{"id":1517561,"url":"https://alion.io/job/hso-cloud-solution-architect","title":"Cloud Solution Architect","company":{"id":174124,"name":"HSO","domain":"hso.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/hso","size_band":"201-500","is_staffing_agency":true,"employer_type":"agency","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Greenhouse","truth_index":{"grade":"C","score":65,"open_postings":124,"ghost_share":0.5,"stale_share":0,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":63,"computed_at":"2026-10-09T06:01:00Z"}},"role":"Solutions","role_family":"Solutions","seniority":"staff","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"explicit","locations":["Manchester, United Kingdom"],"countries":["GB"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":81000,"max_usd":164000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_remote_cell","sample_n":29},"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"AI Agents","optional":false},{"name":"Azure","optional":false},{"name":"Azure Cosmos DB","optional":false},{"name":"Azure Data Factory","optional":false},{"name":"Azure DevOps","optional":false},{"name":"Azure SQL Database","optional":false},{"name":"CI/CD","optional":false},{"name":"Copilot Studio","optional":false},{"name":"Databricks","optional":false},{"name":"GitHub","optional":false},{"name":"Microsoft Fabric","optional":false},{"name":"OpenAI","optional":false},{"name":"Power BI","optional":false},{"name":"pySpark","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"SQL","optional":false},{"name":"Spark","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-08-12T13:00:16Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-17","last_verified_at":"2026-10-10T00:36:30Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":58,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":0,"flags":["company_stale"],"days_open":56},"description":"Cloud Solution Architect - Data & AI\nLocation: UK (Hybrid)\nPractice: Data & AI\nAbout HSO\nHSO is a Business Transformation Partner with deep industry expertise and global reach. As one of Microsoft's leading partners, we help organisations unlock the full potential of Microsoft Dynamics 365, Azure, Data and AI technologies to deliver meaningful business outcomes.\nWith operations across Europe, North America and Asia, HSO combines industry knowledge, technical excellence and a people-first culture to help customers modernise their businesses, transform operations and embrace innovation with confidence.\nAs demand for Data & AI solutions continues to accelerate, we're expanding our Data & AI practice and looking for experienced Cloud Solution Architects to help shape the next generation of customer transformation programmes.\nThe Role\nAs a Cloud Solution Architect - Data & AI, you'll play a pivotal role in shaping and qualifying customer opportunities across the Microsoft cloud ecosystem.\nThis is a highly visible role that sits at the intersection of sales, enterprise architecture and delivery, combining technical leadership with commercial thinking. You'll work closely with customers, Microsoft and internal stakeholders to understand business challenges, identify opportunities, design compelling solutions and create clear pathways from initial discovery through to successful delivery.\nYou'll help organisations transform the way they use data, analytics and artificial intelligence, translating business ambition into practical, costed and deliverable solutions.\nSuccess in this role requires more than technical expertise. You'll need strong consulting and stakeholder management skills, the confidence to challenge assumptions, and the commercial awareness to ensure opportunities are both valuable for clients and aligned with HSO's delivery capability.\nWhat You'll Be Doing\nOpportunity Qualification & Solution Shaping\nLead Data & AI opportunity qualification alongside Account Managers, Business Development teams and Enterprise Architects.\nFacilitate customer discovery workshops, architecture assessments and strategic discussions.\nUnderstand customer business drivers, challenges and desired outcomes.\nHelp customers define realistic transformation roadmaps aligned to business priorities.\nQualify opportunities using structured sales and consulting methodologies, including MEDDIC/MEDDICC approaches.\nSolution Architecture & Advisory\nDesign end-to-end Data & AI solutions using Microsoft technologies and best practices.\nShape modern analytics, AI and data platform architectures that are commercially viable and technically deliverable.\nProvide architectural leadership across data platform modernisation, analytics, AI and automation initiatives.\nEnsure alignment with Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework and Azure Well-Architected principles.\nCommunicate architectural trade-offs and recommendations to both technical and non-technical audiences.\nCommercial Leadership\nTranslate customer requirements into proposals, statements of work, delivery plans and business cases.