Solution Architect
Delegator | Collaboratively by Stakeholders |
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Role Keepers |
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Contact |
Purpose
Why is this role needed, what need of the organization does it address, or how is it relevant within the organization?
While VSHN offers off-the-shelf self-service products, most potential customers who approach us have unique requirements and often need a tailored solution to meet their needs. We recognize that identifying the requirements, designing a solution, and leading the technical implementation in an agile way is what makes VSHN’s solution business work—adding the glue to our scalable products and utilizing our solution building blocks to offer complete solutions.
We need capable engineers ready to perform requirements engineering, solution design, assist with offerings, and lead the technical implementation of various VSHN building blocks and products, so that our customers and the involved VSHN teams are guided through the entire process and beyond on a technical level.
Be the trusted go-to person who understands the customer’s requirements, develops a solution, guides both the customer and VSHN teams through the technical implementation, and conducts periodic reviews thereafter.
Key Responsibilities
Requirements engineering with (potential) customers
Solution design
Technical clarifications during the quotation process
Technical implementation coordination of sold solutions
Review and reevaluation of solutions for existing customers
Stakeholders and Key Deliverables
Whom does this role deliver value to, and what do they need from this role?
- General
Documented and explained Solutions (on the high level)
Solution Offering Process, while lead stays with Sales Role.
- Sales Role for Potential Customers
Information and Sales Support during lead qualification and first contact.
Solution Offering to understand requirements, design and sell new Solutions.
Technical Sales Support during offering phase.
- Customer (Key) Account Manager for Existing Customers
Technical Project Coordination for solution delivery or for bigger changes to existing Solutions.
Periodic, documented review and suggestions for their existing solutions and changing needs
Support in technically complex matters with their customers.
Technical coordination of inside-out (product)-driven changes affecting their customers.
Solution Offering to understand new requirements, design and sell new or a change to an existing Solution.
- Product Owner and Product Manager
Documented customer insights or feature requests (features, new product variants, etc. that they want)
Design enough new fitting solutions to grow the business
Dependencies
- Customer (Key) Account Manager
Drive customer projects on the non-technical level to ensure this role can focus on the technical aspects throughout the process:
Own overall project budget and timeline and collaborate with customer to resolve such issues
Own resolution of all non-technical (scope change, commercial, collaboration, legal) blockers in the project
Approach and negotiate (sell) with customers when changes to existing solutions are needed from VSHN’s side
- Product Manager
Clarity on what can be sold or used as building blocks for solutions including
Collaboration on unclear cases
Triggering reviews based on strategic changes, such as the introduction of new building blocks or products, or the end-of-life of existing ones.
- Product Owner
Clarity on what the product can do and its limitations and features
Clarity on what the team can do and its capabilities and capacity
Collaboration on unclear cases
- Engineering Team
More detailed technical work planning and coordination with customer (for example OpenShift Cluster setup)
Support through knowledge and experience, review of solutions, and similar needs
Defined work done in time, issues proactively communicated in time and collaborated on
Mindset, Skills, and Capabilities
Solid understanding of all current VSHN products (what we offer)
Hands-on setup and operations experience (distributed across all Solution Architects) with VSHN products and the relevant technology
Ability to understand and discuss business/economic aspects with customers and sales
Basic understanding of the technologies used in customer applications
Confidence in advocating VSHN values, strategies, and solutions, including the ability to engage in technology debates
Monitoring and Evaluation
Review (usually Peer Review) after 2 months when someone starts in this role, then every 4 months.
This role is tracked and reviewed as part of VIP-189