Principal Solution Architect

AHEAD; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 250,000 - 320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance

401(k)

Paid time off

Paid parental leave

Job summary

AHEAD is seeking a Principal Solutions Architect to drive data and analytics transformations. This senior role encompasses client delivery, pre-sales leadership, and practice development for complex data solutions.

The ideal candidate will lead strategic engagements, mentor teams, and enhance AHEAD's service offerings in cloud and AI. Competitive salary ranging from $250,000 to $320,000 and benefits including medical, dental, and paid time off are offered.

Qualifications

• Over 15 years of consulting or architecture experience.
• Experience in technology change management.
• Deep experience in data platforms and analytics solutions.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex Data and Analytics engagements.
• Own pre-sales process and alignment with client needs.
• Mentor teams and develop capabilities.

Skills

Executive communication and presentation skills

Problem-solving

Stakeholder influence

Interpersonal skills

Education

Undergraduate degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Cloud data platforms

Business intelligence platforms

Data engineering tools

Job description

AHEAD builds platforms for digital business. By weaving together advances in cloud infrastructure, automation and analytics, and software delivery, we help enterprises deliver on the promise of digital transformation.

At AHEAD, we prioritize creating a culture of belonging, where all perspectives and voices are represented, valued, respected, and heard. We create spaces to empower everyone to speak up, make change, and drive the culture at AHEAD.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and do not discriminate based on an individual's race, national origin, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, marital status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law, whether actual or perceived.

We embrace all candidates that will contribute to the diversification and enrichment of ideas and perspectives at AHEAD.

AHEAD is seeking a Principal Solutions Architect to join our Data and Analytics practice. This role is a senior solutions architect and go-to-market sales leader position that balances client delivery leadership, pre-sales ownership, and practice development. The Principal Solutions Architect serves as a client-facing technical leader and trusted advisor who helps win clients define and deliver complex data, analytics, cloud, and AI engagements.

This individual serves as the Solutions Lead on sales campaigns, aligning AHEAD solutions, partner capabilities, and delivery execution to client outcomes. In delivery, they may act as Engagement Lead and/or Technical Lead with accountability for engagement success, quality, stakeholder alignment, and business impact. Within the practice, they are expected to build practice pillars, create reusable intellectual property and service offerings, and drive innovation across modern data platforms, analytics, and AI-enabled solutions.

AHEAD’s Data and Analytics practice helps clients accelerate the impact of data through consultative strategy, modern data platform architecture, data lifecycle management, analytics, and AI capabilities. This role is central to translating those capabilities into scalable client solutions and repeatable practice growth.

Key Responsibilities

Client Delivery

• Serve as the senior technical leader for large, complex, and strategic Data and Analytics engagements
• Lead strategy, roadmap, architecture, design, and planning workshops for enterprise clients
• Act as Engagement Lead and/or Technical Architecture Lead on customer-facing projects, when assigned
• Own delivery success by managing scope, objectives, requirements, milestones, dependencies, risks, timelines, and stakeholder expectations
• Guide cross-functional delivery teams through the successful execution of consulting engagements
• Ensure deliverables are high quality, aligned to client business outcomes, and presented effectively to technical and executive stakeholders
• Break down complex risks or issues into manageable parts, identify root causes, and drive practical resolution paths
• Support enterprise stakeholder management across business, data, analytics, cloud, and technology teams
• Apply knowledge of AHEAD’s project lifecycle management practices to support successful delivery from initiation through closure
• Lead clients through modern data and analytics transformations, including data strategy and governance, data lifecycle management, platform modernization, data engineering, reporting, analytics, and AI enablement

Pre-Sales and Business Development

• Serve as the Solutions Lead on sales pursuits for Data and Analytics opportunities
• Own the pre-sales process, including discovery, qualification, solution alignment, scoping, estimation, and proposal development
• Lead client discovery and visioning sessions to understand business drivers, current-state challenges, and desired outcomes
• Translate client needs into differentiated solution strategies that align practice offerings, partner capabilities, and delivery execution
• Represent AHEAD service offerings throughout the sales cycle, including presentations, workshops, and proposal reviews
• Develop statements of work, proposal packages, and engagement scope for strategic opportunities
• Partner with sales specialists, client directors, and other practice leaders to identify and shape cross-practice opportunities
• Support complex pursuits involving cloud platforms, data engineering, business intelligence, AI, platform engineering, and adjacent AHEAD capabilities

