Fast Facts

CDW is seeking a Senior Field Solution Architect to lead pre-sales solution design for IBM Mainframe and Z Systems, fostering customer engagement and technical excellence in a field-based role.

Responsibilities: Key responsibilities include designing technical solutions, conducting technology training, managing sales opportunities, and collaborating with sales teams to enhance customer relationships and drive business growth.

Skills: The ideal candidate must have a strong technical background in mainframe systems, excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and experience in pre-sales support and solutions design.

Qualifications: Preferred qualifications include a Bachelor's Degree, a minimum of four years in technical pre-sales roles, and experience with IBM Mainframe systems and technologies.

Location: This is a remote position based in Texas, USA, with occasional travel for customer engagements.

Compensation: $120000 - $155000 / Annually

Description

At CDW, we make it happen, together. Trust, connection, and commitment are at the heart of how we work together to deliver for our customers. It’s why we’re coworkers, not just employees. Coworkers who genuinely believe in supporting our customers and one another. We collectively forge our path forward with a level of commitment that speaks to who we are and where we’re headed. We’re proud to share our story and Make Amazing Happen at CDW.

Job Summary

The Senior Field Solution Architect (FSA) role focuses on pre-sales solution design. This role is responsible for working with internal and external sales teams to plan and organize sales strategies. The incumbent analyzes the sales environment including customer expectations, competitive environment as well as the customer's technical environment and define actions to be performed in the sales cycle timeframe. The Senior FSA is a field-based technical presales role. They are expected to spend the majority of their time onsite at CDW customer locations in their local markets. The Senior FSA develops and maintains strategic relationships with Sales Management of the teams they support and seen as a trusted advisor to grow business. The Senior FSA is expected to be subject matter expert in multiple families of solutions. The incumbent in this role operates independently using standard approaches, existing tools, templates, and resources; shares knowledge and information that may benefit the team.

What you will do:

• Technology Leadership: Is a passionate learner who demonstrates continuous learning by proactively expanding technical depth in products, solutions, and services. If pertinent, achieves certifications in advanced technologies for CDW's Partner Certification Requirements.
• Operates with the perspective and insight that business needs, not just technology, establish the limits on what can be achieved.
• Designs technical solutions using standard approaches, considering the customer’s infrastructure limitations and opportunities; analyzes, interprets, and presents assessment results.
• Determines and defines services that complement and/or round out proposed hardware and software engagements, estimates required engineer effort.
• Uses team tools, templates, resources, and processes for maximum efficiency, productivity, consistency, and high quality execution.
• Provides feedback to technology leaders where opportunities exist to improve offerings, design, and delivery execution.
• Conducts technology/solutions training for CDW audiences (e.g., Sales, Inside Solution Architects), using developed material.
• Contributes to the team’s knowledge base and readily shares knowledge with other FSAs, Inside Solution Architects, and Sales.
• Assists new team members by answering questions and sharing expertise on the tools of the job.
• Assists new hires by answering questions and sharing information.
• Sales: Follows up on implemented solutions and identifies new opportunities that complement the work that was completed.
• Researches and reviews customer profile information; applies knowledge of the vertical to develop customer intimacy prior to sales calls and/or strategy sessions.
• Assists customer in understanding their equipment maintenance contracts, upgrade needs, and renewals; analyses the most cost-effective approach for the customer (e.g., renew the contract or purchase new equipment and contract.)
• Uses various tools to calculate the Total Cost of Ownership and/or Return on Investment and explains to customers and Sales the business value of a solution and its benefits.
• Articulates to customers the Practice’s value proposition; articulates audience-centric version of the value proposition to customers, account managers, and partners and uses it to generate additional revenue opportunities for CDW.
• Guides (compares and contrasts) customers in their decision making within CDW Tier 1 Partners Technologies/Solutions (EMC vs. NetApp, EMC vs. IBM); influences, guides and partners with customers to develop their IT strategy.
• Plans and executes events in territory by replicating plans from other successful events; secures funding to support CDW customer events; drives attendance to sponsored events.
• Leads business-focused technology solution presentations at CDW, Customer, and Partner events and meetings in your territory.
• Uses technology assessments and demos as a sales tool for furthering sales opportunities; identifies cross sell-and/or up-sell opportunities for an engagement, equips/assists FSAs and Sales to pursue it.
• Collaborates with Partners, Inside Solution Architects (ISA) and Account Executives (AE) to drive mapped opportunities; fine tunes strategies and approaches to achieve greater sales results.
• Operates in a regular cadence with multiple partners to educate, plan, and execute on joint strategies in collaboration with multiple stakeholders (ISA, AE, Sales Managers, Field Sales); understands partner alignment in geography and leads customer opportunity mapping exercises; coordinates on-site partner visits.
• Develops a detailed and ambitious Territory Plan in collaboration with Partners, AEs, and ISAs and uses it to manage their business.
• Understands profit margin and how to increase profitability; works cooperatively with field sales to ensure healthy profitability. Leverages and maximizes partner pricing, partner registration programs, incentive programs, and special pricing, to win business and ensure healthy profitability, provides input on pricing to Account Managers, Field Sales, FSAs, and Partners to increase margin and deal size and position CDW for future opportunities; negotiates pricing with Partners.
• Produces marketing-type documents and materials (e.g., presentation) to customer in territory.
• Sales Support: Responds to questions about partner registrations, associated registration issues, and customer engagement history.
• Prioritizes time spent on opportunities based on potential return on investment.
• Produces Bills of Materials, including product maintenance; writes Statements of Work (including work estimates), RFPs, RFIs, and proposal content.
• Maintains pre-sales pipeline data, develops plans, and takes actions to move opportunities to closure.

