GCP Architect

Xebia; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading tech consultancy in Riyadh is seeking a GCP Technical Architect specializing in Pre-Sales for Cloud & Data Engineering. The role focuses on crafting secure, scalable GCP architectures, engaging stakeholders, and leading technical discovery. Ideal candidates will have a strong background in cloud and data engineering, with proficiency in GCP services, Kubernetes, BigQuery, and data governance. This position offers a competitive salary package and the opportunity to be part of a dynamic team driving cloud innovation.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Health benefits

Professional development opportunities

Responsibilities

• Own technical discovery, architecture definition, and solution storytelling for cloud and data-led deals.
• Translate business use cases into GCP-based cloud and data architectures.
• Engage with CXOs, Chief Data Officers, Architects, and Engineering leaders.
• Lead RFP/RFI responses covering cloud infrastructure, data platforms, and analytics.
• Deliver technical presentations, demos, and PoCs for cloud modernization and data engineering use cases.

Skills

Deep hands-on experience with core GCP services

Kubernetes (GKE), microservices, CI/CD, and IaC (Terraform)

Cloud networking and security design

BigQuery architecture, performance tuning, and cost optimization

Batch and streaming pipelines

Data governance, compliance, and data quality frameworks

Enterprise solutioning and pre-sales architecture

Data and application modernization patterns

Stakeholder communication

Education

Google Professional Cloud Architect

Google Professional Data Engineer

Google Professional Cloud Security Engineer

Tools

Terraform

BigQuery

Job description

GCP Technical Architect – Pre-Sales (Cloud & Data Engineering)

Location

APMEA

Experience

10–16 years (Cloud, Data Platforms, and Customer-Facing Architecture)

Role Overview

The GCP Technical Architect – Pre-Sales (Cloud & Data Engineering) owns end-to-end solution architecture, data platform design, and technical strategy during the sales lifecycle. The role partners with Sales, Business Development, Google teams, and Delivery to craft secure, scalable, and cost-optimized cloud and data architectures on Google Cloud, helping customers modernize applications and unlock value from data.

This role is critical in positioning cloud-native data platforms, analytics, and AI-ready architectures while ensuring commercial viability and delivery readiness.

Key Responsibilities

• Own technical discovery, architecture definition, and solution storytelling for cloud and data-led deals
• Translate business use cases into GCP-based cloud and data architectures
• Engage with CXOs, Chief Data Officers, Architects, and Engineering leaders
• Lead RFP/RFI responses covering cloud infrastructure, data platforms, and analytics
• Deliver technical presentations, demos, and PoCs for cloud modernization and data engineering use cases
• Design end-to-end GCP architectures across:
• Compute: GCE, GKE, Cloud Run, App Engine
• Networking: VPCs, Shared VPC, Interconnect, VPN, Load Balancing
• Security: IAM, KMS, Secret Manager, VPC-SC, Security Command Center
• Architect hybrid and multi-cloud solutions (on-prem ↔ GCP, AWS/Azure ↔ GCP)
• Apply Well-Architected Framework principles across security, reliability, performance, cost, and operations

Data Engineering & Analytics Architecture

• Design modern data platforms on GCP, including:
• Data warehousing & analytics: BigQuery
• Architect batch and real-time data pipelines with scalability, reliability, and governance in mind
• Define data modeling, partitioning, clustering, and performance optimization strategies in BigQuery
• Design data governance, security, and lineage using IAM, DLP, Dataplex, and cataloging capabilities
• Enable AI/ML-ready data architectures for downstream analytics, BI, and machine learning workloads

Cost, FinOps & Commercial Support

• Build TCO, ROI, and cost models for cloud infrastructure and data platforms
• Advise on FinOps practices for BigQuery, Dataflow, storage tiers, and streaming workloads
• Optimize architectures for performance vs. cost trade-offs
• Partner with Sales to align scope, commercials, and assumptions

Delivery Alignment & Governance

• Ensure clean handover from pre-sales to delivery teams
• Define migration and modernization roadmaps (apps + data)
• Identify architectural risks early and define mitigation strategies
• Provide architectural oversight during early delivery phases
• Mentor delivery teams on cloud and data best practices

Required Skills & Experience

• Deep hands-on experience with core GCP services
• Strong knowledge of Kubernetes (GKE), microservices, CI/CD, and IaC (Terraform)
• Expertise in cloud networking and security design
• Expertise in BigQuery architecture, performance tuning, and cost optimization
• Experience with batch and streaming pipelines
• Understanding of data governance, compliance, and data quality frameworks
• Proven experience in enterprise solutioning and pre-sales architecture
• Strong understanding of data and application modernization patterns
• Ability to balance technical depth with business and commercial realities

Stakeholder Communication

• Strong whiteboarding, storytelling, and executive communication skills
• Ability to explain complex data architectures to non-technical stakeholders
• Excellent documentation and proposal-writing skills

Certifications (Preferred)

• Google Professional Cloud Architect
• Google Professional Data Engineer
• Google Professional Cloud Security Engineer
• Kubernetes / DevOps certifications (plus)

Nice to Have

• Experience working with Google partner ecosystem and Google field teams
• Exposure to regulated industries (BFSI, Healthcare, Public Sector)
• Experience with AI/ML platforms, MLOps, and GenAI data foundations

Success Metrics

• Win rate and deal value for cloud + data-led opportunities
• Customer confidence in proposed cloud and data architectures
• Strong alignment between data strategy, cloud platform, and business outcomes