Gsi Solution Architect

About Us

**Always open. Our code, our culture, our opportunities. Leading open innovation without limits. We are SUSE.**

SUSE is a global leader in innovative, reliable and secure enterprise open source solutions, including SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLE), Rancher and NeuVector. More than 60% of the Fortune 500 rely on SUSE to power their mission-critical workloads, enabling them to innovate everywhere - from the data center to the cloud, to the edge and beyond. SUSE puts the “open” back in open source, collaborating with partners and communities to give customers the agility to tackle innovation challenges today and the freedom to evolve their strategy and solutions tomorrow.

We are open in our roots and open in our approach, striving to be the most trusted open innovator in the World. Openness extends beyond our technology. Our vibrant community thrives on diversity and connectivity without borders.

GSI Solution Architect

Responsible for defining, developing & supporting the sales process for technology and solutions with account teams. Engages in account transactions based on technical expertise required in specific deals/programs leveraging specialized knowledge base across multiple accounts. Focuses on area of technical expertise, e.g., specific products/areas within company's global business units. Responsible for technical consulting work with customers in selling and supporting company products, services and systems, or software. Provides technical support in sales presentations, product demonstrations, and customer training.

**_ Responsibilities: _**
Opportunity analysis.
- Gathers and assesses customer needs, both business and technical.
- Identifies related needs (lead generation, opportunity expansion).
- Identifies site-specific parameters and constraints that impact the solution.
- Identifies required project steps.
- Identifies likely problem areas that require attention.
- Identifies probable competition and product roll-out data/training needs.

Solution Planning and Design.
- Architects an appropriate technical solution to meet the customer's requirements.
- Investigates and optimizes a solution's fit to the requirements of an opportunity.
- Adapts solution design to new requirements.
- Establishes the validity of a solution and its components.
- Identifies the growth path and scalability options of a solution and includes these in design activities.
- Generates an implementation plan with timelines for the solution.
- Creates the appropriate test plan as required.
- Anticipates some of the potential challenges for the proposed project plan.
- Assesses likely competitive threats.
- Assists with requests for expertise from peers.

Client/customer relationship
- Maintains excellent communications with customer management.
- Represents the company as a technical expert with customers; shares knowledge in area of expertise.
- Advances opportunities through the use of effective consultative selling techniques.
- Builds customer loyalty through being a trusted advisor.
- Partners effectively with others in the account to ensure problem resolution and customer satisfaction.
- Communicates and articulates the details of their component roles in a proposed customer solution.

Team collaboration.
- Actively supports the account team with solution advice, proposals, presentations, and other customer communications.
- Transfers knowledge to Presales peers via contributing participation in education programs.
- Identifies overlooked opportunities within the account.
- Analyzes and provides support to deals in the pipeline where needed.
- Facilitates smooth transition from sales to implementation by orienting the appropriate teams to the solution design.
- Understands the roles and effectively engages other teams and resources within the company and partners.

**_ Education and Experience Required: _**
- Technical University or Bachelor's degree preferred.
- Typically 5-8 years experience in technical selling and/or consultative selling.
- Experience in industry desired.
- Technical and/or solution experience in vertical industry preferred.

**_ Knowledge and Skills: _**
Technical/Solution acumen.
- Demonstrates a solid knowledge of the company's breadth of solutions.
- Demonstrates deep technical capabilities in assigned area of specialization
- Awareness in competitive solutions knowledge.
- Understands data business center components and how IT is used to address business needs.
- Demonstrates current understanding of technical innovations & trends and their impact on solving customer business problems.
- Demonstrated ability to work as the lead for components of large complex projects.
- Has a high level understanding of the company product roadmaps for multiple BU's.
- Has demonstrated hands-on level skills with some of the technology.

Business acumen.
- Understands and applies basic financial and accounting concepts as well as capital investment concepts and applies them appropriately in po