The Principal IT Consultant / IT Architect is a strategic leader responsible for designing, implementing, and optimizing complex, enterprise-level IT infrastructures for a diverse range of clients. This role requires deep technical expertise in IT architecture, including cloud environments, systems and infrastructure, IT security, and automation. You will serve as a trusted advisor to executive stakeholders, lead multi-disciplinary teams, and drive innovation across projects. Equally important, you will own the commercial side of the work: sizing effort, recommending hours and resource mix, and aligning client budgets to the outcomes they are buying. As a key technical authority, you will shape IT strategies, solve high-level challenges, and mentor senior engineers, ensuring the successful delivery of cutting-edge IT solutions.
Location: Myrtle Beach, SC preferred; open to qualified candidates throughout the Southeast.
Key Responsibilities
- Define the strategic vision for IT architecture and serve as the top technical authority in the design, implementation, and optimization of advanced IT solutions.
- Lead complex, multi-disciplinary IT projects from conception through completion, including cloud infrastructure, data centers, virtualization, and IT automation.
- Collaborate with executive leadership and clients to develop technology roadmaps, ensuring IT solutions align with business goals and future growth.
- Design and architect scalable, secure, and high-performance IT infrastructures that meet the needs of global enterprises.
- Oversee the integration of new IT technologies into existing environments, ensuring seamless transitions with minimal disruption to client operations.
- Lead pre-sales efforts, including developing and presenting technical solutions to clients, assisting with proposals, and contributing to business development.
- Provide expert consulting services in areas such as IT security, high-availability architectures, disaster recovery, and compliance.
- Develop level-of-effort estimates for proposed engagements, recommending hours, resource mix, and timelines that are realistic, defensible, and aligned to the complexity of the work.
- Align client budgets with business outcomes, advising on phasing, trade-offs, and prioritization so that every dollar invested maps to a measurable result.
- Author and review statements of work (SOWs), scoping documents, and change orders, clearly defining deliverables, assumptions, exclusions, and acceptance criteria.
- Partner with sales and delivery leadership on pricing strategy, margin targets, and risk assessment across fixed-fee, time-and-materials, retainer, and managed services engagements.
- Monitor burn rate, utilization, and budget-to-actual performance on active projects, surfacing variances early and recommending corrective action before they affect the client or the engagement margin.
- Advise clients on total cost of ownership (TCO), return on investment (ROI), and cloud and licensing cost optimization as a core part of technology roadmap planning.
- Serve as the escalation point for complex IT issues that require deep technical expertise and innovative problem-solving.
- Drive continuous improvement and optimization of IT infrastructure through the development and implementation of cutting-edge solutions.
- Mentor senior IT consultants and engineers, sharing knowledge and promoting technical growth within the team.
- Keep pace with the latest advancements in IT, evaluating and integrating new tools, platforms, and methodologies to maintain Archetype SC's competitive edge.
Required Qualifications
- 10+ years of experience in IT engineering, architecture, or IT consulting with an emphasis on large-scale enterprise environments.
- Proven consulting ability, including discovery, requirements definition, and managing client expectations through difficult conversations.
- Proven expertise in architecting and implementing IT infrastructures, including data centers, enterprise systems, virtualization, cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), and IT automation.
- Hands-on experience with enterprise-grade technologies from vendors like Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, Palo Alto, and Fortinet.
- Deep knowledge of IT security, including identity and access management, endpoint and perimeter security, and zero-trust architecture.
- Demonstrated ability to translate business requirements into technical designs, while balancing performance, scalability, and security considerations.
- Demonstrated experience scoping and estimating consulting engagements, including level-of-effort models, resource planning, and SOW development.
- Working knowledge of consulting commercial models (fixed-fee, time-and-materials, retainer, and managed services) and the levers that drive project margin and client satisfaction.
- Ability to frame technical recommendations in financial terms for executive and financial stakeholders.
- Strong leadership capabilities with a history of managing cross-functional teams and mentoring senior technical staff.
- Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to present and defend technical decisions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Proven experience in client-facing roles, with the ability to manage executive-level client relationships and drive successful outcomes.
Preferred Qualifications
- Architect-level credentials such as CISSP, TOGAF, AWS Solutions Architect, or Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert.
- Additional relevant certifications.
- Extensive experience in cloud environments, hybrid/multi-cloud strategies, and edge computing solutions.
- Expertise in emerging technologies.
- Familiarity with DevOps practices and IT automation.
- Familiarity with professional services automation (PSA) tools for forecasting, utilization tracking, and project financial reporting.
Benefits
- Competitive salary and performance-based bonuses.
- Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
- 401K Retirement savings plan with company match.
- Life Insurance
- Short and Long-term Disability Coverage
- Opportunities for professional development and career advancement.
Check us out at archetypesc.com!
