About the role:

The Red Hat FSI Sales organization is seeking an experienced Account Solution Architect (ASA) to orchestrate Red Hat’s overall technical approach for and with our customers across all phases of the customer lifecycle, from value definition to value recognition. This requires a combination of skills, from a pre-sales account solution architect to a post-sales customer success executive. It is essential for this role to possess both technical expertise and a customer-centric mindset to ensure successful customer engagements and drive long-term customer satisfaction and growth. Chicago, IL and surrounding areas are our preferred locations.

What you will do:

• Become the technical leader at assigned customer accounts, building strong relationships to better understand their goals, challenges and desired outcomes and become the trusted advisor to their technical teams. Must be able to articulate what business the customer is in and how the sales or technical engagement impact the customer’s business. 

• Be the technical advisor to the Sales team, providing guidance on all technical aspects of the sales process.

• Collaborate with the Sales team to understand customer requirements and technical needs, identifying and mitigating technical sales blockers.

• Assist in developing proposals and responding to RFPs (Request for Proposals) with technical expertise and solution recommendations.

• Design solutions to address customer challenges, aligning with their business objectives.

• Lead the technical sales conversation, conveying the ways in which Red Hat’s portfolio and architected solutions address the customer’s business and organizational requirements.

• Prove through demonstration and discussion how the use of Red Hat’s portfolio will solve customer issues and challenges.

• Create, manage and execute Customer Success Plans, collaborating with Sales, Customer Success, Adoption, and Consulting teams to ensure successful onboarding and implementation of Red Hat’s solutions. Plans must outline and address the problems being solved for, how they will be remedied and how success will be measured.

• Influence the Account Plan, collaborating with the Account team to increase pipeline and close opportunities.

• Partner with the Account Executive to operate according to account strategy, coordinating and holding accountable the extended sales team.

• Own the technical win for each sales opportunity, orchestrating the people and resources to achieve the customers’ acceptance of proposed technical solutions.

• Partner closely with Sales, Engineering, Product Management and Support to ensure seamless execution of customer engagements.

• Provide ongoing technical support and guidance to customers, addressing issues that arise.

• Conduct regular check-ins with customers to assess satisfaction levels and identify opportunities for expansion or upselling.

• Serve as a liaison between customers and Red Hat’s internal teams, conveying customer feedback, requirements and technical needs. Recommend product enhancements, features, etc., based upon customer feedback.

What you will bring:

• Strong technical background with experience in solution architecture, consultative selling and complete sales process management (pre and post sales).

• Foundational level knowledge of Red Hat’s portfolio of products and an advanced level of knowledge of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Ansible, OpenShift, Cloud and DevOps. Accounts may require depth of knowledge in additional areas, based upon customer needs and priorities.

• Excellent communication and executive presentation skills, with the ability to convey and demonstrate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences. Conduct executive business reviews as required.

• Proven experience in customer success and technical account planning, account management or related roles, with a focus on delivering exceptional customer experiences.

• Strong cross functional collaborator with the ability to build and maintain strong relationships with customers and internal stakeholders.

• Strong discovery, problem-solving and analytical skills to understand customer requirements and design appropriate solutions.

• Able to adapt and flexibly work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment. Leverage Red Hat’s open culture to achieve business goals and objectives.

• Strong project management skills to manage multiple customer accounts and prioritize tasks effectively.

• Understanding of sales engagement business impacts and ability to quickly gain expert knowledge of the customer’s business.

• Willingness to travel as needed to meet the needs of the business and our customers.