RapidScale
Senior Manager - Solutions Engineering (RapidScale)
RapidScale, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Senior Manager - Solutions Engineering (RapidScale)
At RapidScale, exceptional technology is powered by exceptional people. We deliver secure, reliable managed and advisory services across private, public, and hybrid clouds, helping organizations innovate, adapt, and grow. As an Elite Broadcom VMware VCSP Partner and top partner with AWS, Azure, and Google, our solutions focus on business outcomes with embedded cyber resiliency and AI to protect today and enable tomorrow backed by the strength of the Cox family of companies. RapidScale is seeking a Senior Manager of Solutions Architecture to lead a high‑performing team of Senior Solutions Architects specializing in cloud and managed services solutions. In this pivotal leadership role, you will coach, mentor, and develop a team of consultative technologists responsible for designing outcome‑driven cloud architectures and aligning RapidScale’s technology capabilities with customers’ business objectives. You will also provide executive‑level technical advocacy, refine and evolve RapidScale’s cloud solutions, and represent the company at trade shows, partner events, and public speaking engagements.
Key Responsibilities Team Leadership & Development
Recruit, lead, and coach a team of Solutions Architects focused on cloud and managed IT services solutions.
Ensure effective cross‑functional collaboration with other Solutions Architects to provide holistic, multi‑ and hybrid‑cloud solutions meeting clients’ needs and business outcomes.
Build individual growth plans and guide the team in obtaining technical certifications and internal milestones aligned with RapidScale’s go‑to‑market strategy.
Foster a collaborative, outcome‑focused team culture where architects and engineers consistently deliver compelling, business‑aligned solutions.
Lead by example through strategic customer engagement, team participation, and ongoing technical development.
Customer Engagement & Sales Support
Act as an executive sponsor in key customer engagements, providing strategic and technical oversight during discovery, design, and presentation phases.
Guide your team in tailoring cloud architectures to client outcomes, blending hosted/private cloud, public cloud, and managed services.
Oversee and participate in complex workshops, whiteboarding sessions, and stakeholder alignment exercises.
Drive excellence in proposal and RFP responses through technical reviews and refinement of solution strategies.
Represent RapidScale as a leader with alliance and channel partners, providing a single point of contact with leadership and regional partner teams.
Work with alliance partners to establish and ensure successful implementation of partner programs.
Technical Oversight & Enablement
Partner with Product and Engineering teams to bring field insight into future roadmap discussions, ensuring that customer voice shapes evolution.
Ensure team solutions reflect RapidScale’s standards for performance, security, compliance, and innovation.
Own the pre‑sales technical review process (SOW/Design validation), approving and advising on technical solutions before customer delivery.
Develop and refine architecture documentation standards, demo environments, as well as onboarding and training workflows to improve team scalability and repeatability.
Cross‑Functional Collaboration
Partner with Sales leadership to align engineering engagement with territory and account strategies.
Partner with sales to grow strategic accounts by increasing revenue to meet or exceed market share objectives on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis.
Collaborate with Product, Delivery, and Support teams to drive consistency from pre‑sales through delivery and beyond.
Represent the Solutions Architecture function at conferences, webinars, and customer events, highlighting RapidScale’s leadership in hybrid and cloud transformation.
Operational Excellence
Track and report on team KPIs such as technical win rates, certification progress, solution quality, and customer satisfaction.
Drive improvements in tools, processes, and automation to increase the effectiveness of solution development and handoff.
Manage team capacity, pipeline coverage, and engagement prioritization in alignment with revenue goals.
Leadership & Communication
Collaborative and empathetic leader who builds trust and drives results through mentorship and strategic alignment.
Skilled communicator able to translate complex technical ideas into business‑centric narratives.
Confident presence with C‑level audiences and large client presentations.
Change agent mindset – embraces transformation and can lead teams through growth and ambiguity.
Qualifications Minimum
Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline and 8 years’ experience in a related field. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master’s degree and 6 years’ experience; a Ph.D. and 3 years’ experience in a related field; or 12 years’ experience in a related field.
3+ years in a leadership role leading pre‑sales or technical solution teams.
Demonstrated success leading technical pre‑sales teams and complex infrastructure architecture efforts.
Experience with client engagements across mid‑market to enterprise verticals (healthcare, financial, education, etc.).
Proven ability to engage with and influence both executive and technical stakeholders.
Preferred
Deep knowledge of traditional cloud and hosted infrastructure: private cloud, networking, VMware, virtual desktop (Citrix) backup/DR, security, and server technologies.
