Architect Manager - CTJ - Top Secret

Role Summary

As the Architect Manager you will provide support for their team in gathering and propagating customer/partner insights to help shape and form both the definition and ongoing execution of the project. Holds teams accountable for leveraging existing architecture approaches to achieve Microsoft's agreed commitments to the customer/partner and developing new solutions to scale across multiple customers/partners and markets. Guides team in defining and documenting the architecture . Collaborates with the other managers to jointly drive project/technical governance of the design, build, and deployment into use of proof of concepts and pilots.

Guides team in working with the business sponsor and customer/partner stakeholders (e.g., Business users, Enterprise Architects, Security Team, Operations Team) to gather and ratify requirements and constraints. Leads team in collaborating to understand the business solution/problem. Creates a culture and clarity around technical insights and escalations, and ensures broad sets of projects move forward. Generates new and/or improvements to existing intellectual property. Provides their team with a holistic perspective of customer/partner challenges, industry trends, and competitor architectures to allow team members to engage with customers/partners, demonstrate Microsoft's value, and develop counter strategy. In addition, this role has people management responsibilities including driving employee growth and development, executing projects, and managing performance

Responsibilities

Architecture Design and Deployment

• Collaborates with the other managers to jointly drive project/technical governance of the design, build, and deployment into use of proof of concepts (POCs) and pilots. Provides guidance to team in understanding and demonstrating business value (e.g., release of revenue, cost savings) that the business solution realizes. Creates a culture and clarity around technical insights and escalations, and ensures broad sets of projects move forward. Provides support and guidance to team in identifying scenarios that could slow or impede pre-sales/delivery. Resolves escalations as needed and coaches team on best practices for handling escalations. Ensures that issues and blockers and addressed by the appropriate groups. Identifies patterns in blockers across business areas or a territory . When necessary, attends steering committee meetings with strategic customers to remove blockers and ensure delivery success.
• Holds teams accountable for leveraging existing architecture approaches to achieve Microsoft's agreed commitments to the customer/partner and developing new solutions to scale across multiple customers/partners and markets. When appropriate , governs areas of fiscal responsibility, through delivery team, staying within budget while driving engagement profitability and risk management.
• Leads team in collaborating to understand the business solution/problem. Drives agreement, based on the customer's priorities, requirements/constraints, approach, principles, concepts, and expectations. Ensures team builds and documents a realistically costed, advanced/complex solution approach. Provides thought leadership on oversight and governance sets expectations for quality practices and standards to realize the business solution. Promotes a cohesive build methodology so the solution can be transitioned to live operations, leveraging solution expertise .
• Ensures communication of and adherence to the pre-sales value proposition. Ensures that customer opportunities, questions, and/or issues are brought to the appropriate internal teams. When appropriate , negotiates , collaborates on, reviews, and contributes to deal approval processes. Challenges deal construct to ensure Microsoft initiatives are incorporated appropriately. Communicates current view of delivery to customer executives on regular cadence , as needed. When appropriate , oversees a broad portfolio of accounts. Manages and ensures the all-up delivery of consulting engagements, as necessary. Innovates and implements long-term, strategic plans, in partnership with Sales to create new opportunities and sustainable growth for customer accounts across the portfolio, as needed. Ensures delivery team alignment and holds delivery team accountable for delivering on sales strategy.
• Works in close collaboration with the Project Manager and Account Team to identify , categorize, and communicate business and technical risks. Defines risk mitigation activities that are foundational to the project plan. Defines risk contingency plans for invocation should the risk occur. When appropriate , oversees a broad portfolio of accounts. Manages and ensures the all-up delivery of consulting engagements, as necessary. Guides team in defining and documenting the architecture through an architecture description document, an architecture decisions log, and a requirements/constraints traceability matrix. Ensures team is equipped to communicate the value proposition of the business solution along with the project approach. Guides team in cost-based and technology-based discussions to explain the architecture in terms of its build, deployment, and ongoing operational use to determine customer appetite for the business solution. Promotes a business-value approach that values return on investment (ROI) and customer costs -savings over technical ease of execution. Provides coaching to allow architects to scale solutions. Support new customer opportunities in partnership with Sales with highly significant or global impacts for Microsoft, as needed.
• Guides team in working with the business sponsor and customer/partner stakeholders (e.g., Business users, Enterprise Architects, Security Team, Operations Team) to gather and ratify requirements and constraints. Supports team in managing and resolving complex ambiguity in the requirements and constraints and documents assumptions and implications where it cannot be resolved.
• Ensures maintenance of the requirements/ constraints traceability matrix to prove that solution components have a rationale/justification for inclusion in the Architecture of the business solution. Oversees development and execution of test plans to prove that each requirement/constraint has been implemented as expected by the customer.

