Hybrid Principal Solution Architect – IBM Mainframe, Z Systems Hardware Support Specialist

at CDW

• Job title: Principal Solution Architect – IBM Mainframe, Z Systems Hardware Support Specialist
• Job type: Full Time
• Experience level: Lead
• Salary: $148,000 - $200,000 per year
• Degree requirement: Bachelor's Degree
• Location requirements: Hybrid, United States

About the role

• Field-based technical pre-sales role developing Hybrid Infrastructure solutions for CDW customers. Collaborating with customers and internal teams to drive business growth and support system development.

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.

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.
• 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.

Benefits

• Annual bonus target of 25% subject to terms and conditions of plan