Architect Manager

At Microsoft, our core mission is empowering every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Industry Solutions (IS) is a global organization of over 16,000 strategic sellers, industry experts, elite engineers, architects and consultants, who along with delivery experts are working together to bring Microsoft’s mission of empowerment – and cutting-edge technology - to life for the world’s most influential customers. We are on the front lines of innovation, working side-by-side with customers to drive value across the entirety of their digital transformation journey.  Our team prides itself on embracing a growth mindset, inspiring excellence, and encouraging everyone to share their unique viewpoints and be their authentic selves.

• 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 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 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). 

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.

• 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. 

• 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. 

• 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. 

• 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. 

• 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. 

• 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. 

• 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.  

• 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.