Senior Solutions Architect, Japan

Senior Solutions Architect - Japan

Solutions Architects are the trusted advisors to GitLab prospects and clients, showing how the GitLab solutions address client business requirements. Solutions Architects are responsible for driving and managing the technology evaluation and validation stages of the sales process. Solutions Architects are the product advocates for GitLab’s Enterprise Edition. They focus on the technical solution while also understanding the business outcomes the customer is trying to achieve.

The Solutions Architect helps drive value and change with software development for one of the fastest-growing platforms. By applying solution selling and architecture experience from planning to monitoring, the Solutions Architect supports and enables successful adoption of the GitLab platform. Solutions Architects work with GitLab's top enterprise customers. Solutions Architects work collaboratively with Sales, Engineering, Product Management, and Marketing organizations.

This role provides technical guidance and support throughout the entire sales cycle. Solution Architects can help shape and execute a strategy to build mindshare and broad use of the GitLab platform with customers by becoming the trusted advisor. The ideal candidate must be self-motivated with a proven track record in software/technology sales or consulting. Proficiency in connecting technology solutions to measurable business value is critical to a Solutions Architect. Candidates should also have a demonstrated skill to think strategically about business, products, and technical problems.

To learn more, please check out our handbook

Responsibilities

• Engage with customers, both onsite and remote, in a technical consultancy and advisor role during the pre-sales process while providing technical assistance and solution guidance.
• In partnership with the sales team, formulate and execute a sales strategy to exceed revenue targets through the adoption of GitLab.
• With comprehensive knowledge of the GitLab platform and associated technologies, educate customers of all sizes on the value proposition of GitLab while participating in discussions throughout the organization to ensure successful GitLab deployment.
• Guide technical evaluations via POC/POV ownership, RFP/audit support, and workshop design.
• Build deep relationships with people within customer environments to enable them to be GitLab advocates.
• Serve as the customer advocate to other GitLab teams, including Product Development, Sales, and Marketing.
• Continuously improve your professional skills with a focus on personal mastery and team learning through activities such as training, reading and seeking mentorship from others.
• Maintain specialty competency in one or more technologies related to GitLab's market focus through activities such as training, certification and creation of working examples for reuse internally and by customers and partners.
• Solve technical customer issues of broad scope and high complexity.
• Provide mentorship for Solution Architecture team members and remain a current contributor to team-learning initiatives and activities.
• Work cross-departmentally to find solutions to complex scenarios and integration issues.
• Propose improvements and innovation for customer calls and product demonstrations based on current market trends.
• Maintain in-depth knowledge of the entire GitLab application.
• Represent GitLab as a speaker at field events or as an author in GitLab-focused publications and blogs.
• Provide opportunity strategy leveraging market and industry knowledge and trends.
• Collaborate with the product team while representing customer requirements and feedback.
• Regularly enhances GitLab documentation for clarity and accuracy as well as adding new explanations, examples and sections.
• Share subject matter expertise through Slack posts, documentation updates, communities of practice, issue and MR participation and other common GitLab collaboration mechanisms.
• Coach sales team-members on deal qualification when necessary.
• Assists with specific objectives and key result associated tasks

Requirements

• Must be based in Japan
• Technical presentation and communication skills in Japanese and English
• Experience with technical pre-sales or as a professional in the field of information technology
• Knowledge of the end-to-end software development lifecycle
• Understanding of continuous integration and continuous deployment
• Experience with modern software development or operations and their associated technologies
• Experience with cloud computing and related technologies and practices
• Willingness to travel
• B.Sc. in Computer Science or equivalent experience
• Successful completion of a background check
• Ability to use GitLab

The hiring process

• Candidates can expect the hiring process to follow the order below. Please keep in mind that candidates can be declined from the position at any stage of the process. To learn more about someone who may be conducting the interview, find their job title on our team page .
• Selected candidates will be invited to schedule a screening call with our Global Recruiters.
• Next, candidates will be invited to schedule a first interview with the SA team Manager.
• Candidates may be invited to schedule an interview with a Solutions Architect peer or other SA team Manager.
• Then, candidates will be required to deliver a demo of GitLab to a panel of Customer Success attendees using the Demo Guide .
• Candidates may be invited to additional interviews.
• Successful candidates will be made an offer after references are verified