\nProduce solution estimates, cost models and phased implementation approaches.\nSupport customers in understanding ROI, value realisation and investment considerations.\nChallenge unclear scope and identify delivery, cost and commercial risks early in the sales cycle.\nWork closely with delivery teams to validate assumptions before commitments are made.\nGrowth & Go-to-Market\nContribute to the evolution of HSO's Data & AI propositions and repeatable offerings.\nDevelop demonstrations, accelerators, sales collateral and industry-specific solution narratives.\nSupport RFPs, bid responses, executive presentations and proof-of-concept engagements.\nCollaborate with Microsoft stakeholders to drive pipeline growth and co-sell opportunities.\nKeep up to date with emerging Microsoft technologies and industry trends across Data & AI.\nWhat We're Looking For\nThe ideal candidate combines strong technical capability with exceptional commercial awareness.\nYou'll be equally comfortable discussing board-level business outcomes with executive stakeholders as you are diving into architecture decisions with technical teams.\nCommercial & Consulting Experience\nYou'll have:\nProven experience in a Solution Architecture, Pre-Sales, Consulting or Technical Advisory role.\nExperience working within a Microsoft partner, consultancy or enterprise technology environment.\nStrong commercial acumen and experience creating proposals, business cases and Statements of Work.\nThe ability to qualify opportunities and challenge assumptions constructively.\nExcellent workshop facilitation, discovery and stakeholder management skills.\nExperience presenting to senior business and technical audiences.\nThe ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear business value.\nUnderstanding of opportunity qualification methodologies such as MEDDIC or MEDDICC.\nExperience across industries such as manufacturing, retail, financial services, healthcare, public sector, not-for-profit, utilities or professional services would be advantageous.\nTechnical Experience\nWe recognise that few candidates will have expertise across every area listed below. We're primarily looking for strong Data & AI architecture experience across the Microsoft ecosystem.\nEssential\nData & Analytics\nMicrosoft Fabric\nLakehouse architecture patterns\nPower BI and self-service analytics\nSemantic modelling and reporting solutions\nData platform modernisation and analytics strategy\nAzure Data Platform\nAzure Data Lake Storage (ADLS)\nAzure Synapse Analytics\nAzure Databricks\nAzure SQL Database\nAzure Cosmos DB\nAzure Data Factory\nAI & Automation\nAzure AI Services\nAzure OpenAI Service\nAzure AI Foundry\nCopilot Studio\nAgentic AI patterns and intelligent automation solutions\nDocument intelligence and AI-driven business use cases\nData Engineering & Platform Delivery\nSQL\nPython and/or PySpark\nData pipelines and transformation frameworks\nCI/CD concepts and deployment automation\nAzure DevOps and/or GitHub\nInfrastructure as Code awareness\nEnvironment promotion and release management approaches\nAdvantageous\nData Governance & Security\nMicrosoft Purview\nData governance frameworks\nData lineage and catalogue solutions\nInformation protection concepts\nRole-based access control\nAzure Key Vault\nSecure platform design principles\nIntegration & Application Connectivity\nAzure Logic Apps\nAzure Functions\nAzure Service Bus\nAzure API Management\nEnterprise integration patterns\nOperational and analytical workload integration\nCertifications\nMicrosoft certifications are not essential but are highly desirable, particularly across:\nMicrosoft Azure\nMicrosoft Fabric\nData & Analytics\nArtificial Intelligence\nSecurity\nAs a leading Microsoft partner, HSO actively invests in certification, specialisation and continuous learning, helping our consultants stay at the forefront of Microsoft's rapidly evolving technology landscape.\nWhy Join HSO?\nThis is an exciting opportunity to join one of Microsoft's most respected global partners during a period of significant growth in Data & AI.\nYou'll have the opportunity to:\nShape the future of HSO's Data & AI propositions and offerings.\nWork alongside Microsoft on strategic customer initiatives.\nInfluence major digital, data and AI transformation programmes.\nHelp organisations realise measurable value from data and artificial intelligence.\nWork with some of the most innovative technologies in the Microsoft ecosystem.\nCollaborate with highly skilled consultants, architects and delivery professionals across the globe.\nBenefit from continuous professional development, certification support and access to Microsoft's latest technologies.\nMost importantly, you'll have the freedom to combine commercial thinking, architectural leadership and innovation to create meaningful outcomes for customers and make a real impact on the future of Data & AI transformation.\nReady to help shape the future of Data & AI? 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