Principal Solutions Architect

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Job Summary

Under the direction of Americas Solutions Engineering leadership, the Principal Solutions Architect is a senior field technical resource on the Global Technical Sales Team, responsible for the most complex, multi-region, and strategic engagements with our critical network service provider (NSP) customers and partners. Working in close partnership with senior account executives supporting the NSP vertical, this role leads end-to-end architecture strategy, drives the joint technical strategy on partnership opportunities, and serves as a trusted advisor and technical presence with senior and C-level stakeholder customers.

This is a high-visibility role that calls for a strong combination of deep service provider technical expertise, executive engagement capabilities, and demonstrated strategic partnership envisioning. The ideal candidate brings expertise across networking, interconnection, hybrid cloud architectures, and distributed AI infrastructure.

Responsibilities

Partner and Network Service Provider (NSP) customer growth

• Work with the NSP sales executives to achieve and exceed their global bookings and revenue targets, prioritizing immediate customer business outcomes as well as long-term expansion and partner growth strategies

• Lead strategic discovery and qualification for major opportunities, building trusted advisor relationships with senior and C-level stakeholders across multi-region accounts.

• Engage in business-outcome-focused conversations with C-Level executives while being able to switch to very technical conversations about joint solutions and use cases that drive future partner or platform-integrated offers

• Translate ecosystem distributed AI capabilities into compelling, outcome-oriented narratives tailored to executive and business personas.

• Own the technical win end-to-end: high-level discovery, whiteboarding, executive briefings, and comprehensive technical account plan development

• Lead engagement of extended Equinix global technical teams to provide coordinated strategy and superior customer experience wherever these customers need Equinix services across the globe

• Articulate the full value of Equinix's interconnection portfolio, including Equinix Fabric, cross-connects and AI ecosystem opportunity value, to senior technical and business stakeholders across multiple personas and lines of business

• Ensure deep expertise in your NSP customers' business drivers and offer portfolios, including earning any certifications to better understand their business, speak their language, and advance their revenue and ecosystem opportunities at Equinix

Joint Solutions Innovation

• Define the power of the possible with our prioritized NSP partners in support of the Americas revenue targets, specifically around digital and AI infrastructure

• Advance technical requirements and solutioning for joint innovation and market offers, partnering with various product and development teams, ideating, innovating, testing, and validating solutions for intended go-to-market pursuits

• Gather feedback for new and emerging capabilities to determine potential joint business planning, routes to monetization, and proof of concepts technical validation work

• Help customers identify and leverage destination strategy, network magnets, and ecosystem effects to maximize the value of Equinix

Technical Go-to-Market

• Drive offer fluency and learning for Equinix sellers, joint customers and the extended partner communities

• Support partner go-to-market activities and evangelism, including technical speaking engagements, blogs, webinars, trainings, analyst briefings, roadshows, and customer event opportunities

• Lead end-customer workshops, executive briefings, and whiteboard sessions for transformational technology decisions spanning hybrid/multi-cloud modernization and distributed AI journeys

• Scale market sensing and customer feedback to inform product and services portfolio improvements

• Contribute to partner communities through knowledge sharing, team enablement, and continuous learning

• Leverage partner ecosystems to deliver joint technical solutions, maintaining agnostic and neutral advisory

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in technical sales, solutions engineering, or related field-facing roles supporting NSP vertical

• Technical background in the data center and high-performance computing, networking, hybrid cloud architectures, and AI infrastructure planning

• Experience leading technical qualification, discovery, and stakeholder alignment for large, complex, multi-region strategic engagements with NSPs

• Familiarity with Platform Equinix footprint and interconnection portfolio

• Experience leveraging partner networks and ecosystems to drive customer outcomes

• Experience with recurring revenue, solution selling, and enabling platforms for B2B

• Strong background in partner go-to-market activities such as events, webinars, panels, blogs, etc.

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or a related discipline preferred

• Industry certifications are preferred

Equivalent experience through alternative paths, including non-traditional backgrounds or career transitions, is welcomed and valued.

Required Skills

• 10+ years working with NSPs as both customers and scaled partners with robust programming

• Senior technical background in the data center industry, including infrastructure experience in high performance computing and AI; advanced networking; and hybrid, multicloud, and distributed architectures

• Familiarity with Equinix global data center footprint, interconnection portfolio, and service provider ecosystem

• Strong and experienced understanding of how to leverage partner ecosystems to build and validate solutions for go-to-market and repeatable scale

• Experience leading teams selling to different personas and lines of business across strategic account with global footprint

• Ability to scale platform-partner related, better-together solutions and reference architectures to enterprise-based customers and field selling teams

• Strong team leadership and communication skills, including Equinix storytelling, motivating customers, partners and internal stakeholder teams

• Highly adept at strategic customer, service provider, and partner engagement skills

• Skilled at stakeholder engagement and collaboration across sales, marketing, product development, customer success, and partner go-to-market teams

• Fosters a culture of continuous technical learning and brings an innovation-oriented mindset to solutions development propositions with partners

• Strong communication and presentation skills with demonstrated ability to lead engagements with CIO, CTO, and EVP-level stakeholders

• Committed to continuous learning, with relevant technical certifications or domain education an asset

• Consistent focus on execution and high-quality customer outcomes, with strong organizational and documentation skills

We value diverse paths to expertise. Equivalent experience through non-traditional backgrounds or career transitions is welcomed.

The targeted pay range for this position in the following location is / locations are:

United States - Redwood City Office GHQ : 262,000 - 394,000 USD / Annual

United States - Denver Office DEO : 218,000 - 328,000 USD / Annual

Our pay ranges reflect the minimum and maximum target for new hire pay for the full-time position determined by role, level, and location.The pay range shown is based on our compensation structure in place at the time of posting and may be updated periodically based on business needs. Individual pay is based on additional factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education and/or training.

The targeted pay range listed reflects On-Target Earnings or OTE, which is base pay plus commissions, and does not include equity or benefits. Equity may be offered depending on the position.

Equinix Benefits

As an employee, you become important to Equinix's success. We ensure all your benefits are in line with our core values: competitive, inclusive, sustainable, connected and efficient. We keep them competitive within the current marketplace to ensure we're providing you with the best package possible. So, wherever you are in your career and life, you'll be able to enhance your experience and bring your whole self to work.

Employee Assistance Program: An Employee Assistance program is available to all employees.

Equinix is committed to ensuring that our employment process is open to all individuals, including those with a disability. If you are a qualified candidate and need assistance or an accommodation, please let us know by completing this form.

Equinix is an Equal Employment Opportunity and, in the U.S., an Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to unlawful consideration of race, color, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, place of birth, citizenship, sex, pregnancy / childbirth or related medical conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or domestic partnership status, age, veteran or military status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, political / organizational affiliation, status as a victim or family member of a victim of crime or abuse, or any other status protected by applicable law.

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