At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the design and architecture of cutting-edge datacentre and hybrid cloud solutions.
- Company: Join SHI International, a $16 billion global IT solutions provider with a diverse workforce.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, health benefits, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with mentorship opportunities and career advancement.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by guiding enterprise customers through innovative technology strategies.
- Qualifications: 7+ years in datacentre architecture and strong VMware expertise required.
The predicted salary is between 70000 - 90000 £ per year.
About Us
Since 1989, SHI International Corp. has helped organizations change the world through technology. We’ve grown every year since, and today we’re proud to be a $16 billion global provider of IT solutions and services. Over 17,000 organizations worldwide rely on SHI’s concierge approach to help them solve what’s next. But the heartbeat of SHI is our employees – all 7,000 of them.
If you join our team, you’ll enjoy:
- Our commitment to diversity, as the largest minority- and woman-owned enterprise in the U.S.
- Continuous professional growth and leadership opportunities.
- Health, wellness, and financial benefits to offer peace of mind to you and your family.
- World-class facilities and the technology you need to thrive – in our offices or yours.
Job Summary
The Senior Datacentre Solutions Architect is responsible for the end-to-end architectural ownership, technical design authority, and governance of complex datacentre and hybrid cloud infrastructure solutions across compute, storage, data protection, networking, and resilience. Operating as a senior technical authority and trusted adviser, this role works with enterprise customers to define strategy, lead complex solution sales engagements, and deliver architectures that align business outcomes, technology maturity, and operational excellence. The Senior Solutions Architect also plays a key role in mentoring others, shaping standards, and influencing practice direction.
Role Purpose
The role of a Senior Solutions Architect is to:
- Provide customers with impartial, industry-leading architectural guidance, helping them define and execute datacentre and hybrid cloud strategies that deliver measurable business outcomes.
- Act as a technical leader and escalation point for complex or high-risk opportunities.
- Partner with Sales to open and expand high-value, strategic accounts, demonstrating credibility through depth of expertise and strength of architectural opinion.
- Lead solution engagements from inception through values-based design, governance, and handover into delivery.
Key Responsibilities Includes, but is not limited to:
Customer & Commercial Engagement
- Work closely with customers, Account Managers, and Business Development Managers to qualify, shape, and lead complex opportunities, translating business requirements into robust technical architectures.
- Maintain accurate opportunity data within SHI’s CRM to support forecasting, reporting, and pipeline governance.
- Identify and drive expansion and upsell opportunities, coordinating specialist resources from across SHI where required.
Architecture Ownership & Design Authority
- Act as design authority for datacentre and hybrid cloud infrastructure solutions, ensuring alignment with customer objectives, operational capability, and architectural best practice.
- Own architectural decisions across multi-vendor environments and challenge designs where necessary to protect quality, resilience, and long-term value.
- Ensure solutions align with enterprise standards, security principles, and lifecycle considerations.
VMware & Cloud Foundation Leadership
- Lead the architecture and design of VMware-based platforms, with strong emphasis on VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) as a strategic foundation for private, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments.
- Design and govern solutions incorporating vSphere, vSAN, NSX, and SDDC Manager, including integration with backup, DR, and operational tooling.
- Advise customers on VCF adoption strategies, migration paths, operating models, and roadmap alignment.
Sizing, Modelling & Financial Awareness
- Perform detailed sizing, capacity planning, and performance modelling to ensure solutions meet functional, non-functional, and budgetary requirements.
- Produce TCO, ROI, and business case models, articulating the cost and value implications of architectural decisions across Capex and Opex.
Documentation & Assurance
- Produce and assure high-quality technical and commercial documentation, including:
- RFP responses
- High-Level Designs (HLDs)
- Statements of Work (SoWs)
- TCO models and business cases
- Ensure documentation quality reflects senior-level ownership and attention to detail.
Delivery Handover & Lifecycle Support
- Own the handover of designs into Professional Services, ensuring clarity, completeness, and alignment.
- Act as an architectural escalation point during delivery and transition into service where required.
Internal Leadership & Collaboration
- Build strong working relationships across Sales, Professional Services, Partners, and the wider Solutions & Specialist Architect (SSA) community.
