Architect, Data & AI

Job description

**Overview** Microsoft Industry Solutions - Global Center Innovation and Delivery Center (GCID) delivers end-to-end solutions by enabling accelerated adoption and productive use of Microsoft technologies. An organization of well over 1000+ exceptional people, GCID presents a great opportunity for highly skilled services professionals to make a foray into consulting, solution development and delivery roles. The Architect is a senior leader responsible for the successful technical execution and delivery of complex client projects across diverse domains. This role acts as a strategic anchor between clients, leadership team, delivery managers, project managers, and delivery team(s). In the AI-first GCID organization, Architects are expected to embed AI-native thinking into delivery models, ensuring solutions are intelligent, scalable, and aligned with business outcomes. The ideal candidate is passionate about technology, demonstrates breadth of expertise, and advocates for solutions that deliver true client value. **Responsibilities** **AI-First Delivery Leadership** - Embed AI-first mindset into delivery workflows, leveraging automation and intelligent orchestration where applicable. - Lead end-to-end delivery of complex projects, ensuring solutions are scalable, robust, and aligned with client business outcomes. - Drive engineering excellence through reusable components, accelerators, and scalable architecture. - Oversee technical execution across multiple projects, ensuring adherence to best practices, quality standards, and compliance requirements. - Collaborate with clients and internal stakeholders to define strategies, delivery plans, milestones, and risk mitigation approaches. - Act as a technical point of contact for clients, translating business requirements into scalable technical solutions. - Ensure delivery models are optimized for modern AI-native execution, including integration of automation and intelligent processes. - Ability to step into at‑risk projects, quickly assess issues, and establish a credible path to recovery or exit. **Engineering Excellence** Promote high-quality architecture and ensure integrity and performance across delivery. Establish secure coding, test-driven development, observability, and performance standards as defaults. Support ongoing learning and certifications to stay current. Advance adoption of modern methodologies like Agile, DevOps, and CI/CD for scalable solutions. Cultivate technical rigor, innovation, and accountability within the team. **Innovation & Thought Leadership** Apply AI-driven design for user-focused solutions that support business, architecture, and delivery goals. Assess modern technologies to guide strategy. Drive innovation in delivery methods and reusable tools to boost efficiency. Promote best practices and continuous improvement across teams. **Client Engagement & Solutioning** Engage with clients to assess their needs and provide guidance throughout projects. Additionally, assist pre-sales teams by preparing estimates, demonstrating products, and developing proposals. Maintain strong client relationships to ensure ongoing satisfaction and deliver value. **Team Management & Mentorship** Lead cross-functional teams to encourage learning, collaboration, and technical excellence. Review work, give feedback, and support team members' growth. **Quality & Compliance** Ensure secure, compliant, and reliable solution delivery through secure coding, test driven‑ development, observability, design reviews, and quality gates across all engagements. **Other** - Embody our [culture](https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/culture&data=04%7c01%7closmit%40microsoft.com%7c27f2181d96804234953708d8f3b22d06%7c72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7c1%7c0%7c637527293867872556%7cUnknown%7cTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7c1000&sdata=QnmEU%2BvawaPM5eEUL1FxWPmhizgKnDLFj6dlUTOWRB0%3D&reserved=0) and [values](https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/about/corporate-values&data=04%7c01%7closmit%40microsoft.com%7c27f2181d96804234953708d8f3b22d06%7c72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7c1%7c0%7c637527293867882502%7cUnknown%7cTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7c1000&sdata=p3lkWaIXzH3t9t1hS9bOfKhtDFWPj6gi8zZU94LWRso%3D&reserved=0) **Qualifications** **Qualifications & Preferred Skills** - 20+ years of experience in software/solution engineering, with at least 10–15 years as Architect and Delivery leadership roles. - Proven experience in leading delivery of complex, multi-disciplinary projects. - Strong understanding of delivery methodologies (Agile, Scrum, DevOps, etc.) and adopt emerging practices for faster Go To Market (GTM) using Hyper Velocity Engineering - Excellent communication, stakeholder management, problem-solving, and team leadership skills. - Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience). - Relevant certifications are a plus. **Areas of Expertise** **Enterprise Data Architecture & Modern Platforms** - Lead enterprise data modernization initiatives in close collaboration with Customer, team and Enterprise Architects, spanning assessment, target‑state design, and optimization. - Drive and influence architectural decisions for modern data platforms, providing hands‑on delivery leadership across Microsoft, Microsoft Purview, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Data Factory, and partner platforms such as Snowflake and Teradata. - Partner with Customer teams, cross functional Architects on workload characterization, environment separation, capacity planning, balancing performance, scalability, resilience, and total cost of ownership. - Share accountability with Delivery Managers, Development team for production rollout, owning performance outcomes, operational stability, and long‑term sust