Solution Architect, SUSE
West Coast
More information about location
To bring the infinite potential of open source to the Enterprise
Open for applications
To bring the infinite potential of open source to the Enterprise
1001+ employees
Open for applications
More information about location
1001+ employees
Company mission
To transform open source innovations into enterprise-grade solutions to give customers choice.
Role
Who you are
- 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
What the job involves
- 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. You will work closely with regional sales and partner teams to drive technical excellence in solution design, positioning SUSE as a leader in the industry
- The role will leverage specialised knowledge to consult with customers, supporting sales presentations, product demonstrations, proofs of concept, and technical requests. Ultimately, success will be helping customers invest in the right solutions from the SUSE portfolio, giving them a competitive edge
- 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 (PoCs), addressing customer objections, and ensuring that the technical value of SUSE’s solutions is fully realised
- 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 support escalations to ensure product improvements align with customer expectations and maximise value
- Collaborate with Field and Specialist Sales, Partner Ecosystem, and Customer Success teams to create Account Plans to 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 demo’s
- Support the analysis of competitor offerings and collaborate on developing strategies to differentiate SUSE solutions, identifying key advantages in specific use cases
- Conduct research and draft responses to the technical segments of requests for information (RFIs), requests for proposals (RFPs), and requests for quotes (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
Our take
The tech world is facing a shift and businesses are under pressure to modernise, cut costs, and stay flexible, all while dealing with increasingly complex IT demands. Many are finding that traditional software just don't offer the flexibility or value they need anymore.
This is where SUSE steps in with its open source tools that help businesses run their IT systems better. From managing cloud services to running virtual machines and containers, SUSE's software makes it easier for businesses to scale and streamline complex infrastructure, all from one central platform.
The company is making a name for itself by blending open source freedom with solid support and real results. Aussie Broadband, for example, boosted efficiency and trimmed down deployment times by switching to SUSE. With its sights now set on edge computing and AI, SUSE is showing that open source isn't just practical, but is powering the future of scalable tech.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Meet the team
Michael Rennett, Director, Analyst Relations
Insights
24% female employees
Company
Funding (2 rounds)
Feb 2002
$5.2m
EARLY VC
Oct 2001
$17.7m
LATE VC
Total funding: $22.9m
Company benefits
- Company bonus: We believe that everyone makes an impact on the success of the company, so we reward our employees for our achievements as one SUSE team.
- Agile Worker Policy: Unless your role requires a specific work model, we offer flexibility in how our people work - home-base, office-based or hybrid
- Flexibility: To maintain a healthy work-life balance, our people can adapt their work schedule to their personal and family needs
- Global Parental Leave: 20-week maternity leave with full salary and time off with pay for pregnancy-related appointments will be provided to pregnant SUSE people. Leave is also available to employees adopting a child or using surrogacy
- Health & well-being benefits program: We offer a well-being program designed for our people and their families. We also provide an excellent benefits plan including insurance, medical package and more, depending on the local market
- Employee referral program: Earn a financial reward or every successful referral you make – help us build a great team and get rewarded in the process
- Employee Resource Groups: Our main people networks are Women in Tech, Neurodiversity, GoGreen, Pride at SUSE and Open Source Community Citizen network. Through them our people can align to personal values, build bonds, and engage with communities of interest
Company values
- Choice
- Innovation
- Trust
- Community
Company HQ
Gare, Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Articles
Leadership
DP held executive roles, including Red Hat GM for APAC and NA, before SUSE. He's on the NUS Institute of Systems Science board and mentors women in business. DP is an open-source programming hobbyist!
Ian Halifax
(CFO)Ian has more than 30 years' experience in Senior Financial Leadership positions, including as CFO at leading global tech providers such as Trellix (McAfee Enterprise/FireEye), Riverbed Technology, Wind River Systems, Micromuse, and Macrovision.
Andy McDonald
(Chief Legal Officer)They have extensive experience in Legal Affairs and Governance in a variety of companies, including Interserve, Premier Foods plc, Uniq plc, and Spirent plc. They also worked as a Corporate Lawyer at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer before moving into Industry.
Lisa Sherwell
(CPO)Lisa Sherwell, CPO, is a global strategy & transformation exec with 25 years in B2B tech - led SUSE's strategy, and was GM/Sales Director at SAP/Merchants. Lisa champions people-centric leadership!
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