Consulting Architect - Azure (RapidScale)

Cox Communications; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 163,400 - 272,300; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible vacation

Paid holidays

Wellness program

Job summary

RapidScale, a Cox family company, seeks a Consulting Architect (Azure) to translate cloud strategy into actionable roadmaps for senior executives. You will bridge gaps between technology depth and business outcomes, guiding advisory engagements from discovery through delivery.

You will lead enterprise architecture initiatives, develop investment cases, and craft pre-sales strategies while collaborating with delivery and sales to shape market offerings.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of diverse solutions architecture experience with a minimum of 3 years of relevant public cloud experience.
• Experience developing and presenting cloud strategy, business cases, and transformation roadmaps to executive and C-level audiences.
• Sufficient technical depth across Azure infrastructure, networking, identity, security, and application modernization to credibly translate between executive stakeholders and engineering teams.
• Familiarity with enterprise architecture disciplines including business architecture, IT governance, data and information architecture, and integration architecture.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate and lead collaboration with senior and C-level stakeholder groups, using tailored approaches to drive strategic and detail-oriented conversations across enterprise architecture.
• Lead consulting and advisory engagements that assess the impact of business strategy on the architecture landscape and align Azure cloud strategy with outcomes.
• Lead executive discovery workshops to translate findings into phased transformation roadmaps outlining impacts at each stage.
• Develop investment cases, Total Cost of Ownership models, and business-outcome-aligned recommendations for Azure initiatives.
• Define engagements in a pre-sales capacity, including scoping, technical approach, WBS, and staffing models.
• Deliver engagements from proposal through execution with measurable outcomes.
• Lead design of enterprise architecture strategies, operating models, and roadmaps with executive-quality deliverables.
• Collaborate with Delivery and Sales teams to shape go-to-market strategies and refine the consulting practice.

Skills

Executive communication

Stakeholder management

Cloud architecture

Enterprise architecture

Public cloud strategy

Presentation skills

Education

BA/BS degree with 8 years of relevant experience

MS degree with 6 years of relevant experience

PhD with 3 years of experience

12 years of overall relevant experience without a college degree

Tools

Azure

AWS

GCP

IT governance frameworks

Job description

At RapidScale, exceptional technology is powered by exceptional people. We deliver secure, reliable managed and advisory services across private, public, and hybrid clouds, helping organizations innovate, adapt, and grow. As an Elite Broadcom VMware VCSP Partner and top partner with AWS, Azure, and Google, our solutions focus on business outcomes with embedded cyber resiliency and AI to protect today and enable tomorrow backed by the strength of the Cox family of companies.

What does the Consulting Architecture Team do?

You’ll serve as a trusted advisor to customers navigating complex cloud strategies, working directly with executive and C‑level stakeholders to align Azure adoption with business outcomes. From initial advisory engagements through delivery, you’ll bridge the gap between technology capabilities and organizational goals—translating cloud possibilities into actionable roadmaps, investment cases, and transformation strategies.

As a Consulting Architect (Azure), you will:

• Facilitate and lead collaboration with senior and C‑level stakeholder groups, using tailored approaches to drive both strategic and detail‑oriented conversations across enterprise architecture
• Lead consulting and advisory engagements that assess the impact of business strategy on the architecture landscape—including organization, infrastructure, applications, and data—and align Azure cloud strategy with business outcomes
• Lead executive discovery workshops to understand business drivers and desired outcomes, then translate findings into phased transformation roadmaps that outline the organizational, technical, and process impacts at each stage
• Develop investment cases, Total Cost of Ownership models, and business‑outcome‑aligned recommendations for Azure initiatives
• Define consulting and advisory engagements in a pre‑sales capacity, including scoping, technical approach, work breakdown structures, and staffing models
• Deliver the engagements you help define, ensuring continuity from proposal through execution and measurable outcomes
• Lead the design of enterprise architecture strategies, operating models, and roadmaps, and produce executive‑quality deliverables—strategy decks, architecture recommendations, and statements of work
• Collaborate with Cross‑Functional Delivery and Sales teams to shape go‑to‑market strategies and refine the consulting practice

What Technical Attributes We're Looking for In You

You’re passionate about connecting cloud technology to business outcomes. You’re equally comfortable in a boardroom presenting transformation strategy as you are whiteboarding architecture with an engineering team. While hands‑on technical depth is valued, this role emphasizes the ability to frame technology decisions in terms of business impact.

Required Certification: Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305)

• 8+ years of diverse solutions architecture experience with a minimum of 3 years of relevant public cloud experience
• Experience developing and presenting cloud strategy, business cases, and transformation roadmaps to executive and C‑level audiences
• Sufficient technical depth across Azure infrastructure, networking, identity, security, and application modernization to credibly translate between executive stakeholders and engineering teams
• Familiarity with enterprise architecture disciplines including business architecture, IT governance, data and information architecture, and integration architecture

Minimum Qualifications

• A BA/BS degree with 8 years of relevant experience, or a MS degree with 6 years of relevant experience, or a Ph.D. with 3 years of experience, or 12 years of overall relevant experience without a college degree
• Strong presentation, written, and verbal communication skills
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving ability
• High level of comfort communicating effectively across internal and customer‑facing organizations

Preferred Qualifications

• Consulting background with experience in advisory‑led engagements, staffing models, and work breakdown structures
• Experience defining or operating within enterprise architecture governance frameworks and operating models
• Industry knowledge in any of the following verticals: Healthcare/HealthTech, Financial Services/FinTech, SaaS, E‑Commerce
• Additional Azure certifications (e.g., AI‑102, AZ‑500, AZ‑400) or relevant certifications across AWS or GCP
• Familiarity with compliance frameworks (PCI, HIPAA, HITRUST) and DevOps practices as they relate to enterprise cloud strategy

Compensation

Compensation includes a base salary in the range of $163,400.00 – $272,300.00. The base salary may vary within this anticipated range based on factors such as the location of the position and the selected candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. The position may also be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program.

Benefits

The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company’s needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members. Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.

Applicants must currently be authorized to work in the United States for any employer without current or future sponsorship.

EOE, including disability/vets