Description

Introduction

The Platform Architect is a senior technical leader responsible for shaping platform‑level architecture, enabling complex sales motions, and clearly articulating platform value through high‑quality technical assets and storytelling. Operating at the intersection of architecture, technical sales, and enablement, this role drives cross‑product consistency, connects sellers to the right technical resources, and provides hands‑on support for a broad set of platform products to help customers understand why and how the platform delivers differentiated outcomes.

Your role and responsibilities

Key Responsibilities

1) Cross‑Product Architecture Leadership

• Lead and facilitate cross‑product technical and architecture discussions across sales teams.
• Define and communicate platform‑level architectural patterns, integration strategies, and reference architectures.
• Ensure architectural consistency, interoperability, and alignment across products.
• Serve as a technical authority for complex, multi‑product platform solutions and architectural decisions.

2) Technical Sales Support & Platform Enablement

• Provide technical sales support for platform‑ and brand‑level opportunities from discovery through validation.
• Translate customer business and technical requirements into scalable, secure, and supportable platform architectures.
• Partner closely with sellers to drive platform adoption, differentiation, and expansion.
• Lead/participate in customer‑facing workshops, executive briefings, technical reviews, and solution design sessions.

3) Asset Creation

• Create and maintain reusable, high‑impact technical assets that support platform selling.
• Ensure assets are accurate, current, accessible, and aligned to platform strategy and roadmaps.
• Partner with product, engineering, and marketing to scale and continuously improve assets.
• Track and improve asset adoption and effectiveness across the field.

4) Technical Storytelling

• Craft clear, compelling narratives that connect platform capabilities to customer outcomes and value.
• Simplify complex architectures into executive‑ready stories without losing technical rigor.
• Tailor stories for executives (value/risk), architects (patterns/tradeoffs), engineers (implementation), and sellers (positioning/differentiation).
• Establish reusable storytelling frameworks and act as a recognizable platform "voice" internally and externally.

5) Resource Orchestration & Field Support

• Identify, engage, and connect platform sellers with the right specialists, engineers, and product resources at the right stage of the sales cycle.
• Orchestrate cross‑functional technical engagement to accelerate deal velocity and improve solution quality.
• Promote knowledge sharing and best‑practice reuse across sales, product, and engineering teams.

6) Deep Technical Expertise & Product Focus

• Provide deep technical sales and architectural support for a defined set of products within the platform.
• Maintain expert knowledge of platform capabilities, integrations, dependencies, and roadmaps.
• Support proofs of concept, pilots, and advanced evaluations; capture and relay field insights to product teams.

7) Post‑Sales Support

• Provide architectural guidance and technical oversight for customers after initial deployment to ensure long‑term platform stability, value realization, and successful adoption.
• Help customers optimize and evolve their existing technology footprint by identifying architectural improvements, integration opportunities, and modernization paths.
• Support account teams in resolving advanced technical challenges by partnering with engineering, product, and support organizations.
• Conduct periodic architecture reviews and roadmap discussions to ensure the platform continues to meet customer business and technical goals.
• Capture learnings from customer environments to inform product improvements, best practices, and future platform assets.

Required education

Bachelor's Degree

Required technical and professional expertise

Technical & Architectural

• Significant experience in platform, solution, or enterprise architecture, ideally in customer‑facing contexts.
• Proven ability to design and explain multi‑product, integrated platform solutions.
• Deep understanding of modern architectures (cloud, APIs, data, security, integration, automation).

Asset Creation & Storytelling

• Demonstrated experience producing technical assets for sales/field enablement (diagrams, reference architectures, decks, whitepapers, demos).
• Strong technical storytelling—written, visual, and verbal—with executive‑level presence.
• Ability to distill complex technical concepts into simple, outcome‑oriented narratives and visuals.

Collaboration & Influence

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills with technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Ability to influence without authority across matrixed organizations.
• Comfortable operating as a trusted advisor with customers, sellers, and product/engineering leaders.

