Solutions Architect, Colocation

Ark; Cedar Rapids (IA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full benefits

401(k) with company match

Long-term incentive participation

Job summary

Ark Data Centers is seeking a Solutions Architect, Colocation to design, price, and defend complex data center solutions for enterprise and wholesale pursuits. You will sit with sellers to translate customer capacity, power, cooling, and network needs into Ark solutions, while upholding design standards and margins.

You’ll partner with facilities engineering, network teams, and operations to craft differentiated, scalable designs. This role requires 30–50% travel and a strong executive presence.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical, or Computer Engineering; Computer Science; or equivalent experience.
• Industry credentials such as Uptime Institute ATD/ATS, BICSI DCDC, CDCP/CDCS/CDCE, or PE licensure.
• Experience supporting AI / HPC deployments, high-density and liquid cooling, or build-to-suit engagements.
• Prior work with hyperscale, wholesale, or large enterprise colocation customers.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical discovery across IT, facilities, network, and executive stakeholders; translate power, space, density, cooling, network, and compliance requirements into a defensible colocation design.
• Design solutions across cabinet, cage, private suite, and build-to-suit configurations; incorporate cross-connects, meet-me-room interconnection, remote hands, and services as appropriate.
• Own the technical narrative in customer site tours, executive briefings, and RFP defense sessions.
• Author solution diagrams, floor plans, one-line electrical / cooling narratives, bills of materials, Statements of Work, and the technical response for RFI / RFP submissions in partnership with facilities engineering.

Skills

Pre-sales architecture

Data center engineering

Critical facilities consulting

Executive presence

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical, or Computer Engineering; Computer Science

Tools

Salesforce

CPQ

DCIM

Visio

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Description

The Solutions Architect, Colocation is a senior sales subject matter expert who designs, prices, and defends complex colocation, interconnection, and data center infrastructure solutions for Ark. This is a client-facing, deal-shaping role: you sit next to sellers on retail, enterprise, and wholesale pursuits, translating customer capacity, power, cooling, and network requirements into a differentiated Ark solution.

You operate as a dotted-line partner to Ark’s critical facilities engineering, design, operations, and network teams. You carry enough technical authority to constructively engineer a winning solution while protecting Ark design standards, PUE, resiliency, and margins.

Please note this role is hybrid remote and located in one of Ark Data Centers states.

Requirements

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Pre-sales solutioning

• Lead technical discovery across IT, facilities, network, and executive stakeholders; translate power, space, density, cooling, network, and compliance requirements into a defensible colocation design.
• Design solutions across cabinet, cage, private suite, and build-to-suit configurations; incorporate cross-connects, meet-me-room interconnection, remote hands, and services as appropriate.
• Own the technical narrative in customer site tours, executive briefings, and RFP defense sessions.
• Author solution diagrams, floor plans, one-line electrical / cooling narratives, bills of materials, Statements of Work, and the technical response for RFI / RFP submissions in partnership with facilities engineering.

Deal leadership and commercial impact

• Partner with Account Executives as the technical co-owner of the opportunity; build pursuit strategy, competitive positioning, and close plans together.
• Build TCO and total-cost-of-occupancy models comparing Ark to on-prem, cloud, and competitor colocation options; quantify customer value and justify Ark pricing.
• Protect margin, design standards, and deliverability: negotiate non-standard requests, density exceptions, and custom builds with facilities engineering and operations leadership.
• Push engineering on the essence of each deal solution, constructively challenging assumptions to land the best outcome for the customer, the standard, and the business.

Technical authority and cross-functional leadership

• Serve as the internal SME on colocation, power and cooling, interconnection, and data center operations for the sales organization.
• Maintain a dotted-line relationship with critical facilities engineering, design and construction, network engineering, and operations; represent the customer voice into capacity planning and product decisions.
• Contribute to reusable reference designs, capacity models, and enablement content that scale across the sales team.
• Mentor Account Executives and junior technical resources on colocation solutioning, tour execution, and executive-level facility conversations.

Market presence

• Represent Ark at industry events, customer advisory sessions, and partner briefings; lead the technical portion of executive tours across Ark facilities.
• Build relationships with network carriers, cloud on-ramp providers, systems integrators, and consulting firms that influence colocation decisions.

What You Bring

• 7+ years in pre-sales solutions architecture, data center engineering, or critical facilities consulting, with direct exposure to the sales cycle.
• A track record of shaping and closing multi-megawatt colocation opportunities in retail, enterprise, or wholesale segments.
• Strong working knowledge of data center electrical and mechanical systems: UPS, generators, PDUs, ATS, switchgear, chilled water, DX, evaporative and rear-door cooling, and containment strategies.
• Fluency in interconnection: cross-connects, meet-me rooms, dark fiber, IP transit, SD-WAN, and cloud on-ramps to AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and Oracle.
• Familiarity with data center standards and certifications: Uptime Institute Tier ratings, ANSI/TIA-942, SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI, and relevant environmental and energy programs.
• Executive-level presence: you can lead the room, defend a design under competitive pressure, and hold the line on standards without losing the deal.

NICE TO HAVE

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical, or Computer Engineering; Computer Science; or equivalent experience.
• Industry credentials such as Uptime Institute ATD / ATS, BICSI DCDC, CDCP / CDCS / CDCE, or PE licensure.
• Experience supporting AI / HPC deployments, high-density and liquid cooling designs, or build-to-suit engagements.
• Prior work with hyperscale, wholesale, or large enterprise colocation customers.

TOOLS YOU’LL USE

• Salesforce for opportunity, quote, and pipeline hygiene, plus modern sales engineering tooling (CPQ, DCIM, diagramming, collaboration).
• Microsoft: strong Excel, PowerPoint, and Visio (or equivalent) for capacity, TCO, and design documentation.

TRAVEL

Customer-facing and travel-intensive. Expect 30–50% travel across the assigned region, including regular time on-site at Ark facilities to lead customer tours and design defense sessions.

Compensation

Competitive base salary plus performance-based variable compensation tied to quota attainment, and bookings. Full benefits, 401(k) with company match, and long-term incentive participation where applicable. Final offer reflects experience, skills, and market location.

INFORMATION SECURITY

This role handles sensitive Ark and customer information. The employee is expected to perform all duties in accordance with Ark Data Centers’ information security policies, safeguarding the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of company and customer assets, including networks, systems, business information, and customer data. Violations may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination and civil or criminal proceedings.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Ark Data Centers is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.