Data & AI Solution Architect - Director

This job is with Avanade, an inclusive employer and a member of myGwork – the largest global platform for the LGBTQ+ business community. Please do not contact the recruiter directly.

Our talented Data & AI team is made up of globally recognized experts – and there's room for more analytical and ambitious data professionals. If you're passionate about helping clients transform their business with the latest AI and data technologies, let's talk. Take your skills to a new level and launch a career where you can truly do what matters.
Come join usAs an Solution Architect within our Data & AI Practice, you'll leverage a client-centric approach to understand our client's challenges and opportunities to deliver solutions and services that make transformative change and deliver high value business outcomes. You'll engage in solutioning and support on the most strategic opportunities, intervene in high-risk complex deliveries, and contribute to shape the strategic direction using Agentic AI, automation, AI engineering, data platforms, reporting and self-serve analytics.
Skills and experiences

• Excellent working knowledge of Microsoft and Databricks
• Awareness of channels to market and how to work in a Microsoft and partner eco-system to ensure Customer Success.
• High energy intent to help clients understand the fast moving AI industry, product and service evolution.
• Experience working with stakeholders to create technical visions, high-level architectures, and delivery roadmaps for large programs of work that involve the latest AI concepts particularly focused on scaling AI across enterprises.
• Demonstrate a deep understanding of responsible AI principles, practices and regulatory frameworks and articulate clearly how to address risks whilst quickly delivering impactful solutions.
• Capability in creating design artifacts and presenting them for approval at architectural forums attended by multi-disciplined stakeholders from engineering to senior ("C level") client executives
• In-depth understanding of modern Data & AI capabilities such as; structured and unstructured data analysis, streaming data, IoT, AI, GenAI and related topical analytics fields
• Experience in designing and delivering large-scale Data Platform solutions using relevant approaches (Lakehouse, Data Mesh, Fabric, Cloud Scale Analytics, etc.) . Identifying and designing for key architectural characteristics such as performance, security, and reliability
• Comfortable actively engaging and leading sales and business development opportunities with clients

About youCharacteristics that can spell success for this role

• You are passionate about tech and engaging with and advising clients
• You likely possess an advanced degree in a quantitative field such as computer science, applied mathematics, statistics, or machine learning. At Avanade we also support an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Proven success in consultative/complex technical sales and deployment projects, architecture, design, implementation, and/or support of highly distributed applications required
• Extensive experience working with large complex enterprise accounts architecting cloud solutions for data estate workloads and implementing large scale data projects within the cloud environment
• You are acknowledged for driving decisions collaboratively, resolving conflicts and ensuring follow through with exceptional verbal and written communication skills. Ability to orchestrate, lead, and influence remote teams, ensuring successful implementation of customer projects
• Consultative, collaborative, relationship builder
• Resilient, adaptable, flexible
• Humble leader, master negotiator, relationship builder
• Passionate about tech and engaging with and advising clients

What you'll do

• As an architect assigned to a client project, you will typically work closely with delivery teams and client stakeholders to provide technical leadership, shape deals and propositions, drive architectural decisions, create plans and roadmaps, and produce design artifacts
• Play a key role in Avanade's sales process by creating solutions that innovate, inspire and are win new business. You'll have responsibility for shaping the high-level design, estimates, and contractual details for client proposals in collaboration with other subject matter experts in the business
• As a senior member of the Avanade technical community, you will provide coaching and mentoring to motivate and inspire more junior colleagues from within your team and across the organization
• Have the ability to translate complex technical concepts and solutions and present them in easy to understand language and value based outcomes, to senior business stakeholders, technology leaders and internal sales teams.
• Engage in early conversations with clients and/or sales team and support origination and deal qualification, requirements capture and solutioning, recommending best practices and approaches to achieve optimal outcomes, building strong relationship with clients to become the trusted advisor. Prepare and represent the solution in Deal Reviews and play an active role in client presentations, and negotiations with key client buyers
• Work collaboratively with the wider Data & AI leadership to shape our current and future offerings, accelerators, and background IP to support GTM activities
• Drive the evolution of best practices and methodologies for AI development, including data management, model training, fine-tuning, and deployment.
• Lead the development of GenAI, Agentic AI, AI platforms, ML, AI, and statistical algorithms and solutions using Python and tools from Microsoft and Databricks
• Stay abreast of the latest advancements in AI and data technologies and incorporate relevant innovations into our solutions

Learn more

To learn more about the types of projects our Data & AI team works on check out these case studies:

• What matters to Anglian Water is delivering clean water using digital twin and AI technology
• What matters to SSE Renewables is innovating for a sustainable future
• Hachette UK enables employees with machine learning-driven contract searches
• What matters to PageGroup is using AI to grow businesses and career opportunities

Interested in knowing what's going on inside Avanade? Check out our blogs:

Avanade Insights – exchange ideas that drive tomorrow's innovation

Inside Avanade – explore what life is like working at Avanade

Enjoy your career

Some of the best things about working at Avanade 

• Opportunity to work for Microsoft's Global Alliance Partner of the Year, with exceptional development and training (minimum 80 hours per year for training and paid certifications)  
• Real-time access to technical and skilled resources globally  
• Dedicated career advisor to encourage your growth 
• Engaged and helpful coworkers genuinely interested in you  

Find out more about some of our benefits Employee Benefits at Avanade | Avanade

A great place to work

As you bring your skills and abilities to Avanade, you'll get distinctive experiences, limitless learning, and ambitious growth in return. As we continue to build our diverse and inclusive culture, we become even more innovative and creative, helping us better serve our clients and communities. You'll join a community of smart, supportive collaborators to lift, mentor, and guide you, and to lean on your expertise. You get a company purpose-built for business-critical, leading-edge technology solutions, committed to improving the way humans work, interact, and live. It's all here, so take a closer look!

We work hard to provide an inclusive, diverse culture with a deep sense of belonging for all our employees. Visit our Inclusion & Diversity page. 

Create a future for our people that focuses on 

• Expanding your thinking   • Experimenting courageously   • Learning and pivoting 

Inspire greatness in our people by 

• Empowering every voice   • Encouraging boldness   • Celebrating progress  

Accelerate the impact of our people by 

• Amazing the client   • Prioritizing what matters    • Acting as one

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