Principal Industry Architect - Retailat CDW Careers

The Principal Industry Architect is a Vertical specific position where candidates must have a deep understanding of retail store technology and the ability to design solutions to help improve customer experiences and store productivity.

The Principal Industry Architect will be the glue that holds the Technology or Systems Integration process together during the sales developmental phase of a customer opportunity. The Principal Industry Architect must have the ability to deliver whiteboard presentations to customers within the retail industry and works towards making the strategic vision of the segment into a reality by following the program development process. Candidates should possess a broad understanding of the retail industry, the customer, and the avenues to achieve business objectives in both the retail and adjacent industries. The Principal Industry Architect will serve as a technical and operational consultant to senior customer leaders in making the most appropriate technology choices. While Business Development Managers and Sr. Industry Advisors are primarily focused on Opportunity Identification and Development the Principal Industry Architect role is to lead and manage those opportunities that become a complex integration project

Key Areas of Responsibility

• Overall objective is to provide ideation, lead strategy development to execution, lead program development and optimization with emphasis on repeatable initiatives within the retail industry.
• Driving strategic Go to Market (GTM) plan for CDW’s retail industry customers
• Accelerate systemic expertise through coaching Business Development & Sales resources regarding repeatable programs as well as technical and operational reviews of specific technology solutions.
• Growing revenue and profit for CDW’s retail industry customers.
• Developing innovative solutions to drive thought leadership inside the retail industry including authoring white papers and articles.
• Maintain and continue to develop partner ecosystem to support initiatives and GTM Strategies
• Serves as Liaison to CDW Acquisitions, Advanced Technology Partners, CDW Partner Management, CDW Legal, OEM Vertical partner leadership. Customer facing as required, including presenting at conferences and events. Point of Vertical Cross pollination.
• Have both reputation and capability to deliver white board sessions to customer leadership with respect to emerging and existing technology solutions.
• Provide thought leadership in managing and leading the technical aspects of large complex proposal development, Request for Information and Request for Proposal responses.
• Accelerate systemic expertise development.

Education and/or Experience Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent experience.
• 6+ years general technology Principal Architect, Solution Architect, Consultant, Sales Engineer.
• At least 2 years experience in a relevant technology role in the retail industry.

Required Qualifications

• Deep understanding of how technology is operationalized in the retail industry.
• Knowledge of the current publications, events, and organizations relevant to the retail industry.
• Credibility with vertical specific GTM landscape as demonstrated through professional networks and understanding of the sector.
• Operational & Strategic Planning capabilities.
• Ability to develop and govern solution role out in a system of systems environment.
• Extensive presentation experience, knowledge of MS Project and MS Visio or Computer Aided Design platforms.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate with multiple stakeholders.
• Ability to travel at least 25% of the time.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven technical design leadership skills
• Passion for the retail industry and ongoing personal learning
• Extensive use of technology in the retail industry
• Strong consultative, solution based selling experience
• Capable of demonstrating situational confidence and influence
• Effective negotiation and closing skills
• Strong conflict resolution and problem-solving skills
• Strong written, verbal, presentation communication skills and the ability to communicate effectively with coworkers, management, executives, other CDW departments, customers and vendor partners
• Adaptable, ability to lead through change
• Ability to utilize strategic thinking to fulfill long-term company goals
• Excellent time management skills in order to manage multiple projects and initiatives simultaneously
• Exceptional attention to detail and follow up skills
• Ability to share in-depth knowledge of CDW capabilities with customers
• Strong internal and external customer acumen, working with each customer at the highest levels of ethics and integrity

Salary range: $65,000 - $74,000, depending on experience and skill set
Annual Bonus Target: 100% of base salary, subject to terms and conditions of plan
Benefits overview: https://cdw.benefit-info.com/
Salary ranges may be subject to geographic differentials