic RFP/RFI responses. It assesses implementation risks, costs, and dependencies in collaboration with delivery architects to support feasible execution within schedule and budget. The architect also engages senior customer decision-makers, contributes to emerging service offers and reusable architecture assets, and mentors architects and technical staff.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in a technical field or equivalent relevant work experience.
- At least 8 years of professional experience in technical solutions architecture or engineering.
- Expert-level industry certification, such as CCIE or an equivalent credential.
- Technical proficiency across at least two major Cisco technology domains.
- Demonstrated experience managing complex, multi-architecture technical engagement lifecycles.
Nice To Haves
- Deep understanding of AI/ML integration within enterprise IT infrastructure.
- Ability to translate technical concepts into business-value conversations.
- Experience navigating high-stakes RFI/RFP processes for enterprise clients.
- Collaborative skills to align pre-sales and post-sales teams.
- Ability to mentor and guide technical staff on architecture standards and methodology.
Responsibilities
- Translate complex customer business and technical requirements into comprehensive blueprints, architectural frameworks, and multi-year transformation journey maps aligned to business outcomes.
- Partner with Service Sales, account teams, and Deal Acceleration Teams to identify, shape, and progress lifecycle selling and transformational deals.
- Lead CX architecture for strategic RFP/RFI responses and communicate the business value of Cisco technology and professional services.
- Conduct implementation risk assessments, cost-feasibility modeling, and transformation dependency mapping.
- Collaborate with post-sales delivery architects to de-risk execution and support delivery of contracted solutions on time and within budget.
- Engage customer leadership, including Senior Directors, VPs, and SVPs, using industry expertise to explain multi-technology architectures and Cisco’s lifecycle roadmap.
- Collaborate with CX Product Management and go-to-market teams to accelerate emerging service offers and capture delivery best practices.
- Contribute reusable architectural blueprints.
- Mentor emerging architects, share cross-architecture knowledge, and lead architectural transformation workshops.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance, subject to plan eligibility rules.
- 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution.
- Paid parental leave.
- Short- and long-term disability coverage.
- Basic life insurance.
- Paid holidays and a floating holiday for non-exempt employees.
- Paid birthday day off, year-end holiday shutdown, and personal wellness days.
- Paid vacation or an exempt flexible vacation time off program, depending on employee classification.
- Paid sick time, with eligible unused time carried forward.
- Additional paid time away may be requested for critical or emergency family matters.
- Optional paid volunteer days.
- Annual bonuses for eligible non-sales roles, subject to Cisco policies.
- Eligible employees may receive Cisco restricted stock unit grants, subject to vesting and continued employment.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
