Solutions Architect Manager, Startups & SMB

Stripe; Dublin; On-site; EUR 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Stripe, Inc. is seeking a manager to lead the Startups and SMB Solution Architecture (SSMB) pre-sales team in Dublin.

You will mentor a world-class pre-sales engineering group, acting as a bridge between startups/SMBs and Stripe's internal teams, shaping solutions and strategy for a diverse set of customers. You will collaborate with Sales, Professional Services, Product, and Development to drive joint go-to-market initiatives, growth, and exceptional user experiences while representing Stripe

Qualifications

• 3+ years leading a pre-sales technical team
• 10+ years in a technical sales role (Solutions Architect/Consultant)
• Track record building world-class presales teams in SaaS or usage-based businesses
• Experience leading teams with Startups and SMBs
• Payments experience preferred
• Strong CX and enterprise architecture understanding
• Excellent written and verbal communications; executive presence
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent military experience

Responsibilities

• Lead, build and mentor a pre-sales team for Startups and SMBs
• Partner with Sales, Marketing, Product, and Engineering to define go-to-market strategies
• Represent Stripe at industry events and customer reviews
• Drive cross-functional collaboration to align stakeholders
• Coach and develop early-talent associates
• Shape product direction based on user feedback and market trends
• Escalation point for user technical issues and complex evaluations
• Build scalable processes to support rapid growth

Skills

Leadership

Strategy

Pre-sales

Executive presence

Cross-functional collaboration

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent military experience

Tools

APIs

Distributed systems

Databases

Developer tools

Job description

Who we are

About Stripe

At Stripe, you have an unprecedented opportunity to put the global economy within everyone’s reach. Stripe is a financial infrastructure platform for businesses. Millions of companies—from the world’s largest enterprises to the most ambitious startups—use Stripe to accept payments, grow their revenue, and accelerate new business opportunities. Our mission is to increase the GDP of the internet, and we have a staggering amount of work ahead.

About the team

The Solutions Architecture Team partners with our users to realize their full potential through the adoption of prescriptive solutions that drive their growth and success.

Startups and SMBs continue to be the driving force behind Stripe’s longer term growth. We work with founders, C-level executives, product and engineering teams, developers, finance leaders at some of the world’s most innovative Startups and SMB businesses who are building their businesses and their financial infrastructure with Stripe. Our SA team works closely with Account Executives, Professional Services, Customer Success Managers, Partners, and Product Team to develop and execute on the strategy for Stripe’s users and prospects.

What you’ll do

As a manager of the SSMB (Startups and SMB) Solution Architecture team, you will lead, build, and mentor a world class pre-sales engineering team at scale. In this role, you'll be a bridge between the users (startups and SMBs) and internal teams, ensuring that their needs are understood and addressed through effective solutions. You'll also play a critical role in shaping Stripe’s products and strategies for these communities.

Responsibilities

• Business and technical thought leader able to partner and drive segment, Regional, Account strategy and execution plan working with cross functional partners
• Recruit, hire, lead, retain and coach a world class presales team for Startups and SMB. Be an advocate for presales within the organization.
• Mentor and facilitate training for early talent associates
• Nurture and be the role-model of a positive outlook, can-do attitude and growth mindset, while leading and keeping the SAs motivated in a fast paced and ever changing environment
• Partner closely with Sales, Marketing and Technical Teams (Professional Services, Product, Development, etc) to develop joint go-to-market initiatives that drive positive user experience and outcomes while driving revenue growth
• Executive engagement skills and presence, with an ability to establish strong relationships with key decision makers and build credibility at all levels
• Effective group-facilitation skills and confidence in proposing and leading customer meetings to gain strategic footing and pursue opportunities
• Drive collaboration across teams to influence and unify stakeholders at all levels of the organization
• Lead and support the team in complex evaluations, problem solving and challenging customer environments
• Build processes to drive scalability and ensure that the team is optimized to meet rapidly evolving business needs
• Stay current on industry trends and competitive dynamics, and leverage this knowledge to shape strategy around user engagements
• Represent Stripe at industry events and conferences, customer business reviews and contribute to new ideas and industry best practices
• Champion the voice of our users and customers to influence product direction and feature priorities
• Act as an escalation point for user technical issues that arise

Who you are

We're looking for someone who meets the minimum requirements to be considered for the role. If you meet these requirements, you are encouraged to apply. The preferred qualifications are a bonus, not a requirement.

Minimum requirements

• Must be based in Dublin or be willing to relocate
• You must have at least 3+ years of experience as a pre-sales leadership on a technical team
• 10+ years experience in a technical sales role (Solutions Architect/Consultant, etc)
• A track record of building and leading world-class solution architecture (presales) teams in a SaaS or usage-based business
• Experience leading teams that work with Startups and SMBs
• Payments, experience preferred
• Energy, enthusiasm, and passion for making customers successful
• Previous technical sales experience with API’s, distributed systems, databases, and/or developer tools preferred or previous payments industry experience
• Strong understanding of developing human centric CX experiences, enterprise systems and architecture, middleware, etc.
• Strong communication (written and verbal) and presentation skills
• Strong executive presence and ability to foster deep relationships with our users
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent military experience required
• Ability to travel per business needs