Solutions Architect

CDH Professionals; Cirencester; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology solutions provider based in Cirencester is seeking an experienced Solutions Architect to engage customers, design technical solutions, and lead pre-sales activities across diverse networking technologies. The ideal candidate will have over 5 years of experience in a service provider environment, excellent communication skills, and relevant certifications to ensure a successful delivery of solutions. This role provides an opportunity to work with cutting-edge technology and drive customer success.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in service provider or distributor environment.
• Strong pre-sales engagement and customer-facing consultancy experience.
• Relevant technical certifications in networking are preferred.

Responsibilities

• Engage with customers to understand requirements and propose solutions.
• Lead pre-sales activities, including presentations and technical discussions.
• Design robust solutions across networking technologies.

Skills

Strong understanding of networking technologies

Excellent communication skills

Ability to translate business needs

Tools

HPE

Cisco

Juniper

Job description

The Solutions Architect plays a key role in supporting customers throughout the pre‑sales cycle, designing high‑quality technical solutions, and ensuring successful delivery of professional and managed services. This role requires strong technical expertise across networking technologies, excellent communication skills, and the ability to translate business needs into scalable architectures.

Key Responsibilities

Pre‑Sales & Customer Engagement

• Engage with customers to understand technical and business requirements and propose appropriate solutions from the company’s portfolio.
• Lead pre‑sales activities including presentations, whiteboard sessions, technical discussions, and written deliverables such as RFIs and Statements of Work.
• Design robust, scalable solutions across a wide range of networking technologies and services.
• Deliver on‑site demonstrations and presentations, independently or alongside vendor representatives.
• Provide consultancy services, ensuring solutions deliver measurable value within customer environments.
• Produce accurate Bills of Materials to support customer quotations.
• Prepare and deliver customer workshops, presentations, and technical sessions.
• Create high‑quality project documentation including High‑Level Designs (HLD) and Low‑Level Designs (LLD) to support seamless project delivery.

Technical Certification & Development

• Maintain all relevant industry and vendor certifications, ensuring they remain active.
• Complete vendor‑led and self‑directed training to meet certification and competency requirements.
• Identify training opportunities that support both personal development and business needs.

Professional & Managed Services Delivery

• Attend customer sites to deliver solutions, services, and technical expertise.
• Take ownership of assigned customer projects, including defining scope and managing delivery.
• Act as the primary technical contact for service‑provider‑related engagements.
• Define workflows and coordinate on‑site delivery with engineering teams.
• Produce clear, comprehensive documentation for customers and internal teams.

Conduct & Compliance

• Represent the company professionally during customer meetings, site visits, and external engagements.
• Adhere to all company policies, quality standards, and compliance frameworks, including ISO 9001 and ISO 27001.

Skills, Experience & Qualifications

Technical Expertise

• Strong understanding of technologies from vendors such as HPE, Dell, Pure, Juniper, Cisco, Arista, and Nokia.
• Experience designing and delivering solutions based on HPE (including Juniper) or comparable vendor portfolios.
• Knowledge of hyperscale and AI‑driven network architectures across single or multi‑vendor environments.
• Familiarity with orchestration and management platforms such as Juniper Apstra, Juniper Mist, or Cisco ACI.

Professional Experience

• Proven success in pre‑sales engagement, solution design, and customer-facing technical consultancy.
• Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with customers and internal stakeholders.
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience within a service provider, distributor, or reseller environment.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks and projects simultaneously while meeting deadlines.
• Strong communication skills, proactive mindset, and high attention to detail.

Certifications

• HPE ASE certification in networking (Master ASE preferred but not required).
• Preferred certifications: Juniper JNCIS, JNCIP, JNCIE, or equivalent credentials from vendors such as Aruba or Cisco.