Solution Architect - Data & AI

The Microsoft Federal Civilian Business Unit is looking for a Data & AI Solution Architect to lead enterprise-scale digital and AI transformation initiatives using Azure AI Services and the broader Microsoft Cloud. This role owns end-to-end architecture strategy and execution for large-scale, multi-program AI and data transformation initiatives across federal customers, driving measurable mission and business outcomes. The ideal candidate is a hands-on architect and trusted advisor who can engage senior executives, translate complex business challenges into high-value AI-powered solutions, and drive customers from strategy through delivery. Success in this role requires passion for AI innovation, architectural rigor, and driving measurable business outcomes in regulated environments.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities

Strategic Enterprise Advisory

• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior executive stakeholders (e.g., CIO, CTO, CDO, etc.), shaping enterprise-wide AI, Data, and digital transformation strategies aligned to mission priorities and measurable outcomes.
• Lead enterprise technology direction by translating complex business, customer experience, and operational challenges into cohesive, value-driven architectures across AI, data, and cloud platforms.

Enterprise Architecture & Technical Vision

• Provide technical vision and architectural leadership for large-scale, high-impact initiatives spanning Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Search, Azure AI Document Intelligence, Azure Functions, Cosmos DB, and integrated Azure services.
• Provide vision and thought leadership on the responsible use of AI and autonomous agents - including model selection, evaluation, deployment, observability, and governance.
• Define and govern end-to-end enterprise architectures that are secure, compliant, scalable, and resilient, leveraging Microsoft reference architectures, Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF), Well-Architected Framework (WAF), and AI-specific patterns (RAG, multi-agent orchestration, human-in-the-loop review).
• Lead architecture design workshops and executive technical briefings to align stakeholders on target-state architectures, roadmaps, and investment priorities.

AI-Driven Process & Knowledge Work Modernization

• Lead modernization of document-intensive and knowledge-work processes - including drafting, review, adjudication, summarization, and case management - using Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Foundry, Copilot, and custom agent frameworks.
• Architect integrated solutions that connect unstructured content (PDFs, scanned documents, transcripts, evidence files) with back-office business processes, analytics, and automation to improve quality, customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, and workforce productivity.
• Lead customers in adopting AI-powered agents, copilots, and durable workflow automation at scale, with an emphasis on accuracy, traceability, citation integrity, governance, security, and sustainable value realization.

Customer Success, Value Realization & Risk Management

• Drive long-term customer success by ensuring architecture enables adoption, usage growth, operational excellence, and solution longevity beyond initial MVP delivery.
• Anticipate and resolve enterprise-level risks across AI safety, security, compliance, data privacy, integration, cost and performance, embedding governance and quality controls (groundedness, hallucination detection, reviewer workflows) throughout the solution lifecycle.
• Actively listen, respectfully challenge assumptions, and lead customers toward optimal architectural decisions that accelerate time-to-value and business impact.

Pre-Sales, Account Strategy & Growth

• Collaborate with account teams, Customer Success Leaders, and partners to direct account planning, deal shaping, and execution of customer success and Azure consumption strategies.
• Proactively use deep technical expertise in customer engagements to influence solution direction, accelerate adoption, and expand the AI and Azure solution footprint.
• Lead technical strategy for strategic deals, shaping solution architecture and influencing successful closure of high-value opportunities.

Thought Leadership, IP & Community

• Create and evolve reusable intellectual property (IP), reference architectures, prompt libraries, evaluation harnesses, and accelerators that scale across Federal customers and scenarios.
• Act as a visible thought leader and spokesperson internally and externally through community engagement, industry events, and technical forums focused on applied AI, agentic systems and enterprise architecture.
• Mentor and upskill architects and technical teams, fostering a culture of learning, innovation, and architectural excellence.

Master's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field AND 4+ years experience in technology solutions, practice development, architecture, consulting, and/or technology domain (e.g., Security) OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field AND 6+ years experience in technology solutions, practice development, architecture, consulting, and/or technology domain (e.g., Security) OR equivalent experience., * Master's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field AND 6+ years experience in technology solutions, practice development, architecture, consulting, and/or technology domain (e.g., Security) OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field AND 8+ years experience in technology solutions, practice development, architecture, consulting, and/or technology domain (e.g., Security) OR equivalent experience.

• 4+ years technical sales experience.
• 4+ years project management experience.
• Technical or Professional Certification in Domain (e.g., Security).
• Strong experience designing and delivering production-grade Generative AI solutions, including RAG pipelines, agent orchestration, document understanding, and integration with enterprise systems of record.
• Deep, hands-on expertise across the Azure AI stack: Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Foundry, Azure AI Search (vector/hybrid/semantic), Azure AI Document Intelligence, Azure AI Content Safety, and Azure Machine Learning.
• Strong architectural fluency with Azure application services used to host AI workloads: Azure Functions (incl. Durable Functions), Container Apps / AKS, Cosmos DB, Azure Storage, Key Vault, API Management, and Azure Front Door / App Gateway.
• Proven experience with Infrastructure-as-Code (Bicep and/or Terraform), CI/CD (GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps), managed identity, and zero-trust networking patterns (private endpoints, VNet integration).
• Demonstrated experience with AI-driven application architectures, including Copilot, Copilot Studio, agent frameworks (e.g., Semantic Kernel, AutoGen, Agent Framework), low-code/no-code extensibility, data integration, and governance models for production-scale AI solutions.
• Practical experience implementing AI evaluation, observability, and quality controls - including groundedness, citation/traceability validation, prompt regression testing, telemetry via Application Insights, and human-in-the-loop review workflows.
• Demonstrated ability to own technical strategy across multiple project delivery teams, to include technical scoping of new engagements.
• Proven ability to engage C-level executives and senior leaders to shape technology strategy, influence investment decisions, and align architecture to business and mission outcomes.
• Solid understanding of enterprise architecture frameworks, cloud adoption strategies, security and identity architectures, data governance and application lifecycle governance.
• Experience operating in highly regulated and sovereign cloud environments (Azure Government, FedRAMP High, IL4/IL5), with familiarity with federal compliance, security, and risk management requirements.
• Executive presence with strong communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Deep understanding of federal government mission priorities and IT modernization challenges.

Solution Architecture IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $101,800 - $193,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $126,100 - $207,600 per year.

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