People Management

• Managers deliver success through empowerment and accountability by modeling, coaching, and caring. Model: Live our culture. Embody our values. Practice our leadership principles. Coach: Define team objectives and outcomes. Enable success across boundaries. Help the team adapt and learn. Care: Attract and retain great people. Know each individual's capabilities and aspirations. Invest in the growth of others.

Practice Development

• Generates new and/or improvements to existing intellectual property. Connects gaps and patterns across business and technology areas to drive changes. Identifies which ideas should be culled, with consideration for scale across customers. Drives the re-use of intellectual property and recommends practices in both pre-sales and delivery. Participates and contributes to internal/external communities.

Understanding Customer/Partner Technical Environment

• Drives internal advocacy by facilitating insight sharing with Product Engineering teams, and providing guidance through escalation, acceleration, and prioritization. Looks across multiple customers/partners for opportunities to consolidate and prioritize items across the business. When appropriate , establishes accountabilities to drive customer outcomes and ensure internal stakeholders are in place. Ensures that customer opportunities, questions, and/or issues are brought to the appropriate internal teams.
• Provides support for their team in gathering and propagating customer/partner insights to help shape and form both the definition and ongoing execution of the project. Holds teams accountable for mapping architecture and digital transformation solutions to customer/partner business goals. Leverages prior work, customer/partner insights, and industry trends, and shares insights with team to apply.
• Supports their team in working with customer/partner stakeholders (e.g., Enterprise Architects, Security Team, Development Team, Operations Team) and business sponsor to socialize both the business solution and the project approach. Advises team on managing changes and facilitating feedback. Contributes to Microsoft-centric operations and cadences to align with customer feedback.

Other:

• Embody our culture and values

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Master's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field AND 6+ years experience in technology solutions, practice development, architecture, consulting, and/or technology domain (e.g., Security)
  • OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field AND 8+ years experience in technology solutions, practice development, architecture, consulting, and/or technology domain (e.g., Security)
  • OR equivalent experience.

Other Requirements:

Security Clearance Requirements: Candidates must be able to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings:

• The successful candidate must have an active U.S. Government Top Secret Security Clearance. Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. Failure to maintain or obtain the appropriate clearance and/or customer screening requirements may result in employment action up to and including termination.
• Clearance Verification: This position requires successful verification of the stated security clearance to meet federal government customer requirements. You will be asked to provide clearance verification information prior to an offer of employment.
• Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.
• Citizenship & Citizenship Verification: This position requires verification of U.S citizenship due to citizenship-based legal restrictions. Specifically, this position supports United States federal, state, and/or local United States government agency customers and is subject to certain citizenship-based restrictions where required or permitted by applicable law. To meet this legal requirement, citizenship will be verified via a valid passport.
• Citizenship & Citizenship Verification: This role will require access to information that is controlled for export under U.S. export control regulations, potentially under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations or the Export Administration Regulations. As a condition of employment, the successful candidate will be required to provide proof of citizenship, for assessment of eligibility to access the export-controlled information. To meet this legal requirement, citizenship will be verified via a valid passport.

Additional or preferred qualifications

• Master's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field AND 8+ years experience in technology solutions, practice development, architecture, consulting, and/or technology domain (e.g., Security) OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field AND 12+ years experience in technology solutions, practice development, architecture, consulting, and/or technology domain (e.g., Security) OR equivalent experience.
• 6+ years technical sales experience.
• 6+ years project management experience.
• 2+ years managing multiple projects or portfolios.
• 1+ year(s) experience leading blended, multidisciplinary teams.
• 3+ years people management experience, including managing consultant practice managers, technical sales managers, and/or technical architect managers.
• Technical or Professional Certification in Domain (e.g., Security).

Solution Architecture M5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $122,500 - $214,600 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $154,500 - $231,700 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here: https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay
Microsoft will accept applications for the role until November 8th, 2025.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form .

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.

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