Solution Architect - Washington - SUSE

Description

Solution Architect - West Coast

About Us Always open. Our code, our culture, and our opportunities lead open innovation without limits. We are SUSE, a global leader in innovative, reliable, and secure enterprise open source solutions, including SUSE Linux Suite, SUSE Rancher Suite, SUSE Edge Suite, and SUSE AI Suite. More than 60% of the Fortune 500 rely on SUSE to power their mission‑critical workloads, enabling them to innovate everywhere – from the data center to the cloud, to the edge and beyond. SUSE puts the "open" back in open source, collaborating with partners and communities to give customers the agility to tackle innovation challenges today and the freedom to evolve their strategy and solutions tomorrow. For more information, visit

Job Description

Role Overview

The Solution Architect acts as a trusted technical advisor for customers and partners, ensuring that SUSE's solutions align with their business and technical needs. Working closely with regional sales and partner teams, you drive technical excellence in solution design and position SUSE as a leader in the industry. The role leverages specialised knowledge to consult with customers, supporting sales presentations, product demonstrations, proofs of concept, and technical requests. Success is measured by helping customers invest in the right solutions from the SUSE portfolio, giving them a competitive edge.

Key Responsibilities

• Engage with customers to understand both their technical and business needs, building valued relationships and developing as a trusted technical advisor. Conduct thorough assessments to identify gaps, opportunities, and challenges, ensuring that solutions are tailored to meet both immediate and future needs.
• Take full responsibility for the technical aspects of deal progression from qualification to closure. Champion the technical validation process, including product demonstrations, technical presentations, managing proofs of concept, addressing customer objections, and ensuring that the technical value of SUSE's solutions is fully realized.
• Serve as the voice of the customer by actively gathering and communicating customer feedback and requirements to SUSE's Product, Strategy, and Engineering teams. Ensure that customer needs are reflected in new product features, updates, and messaging, while facilitating regular feedback loops and supporting escalations to align product improvements with customer expectations and maximize value.
• Collaborate with Field and Specialist Sales, Partner Ecosystem, and Customer Success teams to create Account Plans that drive solution adoption and ensure customer satisfaction throughout the sales lifecycle.
• Contribute to the development of go‑to‑market strategies with regional sales teams and participate in marketing efforts through presentations, blogs, technical speaking engagements, rodeo's and booth demos.
• Support the analysis of competitor offerings and collaborate on strategies to differentiate SUSE solutions, identifying key advantages in specific use cases.
• Conduct research and draft responses to the technical segments of RFIs, RFPs, and RFQs.
• Transfer knowledge to pre‑sales peers and contribute to internal education through mentoring, peer training, and sharing insights on product innovations and technical solutions.
• Consistently maintain CRM hygiene by updating all activity for each opportunity – Use Case, Success Criteria, Technical Close Status (TCS) and Next Steps in the technical close process.
• Take proactive ownership of your professional development by staying curious and embracing a growth mindset. Focus on driving your success, advancing your skills as a Technical Sales professional, and deepening your expertise in the SUSE value proposition.

Skills & Experience

• Experience in technical consulting, pre‑sales engineering, or solution architecture, with a focus on enterprise software solutions.
• Practical skills with Linux systems, open‑source software, and related infrastructure solutions, with experience in cloud computing and container technologies like Kubernetes.
• Proven ability to articulate complex technical solutions clearly and effectively to diverse audiences up to CXO level, translating technical concepts into business value and demonstrating how they align with customer objectives.
• Experience in creating technical demonstrations and whitepapers to illustrate product value through use cases.
• Strong problem‑solving abilities, capable of addressing complex technical problems and delivering innovative, value‑driven solutions.
• Experience collaborating cross‑functionally with sales, engineering, and customer success teams to deliver comprehensive solutions and ensure customer satisfaction.
• Experience in designing and delivering complex enterprise solutions, ensuring scalability, security, and reliability.
• Exceptional consultative‑selling skills, fostering meaningful customer relationships, guiding engagements, and serving as a trusted technical advisor through collaboration.
• Proficiency in competitor analysis and solution positioning, showcasing SUSE's advantages over peers.
• Experience working with CRM tools (e.g., Salesforce, Clari) to manage pipelines, track technical validation, and measure solution success.

Job

Sales

Job Function

Engineering and Information Technology

Employment Type

Full‑time

Seniority Level

Mid‑Senior level

Industries

Software Development

What We Offer

SUSE is a dynamic environment that is evolving rapidly, thus requiring agility, strong entrepreneurship and an open mind. This is a compelling opportunity for the right person to join us as we continue to scale and prosper. If you're a big thinker, obsessed by execution and thrive in a dynamic environment in which you can tangibly create a lasting legacy, then please apply now We give you the freedom to be yourself. You will work in a global community of unique individuals – like you – with different backgrounds, talents, skills and perspectives. A truly open community where everyone is welcome, has a voice and is encouraged to reach their full potential regardless of age, gender, race, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, religion, or any other characteristics.

Click Apply to submit your resume. A recruiter will contact you if your skills match our current or any future positions. In the meantime, stay updated on the latest SUSE news and job vacancies by joining our Talent Community.

SUSE Values

• Choice
• Innovation
• Trust
• Community