Practice Development and Thought Leadership

• Help define and mature the Data and Analytics practice strategy, service portfolio, and go-to-market offerings
• Build practice pillars that improve scale, quality, differentiation, and delivery consistency
• Create reusable intellectual property, accelerators, methodologies, frameworks, and delivery assets
• Drive innovation in modern data architecture, analytics platforms, AI, and emerging technologies
• Contribute to the development, enhancement, and standardization of in-practice offerings and capabilities
• Identify opportunities to improve how AHEAD delivers data platform architecture, pipelines, governance, semantic models, analytics, and AI solutions for clients
• Partner across AHEAD practices to develop integrated solutions that address broad client transformation goals
• Maintain a strong point of view on industry trends, partner ecosystems, and modern technology standards
• Contribute thought leadership internally and externally through mentorship, enablement, and practice visibility

Team Mentorship and Enablement

• Mentor consultants, architects, and engineers across delivery, solutioning, and client engagement leadership
• Coach teams on architecture quality, executive communication, consulting presence, and delivery excellence
• Support team capability development through peer reviews, solution reviews, knowledge sharing, and reusable enablement content
• Positively impact both individual growth and overall practice maturity through leadership and example

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Business, or a related field preferred, but not required
• Minimum of 15 years of consulting, architecture, engineering, and related experience, or commensurate work experience
• Prior experience in a senior leadership, principal architect, program leadership, or practice leadership role
• Demonstrated success leading large, complex, client-facing delivery engagements
• Demonstrated experience owning or leading pre-sales pursuits, including discovery, scoping, and proposal development
• Deep experience designing and delivering modern data and analytics solutions such as data platforms, data pipelines, cloud data architectures, reporting and analytics solutions, and AI-enabling data foundations
• Strong knowledge of enterprise data strategy, governance, platform architecture, engineering, and analytics operating models
• Experience working with modern data and analytics technologies such as cloud-native data platforms, data warehouses, lakehouse platforms, orchestration tools, business intelligence platforms, and AI or machine learning ecosystems
• Strong executive communication and presentation skills in virtual and in-person settings
• Demonstrated business acumen and the ability to connect technical strategy to business value
• Ability to solve complex, abstract problems and guide teams through ambiguity
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including listening, collaboration, and stakeholder influence; Executive presence with the ability to build trust across client and internal leadership teams
• Demonstrated experience as a technology change agent; Professional and/or technical certifications aligned to cloud, data, analytics, or AI disciplines preferred

What Success Looks Like

• Wins and delivers complex Data and Analytics engagements with strong client outcomes
• Builds trusted advisor relationships with client stakeholders and AHEAD account teams
• Strengthens AHEAD’s market position through solution leadership and differentiated offerings
• Expands the practice through reusable IP, scalable service development, and innovation
• Elevates team capability through mentorship, enablement, and leadership

$250,000 - $320,000 a year

The compensation range indicated in this posting reflects the On-Target Earnings (OTE) for this role, which includes a base salary and any applicable target bonus amount. This OTE range may vary based on the candidate’s relevant experience, qualifications, and geographic location.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• 401(k)
• Paid company holidays
• Paid time off
• Paid parental and caregiver leave
• Plus more! See benefits https://www.aheadbenefits.com/ for additional details.

Use of AI

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, assessing responses, or to capture recordings and create transcriptions or summaries during interviews. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans.

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You may opt-out of the review or analysis of your application and resume by AI tools by using the General Application. Please include the role you wish to apply for in the Additional Information field. You may also choose to opt-out of recording and transcription at any time, including after joining an interview. Candidates will not be penalized for choosing to opt-out.