Strong understanding of the IT ecosystem including interdependencies between applications, data, digital workplace, etc.
High‑level understanding of public cloud architectures (AWS, Azure, GCP).
Familiarity with DevOps principles, automation, and CI/CD pipelines.
Strong grasp of security and compliance frameworks.
Compensation Base salary ranging from $152,600.00 to $229,000.00, with an annual incentive/commission target of $56,000.00. Salary may vary based on location and the selected candidate’s experience.
Benefits The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company’s needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members. Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.
Applicants must currently be authorized to work in the United States for any employer without current or future sponsorship.
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Key Responsibilities Team Leadership & Development
Recruit, lead, and coach a team of Solutions Architects focused on cloud and managed IT services solutions.
Ensure effective cross‑functional collaboration with other Solutions Architects to provide holistic, multi‑ and hybrid‑cloud solutions meeting clients’ needs and business outcomes.
Build individual growth plans and guide the team in obtaining technical certifications and internal milestones aligned with RapidScale’s go‑to‑market strategy.
Foster a collaborative, outcome‑focused team culture where architects and engineers consistently deliver compelling, business‑aligned solutions.
Lead by example through strategic customer engagement, team participation, and ongoing technical development.
Customer Engagement & Sales Support
Act as an executive sponsor in key customer engagements, providing strategic and technical oversight during discovery, design, and presentation phases.
Guide your team in tailoring cloud architectures to client outcomes, blending hosted/private cloud, public cloud, and managed services.
Oversee and participate in complex workshops, whiteboarding sessions, and stakeholder alignment exercises.
Drive excellence in proposal and RFP responses through technical reviews and refinement of solution strategies.
Represent RapidScale as a leader with alliance and channel partners, providing a single point of contact with leadership and regional partner teams.
Work with alliance partners to establish and ensure successful implementation of partner programs.
Technical Oversight & Enablement
Partner with Product and Engineering teams to bring field insight into future roadmap discussions, ensuring that customer voice shapes evolution.
Ensure team solutions reflect RapidScale’s standards for performance, security, compliance, and innovation.
Own the pre‑sales technical review process (SOW/Design validation), approving and advising on technical solutions before customer delivery.
Develop and refine architecture documentation standards, demo environments, as well as onboarding and training workflows to improve team scalability and repeatability.
Cross‑Functional Collaboration
Partner with Sales leadership to align engineering engagement with territory and account strategies.
Partner with sales to grow strategic accounts by increasing revenue to meet or exceed market share objectives on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis.
Collaborate with Product, Delivery, and Support teams to drive consistency from pre‑sales through delivery and beyond.
Represent the Solutions Architecture function at conferences, webinars, and customer events, highlighting RapidScale’s leadership in hybrid and cloud transformation.
Operational Excellence
Track and report on team KPIs such as technical win rates, certification progress, solution quality, and customer satisfaction.
Drive improvements in tools, processes, and automation to increase the effectiveness of solution development and handoff.
Manage team capacity, pipeline coverage, and engagement prioritization in alignment with revenue goals.
Leadership & Communication
Collaborative and empathetic leader who builds trust and drives results through mentorship and strategic alignment.
Skilled communicator able to translate complex technical ideas into business‑centric narratives.
Confident presence with C‑level audiences and large client presentations.
Change agent mindset – embraces transformation and can lead teams through growth and ambiguity.
Qualifications Minimum
Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline and 8 years’ experience in a related field. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master’s degree and 6 years’ experience; a Ph.D. and 3 years’ experience in a related field; or 12 years’ experience in a related field.
3+ years in a leadership role leading pre‑sales or technical solution teams.
Demonstrated success leading technical pre‑sales teams and complex infrastructure architecture efforts.
Experience with client engagements across mid‑market to enterprise verticals (healthcare, financial, education, etc.).
Proven ability to engage with and influence both executive and technical stakeholders.
Preferred
Deep knowledge of traditional cloud and hosted infrastructure: private cloud, networking, VMware, virtual desktop (Citrix) backup/DR, security, and server technologies.
Strong understanding of the IT ecosystem including interdependencies between applications, data, digital workplace, etc.
High‑level understanding of public cloud architectures (AWS, Azure, GCP).
Familiarity with DevOps principles, automation, and CI/CD pipelines.
Strong grasp of security and compliance frameworks.
Compensation Base salary ranging from $152,600.00 to $229,000.00, with an annual incentive/commission target of $56,000.00. Salary may vary based on location and the selected candidate’s experience.
Benefits The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company’s needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members. Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.
Applicants must currently be authorized to work in the United States for any employer without current or future sponsorship.
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