Solutions Architect

Responsibilities

• Analyze business, mission, operational, technical, security, compliance, and stakeholder requirements.
• Facilitate discussions with stakeholders to clarify objectives, constraints, assumptions, priorities, and expected outcomes.
• Evaluate completeness, feasibility, and implementation implications of proposed requirements.
• Translate business needs into actionable solution requirements and architectural considerations.

Capability Assessment and Gap Analysis

Solution Formulation and Alternative Analysis

Recommendation Development and Decision Support

Implementation Planning Support

Required Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Systems Engineering, Engineering, Business Information Systems, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
• At least 12 years of experience supporting solution architecture, systems engineering, enterprise architecture, business analysis, service design, technology modernization, or related technology transformation initiatives.
• Experience analyzing business, mission, operational, technical, security, compliance, and organizational requirements and translating those requirements into actionable solution approaches.
• Demonstrated experience assessing current-state capabilities, identifying capability gaps, evaluating constraints, and developing recommendations that align business needs with technical realities.
• Experience developing conceptual, logical, and physical solution architectures spanning applications, data, infrastructure, platforms, cybersecurity, integration services, and operational capabilities.
• Experience conducting gap assessments, root cause analysis, business process analysis, capability assessments, and solution evaluations within complex enterprise environments.
• Experience evaluating solution alternatives and performing trade studies that consider business value, implementation complexity, organizational readiness, supportability, risk, lifecycle costs, and long-term sustainability.
• Experience identifying opportunities to leverage existing enterprise capabilities, shared services, platforms, and reusable architectural patterns to satisfy stakeholder requirements.
• Experience supporting intake, discovery, requirements elicitation, stakeholder engagement, solution assessments, and decision-support activities across multiple business and technology domains.
• Experience formulating recommendations supported by technical analysis, business considerations, operational impacts, implementation constraints, and strategic objectives.
• Experience working closely with enterprise architects, platform architects, engineers, cybersecurity teams, operations organizations, service owners, program managers, and business stakeholders.
• Experience developing architecture artifacts, capability assessments, gap analyses, solution recommendations, decision papers, implementation roadmaps, and executive-level briefings.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to explain complex concepts, alternatives, risks, dependencies, and recommendations to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Preferred Skills

• Experience supporting engineering and operations, working groups, platform teams, Architecture Review Boards (ARBs), Technology Review Boards (TRBs), governance forums, investment reviews, or comparable decision-making bodies.
• Experience conducting capability assessments, gap analyses, Analysis of Alternatives (AoA), trade studies, modernization assessments, technology evaluations, and business case development.
• Experience supporting enterprise modernization, digital transformation, cloud migration, service delivery improvement, platform rationalization, or technology lifecycle management initiatives.
• Experience facilitating stakeholder workshops, requirements sessions, architecture reviews, operational assessments, and executive decision-support activities.
• Experience developing business capability models, process flows, service blueprints, solution roadmaps, transition plans, implementation strategies, or modernization plans.
• Experience supporting large-scale, geographically distributed, mission-critical, highly available, or regulated enterprise environments.
• Experience identifying opportunities to improve interoperability, reduce redundancy, strengthen service delivery, and optimize technology investments.
• Professional certifications in enterprise architecture, solution architecture, business analysis, systems engineering, project management, IT service management, cloud architecture, or related disciplines.

Methods, Frameworks, and Tooling

Soft Skills

• Analytical thinking: Breaks down complex business and technical problems into understandable components and identifies practical paths forward.
• Requirements discipline: Distinguishes between true business requirements, stakeholder preferences, assumptions, and implementation constraints.
• Problem solving: Identifies capability gaps, operational challenges, architectural deficiencies, and organizational barriers and develops actionable recommendations.
• Solution formulation: Develops practical solution alternatives that balance mission needs, technical feasibility, operational realities, risk, cost, and sustainability.
• Critical thinking: Challenges assumptions, validates information, evaluates alternatives objectively, and identifies unintended consequences before decisions are made.
• Business alignment: Understands organizational objectives and ensures recommendations deliver measurable mission and business value.
• Systems thinking: Understands how decisions affect business processes, applications, platforms, infrastructure, security, operations, governance, funding, and customer outcomes.
• Consensus building: Brings together stakeholders with competing priorities and helps organizations reach informed, balanced decisions.
• Decision-support mindset: Develops objective, evidence-based recommendations and clearly communicates trade-offs, risks, dependencies, and impacts.
• Pragmatism: Focuses on implementable solutions rather than theoretical architectures or technology preferences.
• Influence: Gains credibility through analysis, reasoning, communication, and demonstrated understanding of organizational challenges.
• Accountability: Takes ownership of recommendations and remains focused on successful implementation, adoption, and business outcomes.
• Clear communication: Explains complex issues, alternatives, impacts, and recommendations in language appropriate to technical and business audiences.
• Documentation discipline: Produces accurate, decision-ready assessments, recommendations, architecture artifacts, and supporting analysis that can be leveraged throughout implementation and operations.

