SENIOR PRE-SALES SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT

Location: Lowry Mill, Lees Street, Manchester, M27 6DB

Working pattern: Hybrid 3 days per week in the office

Salary: £60,000£69,000

Hours: Full-time, 37.5 hours per week

Reporting to: Head of Technical Services

ABOUT DATASPIRE

Dataspire partners with schools and multi-academy trusts to build dependable, high-performing technology environments. Our work helps schools operate securely and efficiently, while enabling teachers and students to make the most of technology.

We are looking for a Senior Pre-Sales Solutions Architect to lead the discovery, architecture and presentation of complex, strategic and multi-site opportunities.

You will be a senior technical voice in customer meetings, tenders, framework bids and internal solution reviews. You will shape solutions spanning infrastructure, cloud, identity, network, cyber security, safeguarding, endpoint management, backup and operational readiness.

This is an opportunity to make a meaningful difference in education while working at the intersection of customer strategy, technical architecture, commercial shaping and operational delivery.

THE ROLE

As Senior Pre-Sales Solutions Architect, you will own the technical direction of high-value and non-standard opportunities, ensuring solutions are compelling to customers, commercially balanced, deliverable by implementation teams and sustainable for systems operations.

You will work closely with Sales, Implementation Services and Systems Operations, and will help improve Dataspires architecture standards, reference designs and reusable solution patterns.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Lead complex discovery across multiple schools, sites, stakeholder groups and technical domains

Design end-to-end solutions spanning network, cloud, identity, endpoint, security, safeguarding, backup, compliance and operational monitoring

Apply Dataspire reference architectures and relevant DfE, NCSC and KCSIE guidance to solution design

Lead the technical contribution to strategic bids, tenders, framework opportunities and high-value projects

Produce high-quality solution documentation, including high-level designs, diagrams, scopes of work, assumptions, responsibilities, acceptance criteria and migration approaches

Present recommendations confidently to senior leadership teams, governors, trust leaders and technical steering groups

Adapt technical communication for non-technical decision-makers and technical specialists

Work with Sales and Finance to shape commercially viable and competitively positioned solutions

Validate delivery effort, dependencies, sequencing, migration plans and cutover feasibility with Implementation Services

Work with Systems Operations to ensure every proposal is operationally ready, resilient, secure and supportable

Identify design, delivery, operational and commercial risks early, recommending practical mitigations

Peer-review solution designs, proposals, scopes and assumptions created by other members of the Solutions team

Coach and mentor Pre-Sales Solutions Architects in discovery, design quality, documentation and presentation skills

Improve reference architectures, solution standards, templates and the Dataspire solutions catalogue

Challenge bespoke approaches where a repeatable, supportable standard solution would deliver a stronger customer outcome

TECHNOLOGIES YOU WILL DESIGN WITH

Network and connectivity: HPE Aruba, Cisco Meraki and Ubiquiti

Security and edge services: Smoothwall, Securly, Barracuda and Fortinet

Servers and virtualisation: Windows Server, Hyper-V, VMware ESXi, vCenter, Dell EMC and HPE ProLiant

Collaboration and productivity: Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace for Education

Identity and access: Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, Azure AD and IAM Cloud

Endpoint and device management: Autopilot, SCCM, Intune, Google Endpoint Management, JAMF, Lightspeed and MDM platforms

Apple management: macOS, iPadOS, iOS and JAMF

Storage and backup: SAN, NAS, Storage Spaces Direct and Redstor

Remote access and communications: RDS, VPN, 3CX and Microsoft Teams

Security, filtering, safeguarding and compliance technology aligned with DfE, NCSC, Cyber Essentials and KCSIE expectations

WHAT WERE LOOKING FOR

Significant consulting, pre-sales or architecture experience across infrastructure, cloud, network, security or education technology

Strong experience working in an MSP or similarly multi-customer technical environment

Strong architecture capability, including the ability to apply design principles and reference architectures to end-to-end solutions

Broad technical awareness across infrastructure and cloud, with particular depth in at least one key domain: network, cloud, identity, security or endpoint management

Experience leading complex discovery and translating ambiguous customer requirements into clear, practical solutions

Excellent presentation and stakeholder-management skills, including the ability to influence senior decision-makers

Demonstrable experience contributing to proposals, bids, tenders, RFPs or framework submissions

Strong commercial awareness, including solution shaping, risk management, pricing input and value articulation

Excellent documentation skills, including solution designs, diagrams, scopes of work and proposals

Confidence to challenge designs, assumptions and approaches constructively

A collaborative leadership style, with the ability to coach colleagues and work effectively as part of one team

DESIRABLE EXPERIENCE

Experience working with schools or multi-academy trusts

Knowledge of DfE standards, NCSC guidance, KCSIE, Cyber Essentials or education safeguarding requirements

Experience of design governance, reference architecture development or technical standards ownership

Experience supporting framework opportunities and strategic public-sector bids

Education-sector experience is beneficial but not essential. We are equally interested in candidates who bring strong pre-sales architecture and stakeholder-management experience, with an interest in helping technology improve educational outcomes.

WHAT WE OFFER

Salary of £60,000£69,000

Hybrid working, with 3 days per week in our Manchester office

32 days annual leave, including bank holidays

An additional paid Christmas shutdown day

Your birthday off

On-site parking

Optional branded workwear

Employee Assistance Programme, including wellbeing, mental health, legal, financial and personal support

Pluralsight licence and protected learning time

Vendor-led training where relevant

Monthly one-to-ones and a structured continuing professional development framework

Clear progression towards Lead Solutions Architect, with responsibility for architecture standards, governance, reference designs and portfolio-level technical direction

WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS

The solutions you shape will influence how schools and trusts invest in, deploy and operate technology. You will help teachers teach with confidence, protect staff and students, and give education leaders reliable technology foundations for the future.

Dataspire is a Mental Health at Work Committed organisation and a Disability Confident employer. We are committed to creating a working environment where everyone feels supported, valued and able to perform at their best.