45Drives Solution Architect
45Drives Solution Architect
Position Information
- Position Title:Solution Architect
- Department:Technical Service
- Company:45Drives
- Location:Wilmington, North Carolina
- Work Arrangement:On-site
- Employment Type:Full-Time, Permanent
- Shift:Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM, with occasional evening customer calls and weekend support as required
- Level:Intermediate
Compensation
$71,120-$134,250 USD total annual compensation, including base salary and performance incentives. Placement within the range depends on experience, technical expertise, and demonstrated capabilities.
About the Role
As a Solution Architect at 45Drives, you'll work directly with enterprise customers to understand their technical challenges and design storage and infrastructure solutions that solve real business problems.
You'll partner closely with our Sales, Engineering, and R&D teams throughout the customer journey-from initial discovery and solution design through implementation planning. You'll help customers understand complex technical concepts, demonstrate how our solutions can address their needs, and provide trusted technical guidance throughout the sales process.
This is a customer-facing technical role that combines enterprise infrastructure, solution design, problem-solving, and technical consulting. If you enjoy understanding how technology works, talking with customers, and finding practical solutions to complex technical problems, this could be a great fit.
You don't need to check every box.We're interested in people with strong backgrounds in enterprise infrastructure, systems, storage, virtualization, or related technologies who can communicate effectively with customers. Experience in a traditional "Solution Architect" role is not required if you have the technical foundation and customer-facing skills to succeed.
What You'll Do
- Meet with customers to understand business objectives, technical requirements, and long-term goals.
- Conduct technical discovery sessions to identify customer challenges and solution requirements.
- Design enterprise storage and infrastructure solutions tailored to customer environments.
- Deliver technical presentations, workshops, and live product demonstrations.
- Develop technical scopes of work, solution architectures, implementation recommendations, and supporting documentation.
- Partner with Sales Account Managers throughout the sales cycle to ensure customer success.
- Translate complex technical concepts into clear business value for customers.
- Collaborate with Engineering and R&D by sharing customer feedback, market trends, and product improvement opportunities.
- Review solution designs and proposals to ensure alignment with customer requirements and architectural best practices.
- Support implementation planning and provide technical guidance throughout the customer journey.
- Promote open-source technologies and architectural best practices through customer education and internal knowledge sharing.
- Participate in continuous improvement initiatives that enhance customer experience and organizational success.
What You Need (Required Qualifications)
Education
- Post-secondary education in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related technical discipline is considered an asset. Equivalent practical experience will also be considered.
Experience
- Strong technical background in data storage, systems architecture, virtualization, or related technology fields.
- Experience designing or supporting enterprise infrastructure solutions.
- Experience analyzing complex technical environments and recommending scalable solutions.
Technical Skills
- Strong understanding of enterprise storage architectures and infrastructure technologies.
- Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
- Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Strong documentation and technical communication skills.
- Experience working with enterprise storage, virtualization, or software-defined infrastructure solutions.
Other Requirements
- Ability to work on-site in Wilmington, NC.
- Ability to participate in occasional evening customer calls and weekend support when required.
- Customer-focused mindset with exceptional attention to detail.
- Collaborative approach with a commitment to continuous improvement.
What Would Be Considered an Asset (Nice-to-Have Qualifications)
- Experience delivering technical presentations, workshops, or live product demonstrations.
- Experience working directly with enterprise customers in a consultative or pre-sales environment.
- Knowledge of open-source technologies including ZFS, Ceph, Proxmox, or similar platforms.
What Success Looks Like
Within your first year, you will:
- Build trusted relationships with customers and internal stakeholders.
- Independently lead technical discovery sessions and solution design engagements.
- Deliver high-quality solution architectures that meet customer business and technical objectives.
- Become a trusted technical advisor supporting customers throughout the sales and implementation process.
- Contribute customer feedback and market insights that help shape future product development.
- Promote open-source storage solutions while helping customers successfully modernize their infrastructure.
Full Transparency: We Work a Little Differently Around Here.
At 45Drives, we believe work should be meaningful. We spend a significant part of our lives at work, so we're committed to creating an environment where people enjoy what they do, contribute ideas, and make a real impact.
We value collaboration, curiosity, and continuous improvement. Everyone is encouraged to challenge ideas, solve problems, and help shape the future of our products, our company, and our customer experience.
If you're looking for a workplace where your technical expertise is valued and your contributions matter, we'd love to hear from you.
About Us
45Drives is changing the way organizations store data.
Instead of locking customers into proprietary software, we build enterprise storage solutions using open-source software and commodity hardware-giving customers flexibility, transparency, and long-term value without vendor lock-in.
45Drives is part of Protocase Inc., an innovative manufacturing and technology company with more than 400 employees serving over 16,000 customers worldwide, including organizations such as NASA, Boeing, Google, Apple, Microsoft, MIT, and many more.
Learn more:
- 45Drives: https://www.45drives.com
- Protocase: https://www.protocase.com
What We Offer
Competitive Compensation: $71,120-$134,250 USD total annual compensation, including base salary and performance incentives.
Training & Growth: Leadership training, skills development opportunities, regular coaching, and opportunities for career growth.
Comprehensive Benefits: Medical, dental, life insurance, and group insurance available after two months of full-time employment.
Paid Vacation: Start with two weeks of paid vacation, increasing to three weeks after three years and four weeks after five years.
Wellness Support: Participate in wellness events and enjoy access to a gym membership.
Team & Social Events: Team lunches, seasonal celebrations, and social events as our Wilmington team continues to grow.
Wilmington, NC: Live and work in a coastal city known for its beaches, historic downtown, vibrant culture, and growing technology community.
Important Details
This is an on-site position in Wilmington, North Carolina.
The regular schedule is Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM. The role may occasionally require evening customer calls or weekend technical support based on customer needs.
Apply today to join 45Drives as our next Solution Architect and help organizations build storage solutions with confidence.