Architect Manager

The Architect Manager role in Microsoft’s Industry Solutions leads a team of consulting Architects responsible for the deployment of complex customer solutions operating at the leading edge of Microsoft technologies.  Focussed on UK based multinational accounts, the role will lead a team in establishing a deep understanding of customer strategies, needs and outcomes, enabling the best possible time to value during the Lead to Order, and Order to Cash phases of project delivery.   

Representing UK Industry Solutions Delivery, Microsoft’s consulting organisation for complex delivery, you will engage regularly at director and CxO level to ensure our contractual commitments are met in alignment to our company vision and values, such that our customers are enabled to achieve more. 

This exciting role will place you at the heart of helping shape leading Microsoft solutions across a wide portfolio of customers, covering areas such as AI, Machine Learning, Azure Migrations and Modern Work 

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field AND 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 experience in technology solutions, practice development, architecture, consulting, and/or technology domain (e.g., Security) 

• OR equivalent experience. 

• Technical sales experience. 

• Project management experience.  

• 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. 

• 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. 

• 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. 

• 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.  

• 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.