Job Summary:
The Senior Solution Architect - NetApp is a nationally aligned technical pre-sales role within CDW’s National Specialized Presales team. The role provides technical expertise, architectural guidance, and solution strategy across NetApp storage, data management, data protection, cyber resiliency, hybrid cloud, and AI-ready infrastructure solutions.
The Senior Solution Architect partners with customers, CDW sellers, field Solution Architects, engineers, services teams, and NetApp to develop and position comprehensive solutions that address business and technical requirements. The role serves as a trusted advisor, supports complex and strategic opportunities nationwide, strengthens partner alignment, and helps grow CDW’s NetApp product and services business.
The Senior Solution Architect maintains deep expertise in NetApp and adjacent data center technologies while contributing to technical enablement, reusable solution assets, and consistent architectural practices across the field.
What you will do:
- Collaborate with customers, sellers, field Solution Architects, services teams, and partner resources to assess business and technical requirements and develop solution recommendations.
- Architect and position NetApp storage, data management, data protection, cyber resiliency, hybrid cloud, cloud storage, and AI data infrastructure solutions.
- Conduct customer discovery sessions, technical workshops, architecture reviews, demonstrations, and solution strategy discussions.
- Translate business and technical requirements into scalable, supportable architectures, technical recommendations, bills of material (BOMs), proposals, and supporting documentation.
- Analyze technical and competitive considerations, identify risks or gaps, and define actions that help meet customer expectations throughout the sales cycle.
- Support account teams from opportunity identification and qualification through technical validation, proposal development, and closing activities.
- Present complex technical concepts and business value clearly to technical, operational, and executive audiences.
- Serve as a national NetApp subject matter expert for complex, strategic, and multi-region opportunities across CDW.
- Provide technical leadership for opportunities involving storage modernization, data protection, cyber resiliency, hybrid cloud, and AI-ready infrastructure.
- Build and maintain strategic technical relationships with customers, NetApp field teams, internal sales, services, and delivery organizations.
- Maintain relevant partner technical certifications and remain current on NetApp roadmaps, emerging technologies, industry trends, and competitive offerings.
- Contribute to reusable reference architectures, solution playbooks, best practices, technical collateral, and enablement content that improve field readiness and consistency.
- Deliver technical coaching, mentoring, and enablement for Solution Architects, Solution Specialists, engineers, Solution Executives, and sellers.
- Collaborate with cloud, compute, networking, security, virtualization, AI, consulting, and professional services teams to develop integrated multi-vendor solutions.
- Participate in customer executive briefings, partner events, technical forums, industry conferences, and joint go-to-market activities as needed.
What we expect of you:
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience and 5 years in a technical, pre-sales, architecture, engineering, consulting, or post-sale delivery role; or an equivalent combination of relevant education and experience. Final minimum qualifications are subject to HR validation against the approved Senior Solution Architect job profile.
- Motivated, self-starting, and able to independently perform high-quality work with limited guidance while effectively managing priorities across a national coverage model.
- Industry knowledge and domain expertise: Possess strong knowledge of enterprise storage, data management, data protection, cyber resiliency, hybrid cloud, and adjacent data center technologies. Demonstrate practical understanding of NetApp architecture, products, technologies, and solutions, including ONTAP and related data services.
- Team collaboration and leadership: Work effectively with cross-functional sales, services, delivery, partner, and technical teams; lead technical discussions; influence decisions; and provide guidance and mentorship to peers and developing architects.
- Customer-focused approach: Demonstrate a customer-centric mindset with strong communication, presentation, discovery, and facilitation skills. Build trusted relationships, understand customer needs, and communicate technical concepts and business value to diverse audiences.
- Solution design and problem-solving skills: Design and communicate comprehensive solutions that address customer requirements and business challenges. Analyze complex problems, identify appropriate options, build consensus, and resolve technical gaps.
- Business and commercial awareness: Connect technical recommendations to business outcomes, support opportunity strategy, and contribute to product, software, subscription, and services growth.
- Willingness to travel up to 25% or as needed.
- Current NetApp technical certifications aligned to the role and CDW partner requirements, a plus.
- Experience architecting NetApp solutions in enterprise, hybrid cloud, virtualization, container, data protection, cyber resiliency, or AI infrastructure environments, a plus.
- Experience supporting enterprise customers and complex, multi-practice, or strategic infrastructure opportunities, a plus.
- Experience with VMware Cloud Foundation, Red Hat OpenShift, Kubernetes, Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, or adjacent technologies, a plus.
- Experience delivering technical enablement, mentoring peers, or developing reusable solution assets and go-to-market content, a plus.
Pay range: $94,500 - $132,100 depending on experience and skill set
Annual bonus target of 25% subject to terms and conditions of plan
Benefits overview:
Salary ranges may be subject to geographic differentials
CDW is committed to being an AI-fluent organization
Were looking for people who bring curiosity, a learners mindset, and a willingness to engage with ever-evolving technology and tools. We value adopting AI as a partner, openness to experimentation, and a shared interest in learning together on AI. Our goal is to create a culture where AI enhancesnot replaceshuman creativity and decision-making. You dont need to be an expert today; what matters is your readiness to explore, adapt, and grow with us as we integrate AI responsibly and effectively into our work.
Additionally, CDW is committed to fostering an equitable, transparent, and respectful hiring process for all applicants. During our application process, our goal is to understand your experience, strengths, skills, and qualifications. As an AI forward company, we see AI not just as a tool, but as a catalyst for new ways of thinking, creating, and communicating. We encourage candidates to embrace an AI mindset, one thats curious, adaptive, and ready to explore whats possible. We welcome thoughtful use of AI to expand your perspective and elevate how you share your story, while ensuring your application remains rooted in your own background, judgment, and voice.