What we expect of you:

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience
• Four-year minimum technical pre-sales or technical architecting experience
• Stay up to date on products, applications, technical service, market conditions, competitive activities, advertising, and promotional trends through the reading of pertinent literature, seminars, and online training
• Proven project management skills
• Proficient in Microsoft office applications
• Proven success and experience selling technologies solutions and services
• Knowledge and proven success of engaging and working with sales teams
• Ability to execute on territory goals and metrics
• Ability to adapt and change to the business needs of the practice and team coverage model
• Strong interpersonal and presentation skills, including consulting skills
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Strong passion for learning and teaching others
• Motivated and self-starting
• Ability to think creatively and come up with proactive ideas that will increase sales
• Strong problem solving skills
• Must be able to communicate effectively and in a constructive manner with management, peers and coworkers
• Ability to understand, remember, and apply oral and/or written instructions or other information. Ability to organize thoughts and ideas into understandable terminology. Ability to multi-task, organize and prioritize. Ability to apply common sense in performing job. Ability to understand and follow basic instructions and guidelines. Ability to travel as needed.

Mainframe Specific Qualities:

• Experience in planning, installing, upgrading, and maintaining z/OS via SMP/E and z/OSMF installation technologies.
• Experience in installing upgrading and maintaining IBM and ISV z/OS resident products.
• Experience in monitoring, managing, and troubleshooting a variety of different z/OS configurations and subsystems, including Parallel Sysplex, shared DASD, JES2/3, DFSMS and ISV equivalents, CICS, IMS, Db2
• Experience with high availability, disaster recovery, and business resilience for zSystems, z/OS and subsystems.
• Experience with programming/scripting languages associated with systems programming (e.g., REXX, CLIST, JCL, assembler, metal C) Experience working with applications staff to help plan and execute application and application tool upgrades.

Pay range: $120,000 - $155,000 depending on experience and skill set

Annual bonus target of 25% subject to terms and conditions of plan

Benefits overview: https://cdw.benefit-info.com/

Salary ranges may be subject to geographic differentials

We make technology work so people can do great things.  

CDW is a leading multi-brand provider of information technology solutions to business, government, education and healthcare customers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. A Fortune 500 company and member of the S&P 500 Index, CDW helps its customers to navigate an increasingly complex IT market and maximize return on their technology investments. Together, we unite. Together, we win. Together, we thrive.

CDW is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other basis prohibited by state and local law. 

CDW is committed to fostering an equitable, transparent, and respectful hiring process for all applicants. During our application process, CDW’s goal is to get to know you as an applicant and understand your experience, strengths, skills, and qualifications. While AI can help you present yourself more clearly and effectively, the essence of your application should be authentically yours. To learn more, please review CDW's AI Applicant Notice.