Company Description

2nd Watch is an enterprise workload management provider that helps companies accelerate data center capacity growth through adoption of the public cloud. The company’s public cloud-native services and tools implement and automate critical workload management processes including migration, procurement, provisioning, operations, financial management, and governance. 2nd Watch has helped hundreds of customers increase agility and lower operation costs by shifting workloads into more than 75,000 instances in the public cloud. The venture-backed company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

Job Description

2nd Watch has an opening for a Specialty Solution Architect to join our team! As a Specialty Solution Architect, you have the opportunity to challenge the status quo, by aiding the growth and defining the future of Managed Services and IT Operations for Enterprise Organizations. Cloud has driven organizational change and it continues at a rapid pace, but Cloud Operations Management has been slow to evolve. This is your opportunity to be at the forefront of defining the next chapter of Cloud management and operations spanning traditional Enterprise workloads and Cloud Native deployment patterns. 

As Specialty Solution Architect – Managed Cloud Services, you will: 

• Assist Sales, Account Managers, Business Development Managers, Generalist Solutions Architects and Service Delivery Managers in pre-sales activities as the Subject Matter Expert for delivering Managed Services

• Be intimately familiar with the processes, steps and the methods, 2nd Watch undertakes when performing Service Delivery to a client’s environment 

• Conduct Pre-Sales workshops with prospective clients to gather support requirements and assist in delivering proposals, Statements of Work (SOWs) with High Level Designs (HLD’s)

• Ability to assist Generalist Solutions Architects with the completion of Request for Proposals (RFPs) 

• Conduct Well Architected Reviews (W.A.R.) for existing and prospective clients during pre-sales engagements. 

• Proactively identify opportunities during the pre-sales engagement process and be comfortable with articulating (internally and externally) best practice recommendations for process improvement 

• Work with Managed Services Leadership and the platform team to identify opportunities to deliver a consistent quality of service for solutions through automation wherever possible. 

• Maintain technical knowledge of products, services, features, functionality, and interoperability of services introduced to CSP products 

• Continuously develop and conduct training for Solution Architects, Service Delivery Managers, Business Development Managers, and Account Managers on the evolution and enhancement of MCS offerings

• Work with the Practice Director, Solutions Managers, and Marketing in the creation of collateral to support the sales process. This includes contributing to developing sales presentations and development of qualifying questions 

• Collaborate with Practice Directors and Solutions Managers on opportunities to enhance the offering through providing client use cases and requests to make strategic recommendations for future solutions 

• Evangelize 2nd Watch Solutions and capabilities across the cloud computing community and social media platforms 

• Provide pricing guidance to the sales team ensuring solutions align with corporate margin and revenue targets 

• Work collaboratively with Cloud Service Providers, cloud engineers, solutions architects, account executives, Practice Directors and Cloud Enablement Delivery Team to create new, scalable and robust offerings 

Qualifications

The successful candidate for this role will support existing and new prospects with the ability to understand the complexity of the delivery of services to clients. They must understand large and complex services engagements in their area of expertise to include the appropriate methods and skills needed to solve business problems in the clients’ organizations. They identify new business opportunities, creatively participate in the development and sales of solutions, and assist the Account Executive, Business Development Managers, Generalist Solutions Architects, and Service Delivery Managers in winning the business.

 The Ideal Candidate will possess: 

• Experience with end client service delivery through a Managed Services Provider (MSP) 

• Experience with solution development of MSP services 

• Experience with software and tools used by MSPs to support customer requirements 

• Experience with cloud computing/virtualization technologies 

• Working knowledge both traditional static (Enterprise) workload deployment patterns and Cloud Native deployment patterns 

• Solid conceptual understanding of Cloud Native operational models, including containerization, micro-services, Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, etc. 

• High level knowledge of security concepts and compliance frameworks (e.g. HIPAA, PCI, GDPR) 

• Knowledge of basic cloud architecture fundamentals, including NIST cloud service models 

• Demonstrated ability to learn new and complex technologies so that concepts can be communicated at all levels of the organization 

• Outstanding oral and written communication skills, problem solving and analytical skills 

• Ability to clearly communicate technical concepts to a non-technical audience 

• Experience evaluating, selecting and integrating 3rd party software and services 

• Knowledge of and demonstrated expertise in enterprise MSP offerings 

• Highly developed communication skills

• Experience with agile software development methodologies and practices 

• Strong understanding of a Software Development Lifecycle Process and modern technologies that can be leveraged to accelerate the delivery process 

• Experience working on software requirements for interdependent suite of products strongly desired

• Must possess excellent written and verbal skills and ability to create and confidently deliver PowerPoint presentations. 

• Must have current AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional; Google Professional Cloud Architect Certification; or Azure Solutions Architect Expert Certification at a minimum 

• BS/BA degree in Computer Engineering, Software Development preferred 

• 8+ years in Service Delivery, Cloud Solutions Architecture 

• Ability to articulate ITIL Service Delivery approach; ITIL Certification a plus 

Additional Information

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

2nd Watch is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. 2nd Watch does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor.