Sales Solutions Architect

NCS is a leading technology services firm with presence in Asia Pacific and partners with governments and enterprises to advance communities through technology. Combining the experience and expertise of its 10,000-strong team across 49 specialisations, NCS provides differentiated and end-to-end technology services to clients with its NEXT capabilities of digital, cloud, platforms as well as core offerings in application, infrastructure, engineering and cyber security. NCS also believes in building a strong partner eco-system with leading technology players, research institutions and start-ups to support open innovation and co-creation. For more information, visit ncs.co.

In this role, the Sales Solution Architect analyses, designs and develops roadmaps and implementation plans based on a current versus future state solution architecture. The candidate assesses near-term needs to establish business priorities, analyses and develop solutions architectural requirements, and ensures alignment of architectural requirements with the IT strategy. To be successful, the candidate must retain crystal-clear clarity on the weaknesses and opportunities, while remaining vigilant against competitive and environmental threats.

The Sales Solution Architect works in dynamic and evolving business environments, in support of large and complex deals. The candidate is expected to be familiar with a range of industry architectural methodologies and frameworks, architecture modelling tools, as well as product development methodologies. He/she must be passionate in keeping abreast with the latest technological developments.

The Sales Solution Architect collaborates with other technology teams in onshore and offshore locations across all aspects of technology relevant to the opportunity. The resulting solution design is expected to be ‘just right’ while garnering the acceptance from internal approving authorities. Upon contract award, the candidate will transition the solution to the mobilization team for implementation.

The Sales Solution Architect will be the leader in cross-technology issues and risk mitigation, even when presenting fresh ideas and different perspectives to client executives. As such, the candidate is expected to possess strong leadership and communication abilities, maintains a creative and innovative streak, and can influence key stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Render presales technical support to client service teams
• Analyse tender / client specifications or requirements and manage the plan for multiple solution workstreams
• Drive and maintain conceptual integrity of the solution design that addresses client’s business objectives and needs in order to create differentiated value propositions
• Coordinate and prepare solution deliverables (e.g., cost estimates, risk assessments and proposal) that are subject to internal solution governance and review processes
• Ensure the architecture and design is agreed with both internal stakeholders and external clients, while collaborating deeply with the practices to develop solutions that are on the mark and viable
• Maintain a clear, independent and objective point of view in order to exercise thought leadership and advise senior leaders on technical value and solution guidance for client, organization and community
• Ensure all the appropriate standards and quality expectation are adhered to
• Develop and refine solution patterns for common and recurring problems
• Be the expert resource to support interventions on projects where solution quality or progress has become an issue

The ideal candidate should possess the following:

• University Degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering or equivalent
• At least 10 years of experience in ICT infrastructure architecture either as Solution Architect / Delivery Architect in a System Integration environment and/or management of large-scale projects across different technology stacks
• Certifications in ITIL, TOGAF and Cloud (e.g., AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner) would be advantageous
• Experience in enterprise architecture, Service Oriented Architecture, microservices, containerization, API and modern integration methodologies (e.g. Kafka)
• Experience in Digital capabilities, Data Architecture and Cloud-based Architecture
• Experienced in delivering highly integrated and multi-platform solutions
• Experience with the full software development life-cycle using traditional and agile methodologies
• Working knowledge of DevSecOps, CI/CD and automation technologies
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills – ability to explain technology from a customer perspective
• Highly analytical and able to manage complex solutions
• Naturally inquisitive – asks questions to ensure understanding
• Ability to influence and negotiate
• Confident decision maker
• Strong presentation Skills
• Highly resilient and team player – demonstrated ability to work with multiple stakeholders to deliver a common goal