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Senior Solution Architect
Looking for the next step in your career? Enjoy a challenge? Do you have an ambition for innovation? Want to make a difference?
If you join our growing global team, you’ll be working for an industry leader with offices across five continents, in over 47 countries and more than 28 000 employees. You will work with some of the leading world brands across the Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies – who are all relying on Dimension Data to help them use the power of technology to achieve their ambition in this digital era.You’ll be part of a team who’s passionate about making a difference to the way technology shapes how we live and work – whether it’s protecting the rhino, connecting the G20 Summit, or revolutionising cycling, giving you the opportunity to do great things.
You’ll be joining a Global Top Employer, recognised for investing in talent because people are at the heart of our success. You provide the skills, passion and ideas, and we’ll provide the platform to realise your ambitions.Great talent. Great teams. Great work. Great opportunities.
Want to be part of our team?
The CS Solutions Architect works across client business and service units and has cross-domain level knowledge. The primary responsibility of the Solutions Architect is to consult with the client and work with internal teams to create strategies, transformational designs and the architectural vision for complex solutions that address the clients’ needs. They provide multi-technology consulting services on all aspects of application software, infrastructure and related technology components.
Additional responsibilities include
The CS Solutions Architect applies design methodology principles in a logical and scientific manner to deliver detailed analysis of client as is and to be requirements and create conceptual architectural designs. This employee designs and communicates high level structures to enable and guide the design and development of integrated solutions that meet a client’s current and future business needs. The CS Solutions Architect translates requirements created by functional analysts into the architecture for that solution and describes it through architecture and design artefacts that ultimately constitute the blueprint for the solution. CS Solutions Architects play an important role in ensuring that the solution architecture aligns with the roadmaps established by the enterprise architecture, and that it adheres to the enterprise architecture principles.
What you’ll be doing
Stakeholder engagement
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Client stakeholders: Engages with clients and IT decision makers, suppliers
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Internal stakeholders: Engages with Sales, Consultants, Client Managers, Enterprise Architects, Application Architects, Engineers, Service Architects and Technical Architects
Value Chain Linkage
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Define requirements
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Create Options
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Evaluate Options
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Justification
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Design
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Delivery
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Roadmap participation
Skills and attributes
Solution Architecture
Contributes to the development of solution architectures in specific business, infrastructure or functional areas. Identifies and evaluates alternative architectures and the trade-offs in cost, performance and scalability. Produces specifications of cloud-based or on-premises components, tiers and interfaces, for translation into detailed designs using selected services and products. Supports a change programme or project through the preparation of technical plans and application of design principles that comply with enterprise and solution architecture standards (including security).
Innovation
Manages the innovation pipeline and executes innovation processes. Develops, evolves and adapts innovation tools, processes and infrastructures to drive the process of innovation. Identifies resources and capabilities needed to support innovation. Encourages and motivates innovation communities, teams and individuals to share creative ideas and learn from failures. Manages and facilitates the communication and open flow of creative ideas between interested parties and the set-up of innovation networks and communities.
Consultancy
Takes responsibility for understanding client requirements, collecting data, delivering analysis and problem resolution. Identifies, evaluates and recommends options, implementing if required. Collaborates with, and facilitates stakeholder groups, as part of formal or informal consultancy agreements. Seeks to fully address client needs, enhancing the capabilities and effectiveness of client personnel, by ensuring that proposed solutions are properly understood and appropriately exploited.
Emerging technology monitoring
Monitors the external environment to gather intelligence on emerging technologies. Assesses and documents the impacts, threats and opportunities to the organisation. Creates reports and technology roadmaps and shares knowledge and insights with others.
Systems design
Designs components using appropriate modelling techniques following agreed architectures, design standards, patterns and methodology. Identifies and evaluates alternative design options and trade-offs. Creates multiple design views to address the concerns of the different stakeholders of the architecture and to handle both functional and non-functional requirements. Models, simulates or prototypes the behaviour of proposed systems components to enable approval by stakeholders. Produces detailed design specification to form the basis for construction of systems. Reviews, verifies and improves own designs against specifications.
Relationship management
Implements stakeholder engagement/communications plan. Deals with problems and issues, managing resolutions, corrective actions, lessons learned and the collection and dissemination of relevant information. Collects and uses feedback from customers and stakeholders to help measure effectiveness of stakeholder management. Helps develop and enhance customer and stakeholder relationships.
Work Outputs
Infrastructure architecture consulting
The CS Solutions Architect will apply design methodology principles in a logical and scientific manner to perform a detailed analysis of client requirements. These designs provide holistic views and contain details and interconnections of the components. The CS Solutions Architect becomes involved with a project at time of opportunity identification and remains involved throughout the implementation of project.
