Enterprise Architect

Overview:

Cypress Technology Advisors is focused on helping organizations architect, deploy, and optimize modern infrastructure, cybersecurity, and AI solutions. We are seeking an Enterprise Architect to own the technical side of the sales cycle and the technical relationships within a portfolio of strategic accounts. This is the most senior role on the Pre-Sales Architect career path: a cross-domain, account-level technical leader who translates client business priorities into solutions Cypress can confidently sell and successfully deliver.

This is primarily a pre-sales role. The Enterprise Architect is proactive rather than reactive: expected to build relationships with technical and executive stakeholders well enough to uncover opportunities through ongoing engagement, not just respond once an opportunity has already surfaced. The role also carries light involvement after the sale: staying connected enough through delivery to protect the original solution intent, and re-engaging for major design questions, scope changes, executive checkpoints, or escalations, without becoming the project's unofficial delivery engineer or project manager.

Key Responsibilities:

Account & Client Ownership

The Account Executive owns account strategy, the overall client relationship, and opportunity close. The Enterprise Architect partners with the Account Executives and is an active contributor to account strategy and opportunity close and owns the technical relationships and technical perspective within the account.

• Build trusted relationships with technical and executive stakeholders before a specific opportunity exists.
• Regularly engage clients in person, including onsite meetings, executive briefings, partner events, and other informal interactions.
• Understand the client's technology environment, key initiatives, pain points, strategic vendors, important stakeholders, and where Cypress can add value.
• Proactively identify opportunities through curiosity and ongoing client conversations.
• Bring technical insight and ideas into account planning with the Account Executive.
• Challenge a requested product or solution when another approach better addresses the client's needs.
• Maintain independent technical judgment rather than acting as an order-taker for Sales or an OEM.
• Understand how infrastructure, cybersecurity, and AI technologies relate and integrate so clients can realize the full value of their investments.

Discovery & Solution Development

Lead technical discovery across domains rather than handing it off to Delivery.

• Understand the client's business drivers, desired outcomes, current environment, technical requirements, pain points, and constraints.
• Lead technical discovery and whiteboarding sessions, including cross-domain and advisory workshops.
• Design solutions that address client requirements without unnecessary complexity.
• Identify dependencies, assumptions, risks, and areas requiring deeper technical expertise.
• Know when to engage another Cypress architect, Delivery SME, OEM, or partner.
• Move opportunities forward quickly without allowing unnecessary technical perfection to become a sales-cycle bottleneck, while never compromising BOM or scope accuracy.

BOM, Scoping & SOW Accountability

The Enterprise Architect owns the technical accuracy of what Cypress proposes and sells, including:

• Solution architecture and technical approach
• Technical scope, BOM completeness and accuracy, and appropriate sizing
• Licensing and solution dependencies, and required components
• Assumptions and technical risks
• SOW development and technical content, and keeping solution/BOM information and SOWs current

OEMs and distributors may assist with BOM development, but accountability for its accuracy remains with the architect. The architect is also responsible for giving Delivery enough information to produce an accurate level-of-effort estimate.

Client Communication

• Lead technical discovery conversations and whiteboard solutions collaboratively with clients.
• Facilitate Cypress workshops, including cross-domain and advisory sessions.
• Present technical recommendations clearly, adjusting the level of detail to the audience.
• Communicate risks, assumptions, and tradeoffs directly, and build credibility without relying on product jargon.
• Lead conversations with CIOs, CISOs, and other executives, translating effectively between business priorities and technology decisions.

Vendor & OEM Relationships

• Build strong working relationships with technical teams at Cypress's strategic OEM and technology partners.
• Stay current on relevant capabilities, roadmaps, and changes; know when and how to use OEM technical resources effectively.
• Maintain the training and certifications needed to remain credible.
• Use partner expertise without outsourcing technical judgment, and recommend solutions based on client fit rather than vendor preference.

Technical Development & Building Cypress IP

• Maintain depth in at least one domain while demonstrating meaningful breadth across infrastructure, cybersecurity, and AI.
• Turn field experience into reusable Cypress IP: workshops, service offerings, discovery frameworks, presentations, webinars, and other sales/technical enablement content.
• Mentor Sr. Solutions Architects and raise the technical standard of the team.
• Improve the Cypress playbook while using it, rather than waiting for a finished process.

Pre-Sales to Delivery Involvement

Once an engagement begins, Delivery owns execution. The Enterprise Architect owns a clean technical handoff and stays connected enough to ensure the original solution intent is preserved, including:

• Providing light oversight during delivery of solutions the architect designed.
• Re-engaging for major design questions, scope changes, or escalations that require architectural or executive-level input.
• Supporting executive checkpoints and follow-on opportunity conversations.

Core Technologies:

(Deep expertise expected in at least one domain, with demonstrated breadth across the others)

• Infrastructure: Nutanix, Windows Server, Virtualization (VMware/AHV/Hyper-V), Storage, Compute, Cyber Resiliency, Microsoft 365, Public Cloud (Azure & AWS)
• Cybersecurity: Palo Alto, Fortinet, Cisco, CrowdStrike, Microsoft, Zscaler, Illumio, Sentinel One, Netskope, Darktrace
• Networking: Cisco/Meraki, Arista, HPE/Juniper, Segmentation, LAN/WAN/SD-WAN/Wi-Fi
• AI: emerging AI platforms and integrations relevant to client infrastructure and security environments

Qualifications:

Required:

• 7+ years of experience in a pre-sales technical role at a systems integrator, VAR, or MSP, or 10+ years of combined pre-sales and delivery experience at a systems integrator, VAR, or MSP.
• Demonstrated cross-domain breadth across infrastructure, cybersecurity, and AI, with deep expertise in at least one.
• Track record owning BOM accuracy, technical scoping, and SOW development for complex, multi-domain solutions.
• Experience leading technical discovery and whiteboarding sessions independently, including with executive stakeholders.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent, complex pre-sales engagements at the account level.

Required Soft Skills:

• Executive presence: able to lead conversations with CTOs, CISOs, and other executives and translate between business priorities and technology decisions.
• Curiosity: asks questions that uncover needs, dependencies, and opportunities beyond the original conversation.
• Initiative and ownership: creates momentum without waiting for detailed instructions and follows through on commitments.
• Responsiveness: moves quickly for clients, Sales, Delivery, and partners without becoming a bottleneck.
• Practical judgment: balances technical rigor with the realities of the client, opportunity, and timeline.
• Strong, direct communication at the appropriate technical depth for the audience.
• Comfort with ambiguity in a growing company where processes and responsibilities continue to evolve.
• Team-oriented and collaborative: humble and willing to learn from/win with others.

Preferred:

• Industry certifications: CCNA/CCNP, NSE, PCNSE, AZ-104/305, MCSE, VCP, or equivalent.
• Prior experience as a Solutions/Enterprise Architect, Principal Engineer, or similar cross-domain technical leadership role.
• Experience mentoring other technical staff and contributing to reusable sales/technical enablement content.
• Prior experience collaborating with vendor account teams and distributor partners.

Travel Considerations and Location:

This role includes a mix of remote work, onsite client and executive engagements, and periodic travel to partner/vendor events. Location is the Charlotte Metro, NC area and surrounding 150-mile radius.

What We Offer:

Competitive base salary plus commissions. Health, dental, vision, and retirement benefits. Mileage or vehicle reimbursement program. Robust training and partner certification support. Opportunity to grow within a rapidly expanding solutions provider. A supportive, entrepreneurial culture focused on client success.