Presales Solutions Architect

We are seeking an experienced Technical PreSales and Solution Architect to join a leading AI and Data Platform company based in Karachi. This onsite role requires a seasoned professional with over 12 years of IT experience, including at least 4 years in technical roles and 4 years in pre-sales within the telecom sector. The position is located in Shahre Faisal and offers a market-competitive salary. The working hours are Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm, with alternate Saturdays from 9 am to 1 pm.

Key Responsibilities:
- Lead the AI, Cloud, and IT Infrastructure function within the Commercial Department, establishing technical pre-sales practices, solution standards, and governance to ensure consistent, high-quality solution development.
- Collaborate closely with Business Development to qualify opportunities, conduct customer discovery, and assess business and technical requirements to determine solution feasibility.
- Translate customer needs into technical solutions across data center colocation, cloud (public, private, hybrid, multi-cloud), AI/GPU infrastructure, connectivity, cybersecurity, backup, disaster recovery, and managed services.
- Act as the primary technical liaison between customers, Business Development, Service Delivery, Technology Infrastructure & Services, OEMs, and partners during pre-sales engagements.
- Conduct technical assessments, workload discovery, cloud readiness evaluations, and infrastructure health checks to recommend appropriate solutions.
- Design scalable cloud and IT infrastructure solutions, including compute, storage, networking, virtualization, and security, with integration and migration strategies tailored to customer environments.
- Prepare detailed solution designs, capacity planning, Bill of Quantities (BOQs), High-Level Designs (HLDs), and tender-level technical documentation aligned with architecture standards.
- Evaluate solution feasibility, performance, scalability, security, and deliverability, identifying risks, assumptions, dependencies, and constraints.
- Develop solution costing, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), Return on Investment (ROI), and business case analyses to optimize technical and commercial value.
- Prepare and review technical presentations, proposals, and responses to RFI/RFP/RFQ, ensuring compliance with customer and contractual requirements.
- Coordinate pricing, licensing, margin analysis, proof-of-concepts, demonstrations, and solution validation with internal teams and external partners.
- Present and defend proposed solutions through customer presentations, workshops, architecture reviews, and technical discussions.
- Support Business Development in contract negotiations, deal closure, and identifying upselling, cross-selling, and new service opportunities.
- Maintain strong relationships with hyperscalers, OEMs, ISPs, and technology partners, staying current on market trends and competitor developments.
- Lead the formal handover of won solutions to Service Delivery, ensuring smooth transition and documentation of all technical and commercial commitments.
- Perform any additional tasks as assigned by management.

Required Qualifications:
- Minimum 12 years of IT experience, including 4+ years in technical roles and 4+ years in pre-sales, preferably in telecom.
- Expertise in consultative selling, customer engagement, and requirements analysis.
- Proven experience in end-to-end solution architecture and technical design for public, private, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments.
- Working knowledge of major cloud platforms such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, and Huawei Cloud.
- Strong background in AI/GPU infrastructure, data center operations, networking, cybersecurity, backup, and disaster recovery.
- Proficiency in solution sizing, BOQs, HLDs, LLDs, and technical documentation.
- Experience with cloud migration, modernization, and workload assessment.
- Skilled in preparing techno-commercial proposals, bid compliance, and tender management.
- Strong commercial acumen including solution costing, TCO, ROI, pricing, and margin analysis.
- Excellent communication, presentation, workshop facilitation, and solution pitching skills.
- Ability to negotiate, handle objections, and support deal closure effectively.
- Experience managing relationships with OEMs, hyperscalers, ISPs, and technology partners.
- Competence in proof-of-concept development, solution validation, and providing technical advisory.
- Market awareness with a focus on upselling, cross-selling, and opportunity ownership.

This role offers the opportunity to work with cutting-edge AI and cloud technologies within a dynamic commercial environment. The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in driving business growth through innovative technical solutions and strong stakeholder collaboration.