Technology expertise
The CS Solutions Architect will have excellent knowledge of multi-vendor service integrations and cross-functional software, OS’s and infrastructure designs. They will keep abreast of best practices in a variety of service platforms across technology domains, including applications, development, tools, automation, consumption, mainframes, distributed platforms, desktops and mobile devices. They collect and reference client requirements to advise on the design, deployment and operation of services. They have knowledge of all Dimension Data products, service and solution lines and they often act as the bridge between Enterprise Architects, Technical Architects and Application Architects.
Solution design and implementation
The CS Solutions Architect will be knowledgeable on how specific infrastructures and application software are deployed in line with the internal methodology frameworks and Dimension Data approved industry best practices. They are able to develop and leverage their knowledge of reference architectures during the whole consulting lifecycle. This employee ensures understanding of the client’s technical needs and key business drivers. In conjunction with the Sales Specialist, and Technical Architect, the CS Solutions Architect SA may assist with the commercial construct of a solution into a business case. They participate in determining the system, subsystems and interfaces, validate technology assumptions and evaluate alternatives as aligned to the architectural vision for the solution. They understand the solution context and work with internal teams, clients and suppliers to help ensure fitness for purpose of the solution.
Proof of concept (POC)
The CS Solutions Architect must assess the pros and cons of different technical methods, products and processes available to create a solution when presenting the proposed architecture and design of the solution as the outcome of the consulting engagement. For all medium sized enterprise engagements, the CS Solutions Architect owns the proposed solution and transitions the build / implementation to the delivery team. This means that they remain engaged or involved with the client all the way through to the transfer to business and return as “thought leaders” for the next opportunity. The CS Solutions Architect participates in defining the higher-level functional and non-function requirements which includes inter alia:
Research
The CS Solutions Architect investigates emerging application and infrastructure services, tools and technologies as well as the best practices associated with them. They are proficient at analysing the client’s business needs and are able translate this into an understanding of how markets and clients will respond to new trends in technologies. Researches and investigates emerging service technology providers and their associated best practices. Attends and presents at technical conferences to ensure ongoing practice management
Business development
The CS Solutions Architect will increase business opportunities by acting as entrepreneurs and generating opportunities within the client’s environment. They actively grow the Dimension Data portfolio with existing customers through new opportunities and change management.
Practice Management / Development
The CS Solutions Architect is required to contribute to the development of new go to market services when working in a regional or global setting as well as the continuous development of the consulting practice. The CS Solutions Architect is also required to contribute information on relevant vertical markets. The SA must also keep up to date on trends and development in technology domains.
Collaboration
The CS Solutions Architect will contribute to the analysis and development through facilitating collaborative analysis sessions and ensure integration throughout all affected systems. They will collaborate with various teams to conduct solution architecture reviews for a broad set of projects. SAs should operate across both the technical levels within the enterprise architecture and the value chain in order to develop holistic and integrated solutions. In collaboration with the Development Manager, they propose new tools and technologies to integrate with existing base, with the aim of improving efficiency in development, deployment and maintenance of software.
They ensure high-levels of standardization in design and construction.
Analytics
The CS Solutions Architect will be able to accurately interpret relevant information, gaps, errors and inaccurate data and identify trends, risks and opportunities. He/she will also be able to assess the feasibility of recommended approaches, from both a technical business perspective.
Next career steps
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Consulting Services, Senior Solutions Architect
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Consulting Services, Enterprise Architect
Education required
- Qualification in Information Technology or Information Systems
Certifications required
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Certification and working knowledge of Enterprise Architecture methodologies (e.g. TOGAF, Zachman, SOA, ITIL, COBIT, etc.)
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SAFe Scaled Agile certification advantageous
Work experience required
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At least 7 years’ professional technical, IT or Operations experience within a large scale (preferably multi- national) technology services environment on the following areas: Software Development, Application Support and Infrastructure Support
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A good understanding of the vast range of IT operations and deep knowledge of industry verticals, (i.e. manufacturing, public service, financial services, etc.)
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Some Project or Program Management experience would be preferred but not essential
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Ability to use software to create well written technical documentation
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Proven client engagement and consulting experience coupled with solid experience in client needs assessment and change management
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Proven experience in integrating the solution for the particular project with the business domain, enterprise concerns, industry standards, established patterns and best practices
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Experience working in an agile development environment
What would make you a good fit for this role?
Join our growing global team and accelerate your career with us. Apply today.
Equal opportunity employer
We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer with a global culture that embraces diversity. We are committed to providing an environment free of unfair discrimination and harassment. We do not discriminate based on age, race, colour, sex, religion, national origin, disability, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, veteran status, or other protected category.
