Senior Solutions Architect

Lightbend; New York (NY); Remote; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company is seeking a Senior Solutions Architect to drive the adoption of cloud-native and agentic AI architectures. This role blends technology with customer engagement, allowing you to act as a trusted advisor to enterprise clients. Join us to contribute to cutting-edge AI systems and thrive in a culture valuing innovation and collaboration.

Benefits

Competitive salary with performance-based incentives.

Remote-first, flexible work environment.

Comprehensive health and wellness benefits.

Opportunities for professional development.

Collaborative and inclusive company culture.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in a customer-facing solution-architecture or technical pre-sales role.
• Hands-on experience with cloud-native or distributed systems.

Responsibilities

• Act as a trusted advisor throughout the pre-sales lifecycle.
• Design and advocate for cloud-native architectures.
• Sustain strong customer relationships via proactive engagement.

Skills

Problem-Solving

Communication

Architectural Design

Cloud Computing

Distributed Systems

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering

Tools

AWS

GCP

Azure

Akka

Kalix

Job description

Job Title: Senior Solutions Architect

Location: North America (Remote)

Company Overview: Akka powers the next generation of agentic AI systems and distributed applications—built for resilience, speed, and intelligence at scale. Trusted by industry giants and innovators alike, we provide the backbone for AI-native software. We value innovation, collaboration, and customer-centricity in everything we do. Learn more at akka.io.

Position Overview: We are looking for a Senior Solutions Architect who operates at the intersection of technology, consulting, and customer engagement. You will be a trusted advisor to enterprise clients, steering them through the evaluation, design, and adoption of cloud-native and Agentic AI architectures built on Akka. Your combination of deep distributed-systems expertise and polished pre-sales skills will translate complex technical challenges into clear, business-aligned outcomes.

Reports to: VP of Services and Solutions Architecture

Key Responsibilities:

• Act as a trusted advisor throughout the pre-sales lifecycle—leading discovery sessions, shaping solution strategies, and steering architectural decisions that align technical goals with business objectives.
• Drive technical validation and secure the technical win by conveying Akka / Kalix business value through clear presentations, PoCs, and deep-dive sessions for both engineering and executive audiences.
• Partner with Account Executives and sales leadership to craft and execute strategic account plans that maximize long-term technical value.
• Design, document, and advocate cloud-native architectures built on Akka, Kalix, and the broader Akka stack, embedding best practices for resilience, performance, and cost efficiency.
• Sustain strong customer relationships via proactive engagement—regular check-ins, QBRs, and architecture reviews—to surface risks, optimize solutions, and drive adoption.
• Represent Lightbend as a subject-matter expert in reactive, cloud-native, and agentic-AI systems through industry events, webinars, blog posts, and community participation.
• Guide customers in applying emerging agentic-AI patterns to streaming or event-driven solutions to deliver measurable business impact.

Qualifications:

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years in a customer-facing solution-architecture or technical pre-sales role with enterprise software or PaaS products.
• Proven record of leading technical discovery, influencing architecture decisions, and securing technical validation in complex sales cycles.
• Hands-on software-development background with at least 3 years designing cloud-native or distributed systems.
• Working knowledge of Akka, Kalix, or comparable reactive/event-driven or streaming technologies.
• Proficiency with AWS, GCP, or Azure and sound understanding of SaaS/PaaS delivery models.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills across developer, architect, and executive stakeholders.
• Ability to travel up to 20 % within the region.

Preferred

• Professional certification in AWS, GCP, or Azure.
• Hands-on experience in AI/ML; familiarity with agentic-AI approaches is a plus.
• Domain expertise in ultra-low-latency, high-throughput environments (fintech, telecom, IoT, etc).

Other Requirements:

All employees are required to adhere to all company policies and complete mandatory training, including annual security awareness training.

Why Join Us? At Akka, you’ll be part of a team that values innovation, collaboration, and impact. We offer competitive compensation, professional growth opportunities, and a supportive environment where your contributions make a difference. Join us to help organizations build the future of cloud-native applications.

Where You’ll Work:

This is a remote position based in North America.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary with performance-based incentives.
• Remote-first, flexible work environment.
• Comprehensive health and wellness benefits.
• Opportunities for professional development and continuous learning.
• Collaborative, inclusive, and innovative company culture.

Our Core Values:

• We’re Authentic: We value transparency and genuine communication, without politics or games. We're honest and assume good intentions, cultivating trust and accountability within our organization and in our interactions with others outside of Akka.
• We’re Customer-Focused: We value customer outcomes above all else. By prioritizing our customers' interests, and meeting them where they are today, we help ensure their success. We are dedicated to deeply understanding our customer’s needs, anticipating challenges, navigating time constraints and striving to exceed expectations.
• We’re Nonconventional: We value fearless innovation by challenging the status quo and embracing alternative approaches. Continuous learning and a growth mindset aimed at improving ourselves, our company, and our products, drives us to push boundaries and explore new solutions. Guided by a bias for action, we leverage industry and customer insights to inspire fresh ideas, enabling optimal future offerings.
• We’re Persistent: We value excellence through continuous experimentation and courageous problem-solving. We recognize that achieving success oftendemands approaching challenges with tenacity and taking calculated risks to achieve leading-edge solutions.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Akka is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace, welcoming individuals from all backgrounds and experiences. We celebrate differences and provide equal opportunities for all employees.