Principal Architect - Solutions Architect

You want more out of a career. A place to share your ideas freely - even if they're daring or different. Where the true you can learn, grow, and thrive. At Verizon, we power and empower how people live, work and play by connecting them to what brings them joy. We do what we love - driving innovation, creativity, and impact in the world. Our V Team is a community of people who anticipate, lead, and believe that listening is where learning begins. In crisis and in celebration, we come together - lifting our communities and building trust in how we show up, everywhere & always. Want in? Join the #VTeamLife.

We are seeking a forward-thinking and customer-centric Solution Architect specializing in Customer Experience. The ideal candidate will possess deep expertise in Unified Communications and Contact Center technologies, along with a strong understanding of voice security. This role is pivotal in modernizing and transforming how we design and deliver solutions that address complex communication challenges for our diverse customer base.

This position is more than just a technical role; it is about driving innovation, creating impactful customer engagements, and enabling tangible business outcomes through cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), chatbots, and next-generation digital channels. This role will be a cornerstone in driving solution innovations, technical leadership, and revenue growth across our Customer Experience (CEx) portfolio.

What we're looking for...

• Subject Matter Expertise: Serve as a subject matter expert in Contact Center technologies, providing credible and innovative solutions to internal and external stakeholders.

• Solution Design: Translate customer business requirements into comprehensive, end-to-end technology architectures and actionable solution designs.

  • Take designs through the approval processes (Peer Review, IQ Board, SOAR, DLM...)

  • Create both internal and external documentation on the design that can be used as part of the selling motion (external) and for the hand-off to the implementation teams (Internal)

• Sales Collaboration: Collaborate closely with the CEx Specialist sellers and Core account teams to shape and deliver sellable and implementable solutions, ensuring alignment with our internal processes and standards.

• Demonstrations and Workshops: Deliver engaging live demonstrations and technical workshops that showcase our portfolio's capabilities and value proposition.

• Trusted Advisor: Act as a trusted advisor to customers by deeply understanding their communication needs and aligning technology solutions with their desired business outcomes.

• Area of Expertise: Maintain a primary area of expertise while cultivating broad technical knowledge across key platforms and vendors.

  • Primary technology / vendor will be Genesys Cloud, Cisco WebEx CC, and Verizon branded NICE CXone

  • While a primary area of expertise is needed, it is critical for the role to have foundational knowledge of the entire CEx portfolio.

• Technology Exploration: Continuously explore and assess emerging technologies (e.g., conversational AI, digital service, analytics, voice and video communications) to enhance customer engagement strategies.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work with cross-functional teams (e.g., product engineering, sales, consulting, Product, Technology Solutions) to contribute to solution strategy and business development efforts.

• Documentation: Create high-quality solution documentation, including architectural diagrams, proposals, and presentations.

You'll need to have:

• Bachelor's degree or four or more years of work experience.

• Six or more years of relevant experience required, demonstrated through one or a combination of work and/or military experience, or specialized training.

• Proven experience as a Solution Architect or Sales Engineer in the Contact Center space.

• Ability to understand and align solutions with different market segments and audiences. Understands both business and technical aspects, as well as different sales motions for various market segments and their specific audiences.

• Demonstrated expertise in at least one major Contact Center platform (e.g., Genesys, Cisco, NICE, Zoom, Five9...).

• Strong understanding of cloud communications, telephony, SIP, IVR, omnichannel routing, workforce engagement, and customer experience design.

• Familiarity with AI-driven tools such as chatbots, virtual agents, and Natural Language Understanding (NLU) platforms.

• Exceptional communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.

Even better if you have one or more of the following:

• A degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering.

• Two or more years of experience developing and implementing business strategies.

• Two or more years of experience incorporating design thinking into problem solving.

• Industry certifications such as CCNA Collaboration, Microsoft Teams Voice, Genesys Cloud Certified, NICE CXone, AWS Cloud Practitioner.

• Experience with integrations, APIs, and cloud-native services.

• Exposure to Agile solution delivery and DevOps practices.

Continuous Learning and Innovation Focus:

This role emphasizes continuous learning and innovation. Candidates are highly encouraged and supported in pursuing and maintaining relevant industry certifications, participating in emerging technology training, and contributing to our internal knowledge-sharing culture.

Success Metrics:

• Quality and completeness of solution designs.

• Customer satisfaction with technical engagements.

• Revenue growth influenced by technical leadership.

• Certification and professional development milestones.

• Internal stakeholder collaboration and feedback.

If Verizon and this role sound like a fit for you, we encourage you to apply even if you don't meet every "even better" qualification listed above.

Verizon is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to veteran status, disability or other legally protected characteristics.

Our benefits are designed to help you move forward in your career, and in areas of your life outside of Verizon. From health and wellness benefit options including: medical, dental, vision, short and long term disability, basic life insurance, supplemental life insurance, AD&D insurance, identity theft protection, pet insurance and group home & auto insurance. We also offer a matched 401(k) savings plan, up to 8 company paid holidays per year and up to 6 personal days per year, paid parental leave, adoption assistance and tuition assistance, plus other incentives, we've got you covered with our award-winning total rewards package. Depending on the role, employees have the opportunity to receive compensation in the form of premium pay such as overtime, shift differential, holiday pay, allowances, etc. Newly hired employees receive up to 15 days of vacation per year, which grows with additional service. For part-timers, your coverage will vary as you may be eligible for some of these benefits depending on your individual circumstances.