- Contribute to the definition, documentation, and adoption of architectural standards, patterns, and best practices.
- Mentor and support less-experienced architects and engineers within the practice.
Partner & Vendor Engagement
- Maintain strong relationships with key technology partners (including VMware, Dell, HPE, Pure Storage, NetApp).
- Stay current with product roadmaps, reference architectures, and market trends, acting as a technically agnostic adviser to customers.
Qualifications, Skills & Experience
Essential Experience
- 7+ years in datacentre, infrastructure, or hybrid cloud architecture roles.
- Proven experience acting as a senior solution design authority on complex, enterprise-scale engagements.
- Strong multi-vendor experience across Dell, HPE, Pure Storage, NetApp, and VMware ecosystems.
- Demonstrable experience designing and governing VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF)-based platforms.
Core Technical Skills
- Enterprise compute and virtualisation platforms (VMware-centric, including VCF).
- VMware technologies: vSphere, vSAN, NSX, SDDC Manager.
- Storage architectures: SAN, NAS, object storage.
- Data protection, backup, and disaster recovery design.
- Resilient, scalable datacentre and hybrid cloud architectures.
Essential Attributes
- Self-driven, highly motivated, and comfortable operating with minimal supervision.
- Strong analytical and structured problem-solving skills.
- Ability to communicate complex architectural concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, including senior leadership.
- Confidence to challenge, influence, and guide customers and internal teams.
- Commercially astute with strong awareness of financial and business impact of design choices.
- Strategic mindset with meticulous attention to detail.
- Passion for technology and its ability to deliver meaningful business outcomes.
Desirable Qualifications & Certifications
- VMware certifications (VCF / VCP / VCAP highly desirable).
- Dell, HPE ASE (Compute & Storage), Pure Storage FlashArray / FlashBlade, NetApp certifications.
- Cloud, automation, or operational tooling certifications considered advantageous.
The compensation for this position is dependent on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and market location and, therefore, will vary from individual to individual.
Equal Employment Opportunity – M/F/Disability/Protected Veteran Status
Snr. Solutions Architect - Datacentre employer: Dormont Manufacturing Co
At SHI International Corp., we pride ourselves on being a leading global provider of IT solutions, where our employees are at the heart of our success. With a strong commitment to diversity and continuous professional growth, we offer a collaborative work culture that fosters innovation and mentorship. Our state-of-the-art facilities and comprehensive health, wellness, and financial benefits ensure that you and your family can thrive both personally and professionally in this dynamic environment.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Snr. Solutions Architect - Datacentre
✨Join the IT Consultancy Buzz
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We think you need these skills to ace Snr. Solutions Architect - Datacentre
Some tips for your application 🫡
Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills:In IT consulting, it's all about problem-solving, so make sure your CV highlights your analytical skills and any relevant projects you've tackled. Mention specific technologies or methodologies you've used to resolve issues or improve processes; this shows you can think critically and deliver results, which is vital for us at Dormont Manufacturing Co.
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Tailor Your Cover Letter:Your cover letter is your chance to connect personally with us at Dormont Manufacturing Co. Share stories about your experiences in IT consulting, and how they shaped your desire to join our team. Mention why you’re excited about this particular role, and how you see yourself contributing to our projects.
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How to prepare for a job interview at Dormont Manufacturing Co
✨Brush Up on Your Technical Skills
For an IT consulting role, be ready to demonstrate your technical prowess. You might face questions on systems integration, cloud technologies, or even troubleshooting specific software. If you have experience with tools like AWS, Azure, or even specific programming languages, make sure you can talk about them fluently.
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IT consulting is all about solving problems for clients. Think about how you can illustrate your approach to a past challenge using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result). It's a great way to show how you tackle complex issues and come up with effective solutions.
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When discussing your experiences, focus not just on the tech solutions you implemented, but also on their business impact. Employers want to see that you can connect IT with organisational goals. Prep examples that highlight how your tech contributions improved efficiency or reduced costs for past clients or projects.
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Since IT consulting often involves teamwork and client interactions, expect behavioural questions that assess your interpersonal skills. Be prepared with examples that demonstrate your adaptability, communication skills, and how you handle client feedback. Before the interview, think of situations where you worked closely with clients to create effective IT strategies or changes.
