Salesforce Solution Architect

Job Description:

JOB SUMMARY:

This position is responsible for designing, and implementing scalable, secure, and efficient enterprise-level solutions that meet business requirements within the Salesforce environment.

The individual in this position is responsible for delivering high-quality solutions that meet Vertex needs in an integrated landscape focusing on Salesforce-based solutions.

This individual collaborates with cross-functional teams of Business Product Owners, other IT Product Managers, Solution and Technical Architects, Compliance, development and support teams, and various stakeholders to accomplish objectives

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Product Strategy, Roadmap and Continuous Product Enhancement

• Develops understanding of business application strategy and roadmap for their product area, ensuring alignment with Vertex priorities and objectives, working closely with business product owners, IT Product Managers and Compliance.
• Stays informed of industry trends and directions, Vertex strategy, new features being delivered by Salesforce, and new technologies that may benefit Vertex in their area of responsibility.
• Attains and maintains requisite knowledge and skills to define and design effective solutions within our business application landscape, covering knowledge in our core applications of Salesforce Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Experience Cloud, CPQ & force.com platforms, as well as integrated applications.
• Ability to take a holistic view of an organization's Salesforce landscape, considering how multiple systems, processes, and data flows interact within the larger business architecture. 

Product Discovery & Solution Design

• Work on high-level design and governance, focusing on scalability, security, and compliance across all Salesforce applications within the organization.
• Collaborates with business and IT stakeholders to gather and analyze requirements, ensuing that the technical solutions address current and future business needs effectively
• Develop comprehensive solution architectures that align with business objectives, incorporating best practices in scalability, security, and performance
• Work with the Product Management to define technical requirements, support the development of epics, user stories, and acceptance criteria.
• Provides guidance to development teams, ensuring that they adhere to architectural standards and follow best practices.
• Adopts agile methods and tools within the SAFe agile framework as implemented within Vertex

IT Product Portfolio Architecture:

• Articulates the application solutions, data and integrations that support the various business value streams through comprehensive architecture documents, including for example: solution blueprints, system and integration diagrams, data flows, and collaborates with other teams and resources to ensure cohesiveness in the overall Architecture content.
• Ensures that solutions adhere to quality standards and good practices in design, development and implementation, instituting quality, and review processes across the development lifecycle.
• Evaluate and recommend solutions including third-party products and services that align with business needs and are best fit for the portfolio architecture.
• Contributes to defining the Architectural runway.

Optimize IT Product Performance:

• In partnership with IT Product Managers and Business Product Owners, ensures that the business application portfolio is fit for purpose and rationalized to eliminate redundant or unneeded applications and functionality, to attain greater efficiency, reduce cost and unnecessary technical complexity.
• Understands and regularly evaluates the IT Product Portfolio, including SaaS and other licensed applications, custom applications, and integrations for areas of obsolescence, improvement, or other technology risks and benefits.
• Define relevant Nonfunctional Requirements (NFR) for each solution and confirms the solution can support those NFRs

Fosters Innovative Ideas and Technologies:

• Evaluates and recommends relevant use cases for advanced technologies that apply to Vertex business application landscape.
• Stays informed of industry trends and directions, Vertex strategy, and new features being delivered by Salesforce that may benefit Vertex
• Define and design effective solutions using Salesforce technologies, with a focus on adhering to industry standards, best practices and code quality techniques.
• Research, recommend Einstein AI capabilities, AppExchange applications and salesforce upgrades to help meet business needs.

Guides Enabler Epics:

• Works with Product Management to determine what technical Enablers epics are required to support the teams’ efforts.
• Defines the scope of the enabler epics and ensures the architecture and tools used conform to Vertex standards.
• Supports PI planning efforts in collaboration with Product Management.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Must have excellent Business acumen and knowledge of IT architecture, processes, and standards
• Understands how to support Vertex business strategy through ensuring the integrity of our integrated business application landscape

• Possesses clear communication skills and is comfortable gathering requirements, giving presentations and facilitating with various stakeholder audiences.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a focus on delivering innovative solutions.

• Expert level knowledge of Salesforce applications
• Knowledge of Workday and integrated business applications is highly desirable
• Proven ability to develop relationships across business and IT stakeholders as needed to accomplish objectives
• Proven ability to stay on task, overcome obstacles, meet deadlines and milestones, and deliver work by agreed upon dates.

• Demonstrated ability to drive results with distributed global teams
• Pursues continuous learning in areas critical to success in the job role, learning from subject matter experts, colleagues, and formal training
• Collaborates across IT and business in a transparent way, exhibiting willingness to share information, and ability to connect people within and across teams
• Knowledge of SAFe Agile framework and ways of working, and ability to implement and refine this framework as it applies to Vertex IT Products
• Proficiency in JIRA, Smartsheet, Microsoft Office products, and other tools used to support analysis, create deliverables, and track status

EDUCATION AND TRAINING:

• Bachelor’s degree in information systems, Computer Science or related field.

• Strong technical skills with minimum 5 years of IT experience, including at least 3 years as a Salesforce Architect

• Salesforce certifications are required (Advanced Administrator, Sales Cloud Consultant, Service Cloud Consultant, Platform App Consultant)
• Salesforce Developer and Architect certifications (Salesforce Certified Application Architect, Salesforce Certified System Architect) is desirable

Other Qualifications
The Winning Way behaviors that all Vertex employees need in order to meet the expectations of each other, our customers, and our partners.

• Communicate with Clarity - Be clear, concise and actionable. Be relentlessly constructive. Seek and provide meaningful feedback.
• Act with Urgency - Adopt an agile mentality - frequent iterations, improved speed, resilience. 80/20 rule – better is the enemy of done. Don’t spend hours when minutes are enough.
• Work with Purpose - Exhibit a “We Can” mindset. Results outweigh effort. Everyone understands how their role contributes. Set aside personal objectives for team results.
• Drive to Decision - Cut the swirl with defined deadlines and decision points. Be clear on individual accountability and decision authority. Guided by a commitment to and accountability for customer outcomes.
• Own the Outcome - Defined milestones, commitments and intended results. Assess your work in context, if you’re unsure, ask. Demonstrate unwavering support for decisions.

COMMENTS:

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals in this position. Other functions may be assigned, and management retains the right to add or change the duties at any time.