Solutions Architect

At VMLY&R, we create connected brands. We resist the usual ways of seeing, doing and thinking — harnessing creativity, technology and culture — to reimagine the entire connected consumer experience. Our goal? To create work that becomes part of people’s lives, to drive value for our clients and, in the best of cases, to impact the world.

VMLY&R seeks an experienced Solutions Architect to provide leadership to our growing technical capability. This position requires endless passion for quality, innovation, leadership and problem solving.

The Solutions Architect interfaces with our clients at the highest levels to develop and implement technical strategy, insights and innovations; leads a team of experienced, talented professionals through a complicated and ever-changing work environment; leads our other agency disciplines through the twists and turns of an enterprise software development projects; and, most importantly, joins a technology leadership team that sets the direction for how we provide technical services and solutions to our clients.

As part of the WPP Group, VMLY&R offers one of the best overall compensation packages in the business.

Required Skills

• Provide the high-level technology strategy, leadership and management for a single or subset of an alignment team. This role manages both the client relationships and the technical team that aligns with its client.
• Work with the Managing Director Technology to build and manage a development team that may include a cross-functional mix of Business Analysts, Developers, Database, production support, etc. This may include the management of five to 15 employees on a given project.
• Tirelessly work with Architects, Directors and other Technology staff to find solutions that work for our clients given existing environment constraints and including any combination of technologies from front-end web and devices to services and database.
• Ensure quality by providing oversight and direction to teams that are implementing our client’s solutions. This includes cyclically revising solutions, negotiating with Creative, Account and Interaction Design teams, and guiding overall development progress toward successful deliverables. Help teams avoid pitfalls of inexperience such as unrealistic promises, excessive focus on perfection at the expense of "good enough," inability to scale application up with load, and lack of accounting for unexpected or unknown setbacks.
• Govern the ongoing management of live systems in collaboration with client, client customer service, quality assurance resources, and production, creative and design groups internally. That includes answering emails and delegating emergency work to Developers off-hours and on weekends.
• Act as a counterpart to client technical leadership, providing technical/creative strategic direction to the client. Digital strategy is increasingly dependent on technical expertise and experience, and the client will look to you to form brand and product strategies.
• Build relationships with your IT and marketing clients so that those relationships can both grow future business and sustain business when projects do not go as expected.
• Bring innovative technologies to projects and engage our clients in concepts and strategies from the initial phases of project discovery to final client delivery and handoff.
• Inspire and lead great technological design while sharing ideas in a team-oriented environment on cutting-edge projects.
• Demonstrate a solid understanding of how to acquire, enhance, conceive and translate business and technology goals into detailed technical design from system architecture down to code-level design.
• Recommend and implement custom solutions and COTS packages. Specific experience in the following areas is also preferred: CRM, CMS, EAI, middleware, web technologies and services and ERP.
• Demonstrate excellent presentation skills and an interest in building and maintaining client relationships.
• Successfully manage people to achieve performance goals, resolving conflicts, mentoring and developing others.
• A track record of building and maintaining a strong technology team.
• Some travel may be expected.

Required Experience

• At least six years of technology management experience in a professional services firm working on large web-based applications.
• At least four years of experience with software implementation technologies.
• VMLY&R experience is preferred. This position will primarily be staffed through promotions of existing VMLY&R resources. External hires will be considered when a specialized skill set is required at this level.

VMLY&R is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.