Benefits

• SES provides a competitive salary and the following benefits:
• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• AD&D
• STD
• LTD
• Company paid Life Insurance
• 401k with employer contribution
• Paid Time Off
• Pet Insurance

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Systems Engineering, Engineering, Business Information Systems, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
• At least 12 years of experience supporting solution architecture, systems engineering, enterprise architecture, business analysis, service design, technology modernization, or related technology transformation initiatives.
• Experience analyzing business, mission, operational, technical, security, compliance, and organizational requirements and translating those requirements into actionable solution approaches.
• Demonstrated experience assessing current-state capabilities, identifying capability gaps, evaluating constraints, and developing recommendations that align business needs with technical realities.
• Experience developing conceptual, logical, and physical solution architectures spanning applications, data, infrastructure, platforms, cybersecurity, integration services, and operational capabilities.
• Experience conducting gap assessments, root cause analysis, business process analysis, capability assessments, and solution evaluations within complex enterprise environments.
• Experience evaluating solution alternatives and performing trade studies that consider business value, implementation complexity, organizational readiness, supportability, risk, lifecycle costs, and long-term sustainability.
• Experience identifying opportunities to leverage existing enterprise capabilities, shared services, platforms, and reusable architectural patterns to satisfy stakeholder requirements.
• Experience supporting intake, discovery, requirements elicitation, stakeholder engagement, solution assessments, and decision-support activities across multiple business and technology domains.
• Experience formulating recommendations supported by technical analysis, business considerations, operational impacts, implementation constraints, and strategic objectives.
• Experience working closely with enterprise architects, platform architects, engineers, cybersecurity teams, operations organizations, service owners, program managers, and business stakeholders.
• Experience developing architecture artifacts, capability assessments, gap analyses, solution recommendations, decision papers, implementation roadmaps, and executive-level briefings.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to explain complex concepts, alternatives, risks, dependencies, and recommendations to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience supporting engineering and operations, working groups, platform teams, Architecture Review Boards (ARBs), Technology Review Boards (TRBs), governance forums, investment reviews, or comparable decision-making bodies.
• Experience conducting capability assessments, gap analyses, Analysis of Alternatives (AoA), trade studies, modernization assessments, technology evaluations, and business case development.
• Experience supporting enterprise modernization, digital transformation, cloud migration, service delivery improvement, platform rationalization, or technology lifecycle management initiatives.
• Experience facilitating stakeholder workshops, requirements sessions, architecture reviews, operational assessments, and executive decision-support activities.
• Experience developing business capability models, process flows, service blueprints, solution roadmaps, transition plans, implementation strategies, or modernization plans.
• Experience supporting large-scale, geographically distributed, mission-critical, highly available, or regulated enterprise environments.
• Experience identifying opportunities to improve interoperability, reduce redundancy, strengthen service delivery, and optimize technology investments.
• Professional certifications in enterprise architecture, solution architecture, business analysis, systems engineering, project management, IT service management, cloud architecture, or related disciplines.
• Analytical thinking: Breaks down complex business and technical problems into understandable components and identifies practical paths forward.
• Requirements discipline: Distinguishes between true business requirements, stakeholder preferences, assumptions, and implementation constraints.
• Problem solving: Identifies capability gaps, operational challenges, architectural deficiencies, and organizational barriers and develops actionable recommendations.
• Solution formulation: Develops practical solution alternatives that balance mission needs, technical feasibility, operational realities, risk, cost, and sustainability.
• Critical thinking: Challenges assumptions, validates information, evaluates alternatives objectively, and identifies unintended consequences before decisions are made.
• Business alignment: Understands organizational objectives and ensures recommendations deliver measurable mission and business value.
• Systems thinking: Understands how decisions affect business processes, applications, platforms, infrastructure, security, operations, governance, funding, and customer outcomes.
• Consensus building: Brings together stakeholders with competing priorities and helps organizations reach informed, balanced decisions.
• Decision-support mindset: Develops objective, evidence-based recommendations and clearly communicates trade-offs, risks, dependencies, and impacts.
• Pragmatism: Focuses on implementable solutions rather than theoretical architectures or technology preferences.
• Influence: Gains credibility through analysis, reasoning, communication, and demonstrated understanding of organizational challenges.
• Accountability: Takes ownership of recommendations and remains focused on successful implementation, adoption, and business outcomes.
• Clear communication: Explains complex issues, alternatives, impacts, and recommendations in language appropriate to technical and business audiences.
• Documentation discipline: Produces accurate, decision-ready assessments, recommendations, architecture artifacts, and supporting analysis that can be leveraged throughout implementation and operations.