Preferred technical and professional experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficiency in a wide range of IBM's technology solutions.
• Experience in technical sales, pre‑sales architecture, or platform evangelism roles.
• Familiarity with enterprise architecture frameworks and best practices.
• Background working with large‑scale, multi‑tenant platforms or partner ecosystems.
• Experience defining enablement frameworks and measuring asset adoption.

ABOUT BUSINESS UNIT

IBM has a global presence, operating in more than 175 countries with a broad-based geographic distribution of revenue. The company's Global Markets organization is a strategic sales business unit that manages IBM's global footprint, working closely with dedicated country-based operating units to serve clients locally. These country teams have client relationship managers who lead integrated teams of consultants, solution specialists and delivery professionals to enable clients' growth and innovation. By complementing local expertise with global experience and digital capabilities, IBM builds deep and broad-based client relationships. This local management focus fosters speed in supporting clients, addressing new markets and making investments in emerging opportunities. Additionally, the Global Markets organization serves clients with expertise in their industry as well as through the products and services that IBM and partners supply. IBM is also expanding its reach to new and existing clients through digital marketplaces.

YOUR LIFE @ IBM

In a world where technology never stands still, we understand that, dedication to our clients success, innovation that matters, and trust and personal responsibility in all our relationships, lives in what we do as IBMers as we strive to be the catalyst that makes the world work better.

Being an IBMer means you'll be able to learn and develop yourself and your career, you'll be encouraged to be courageous and experiment everyday, all whilst having continuous trust and support in an environment where everyone can thrive whatever their personal or professional background.

Our IBMers are growth minded, always staying curious, open to feedback and learning new information and skills to constantly transform themselves and our company. They are trusted to provide on-going feedback to help other IBMers grow, as well as collaborate with colleagues keeping in mind a team focused approach to include different perspectives to drive exceptional outcomes for our customers. The courage our IBMers have to make critical decisions everyday is essential to IBM becoming the catalyst for progress, always embracing challenges with resources they have to hand, a can-do attitude and always striving for an outcome focused approach within everything that they do.

Are you ready to be an IBMer?

ABOUT IBM

IBM's greatest invention is the IBMer. We believe that through the application of intelligence, reason and science, we can improve business, society and the human condition, bringing the power of an open hybrid cloud and AI strategy to life for our clients and partners around the world.

Restlessly reinventing since 1911, we are not only one of the largest corporate organizations in the world, we're also one of the biggest technology and consulting employers, with many of the Fortune 500 companies relying on the IBM Cloud to run their business.

At IBM, we pride ourselves on being an early adopter of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and blockchain. Now it's time for you to join us on our journey to being a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world.

IBM is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, or other characteristics protected by the applicable law. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.

OTHER RELEVANT JOB DETAILS

IBM offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits program. Eligible employees may have access to:

- Healthcare benefits including medical & prescription drug coverage, dental, vision, and mental health & well being

- Financial programs such as 401(k), cash balance pension plan, the IBM Employee Stock Purchase Plan, financial counseling, life insurance, short & long- term disability coverage, and opportunities for performance based salary incentive programs

- Generous paid time off including 12 holidays, minimum 56 hours sick time, 120 hours vacation, 12 weeks parental bonding leave in accordance with IBM Policy, and other Paid Care Leave programs. IBM also offers paid family leave benefits to eligible employees where required by applicable law

- Training and educational resources on our personalized, AI-driven learning platform where IBMers can grow skills and obtain industry-recognized certifications to achieve their career goals

- Diverse and inclusive employee resource groups, giving & volunteer opportunities, and discounts on retail products, services & experiences

We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable law.

This position was posted on the date cited in the key job details section and is anticipated to remain posted for 21 days from this date or less if not needed to fill the role.

IBM will not be providing visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future. Therefore, in order to be considered for this position, you must have the ability to work without a need for current or future visa sponsorship.

The compensation range and benefits for this position are based on a full-time schedule for a full calendar year. The salary will vary depending on your job-related skills, experience and location. Pay increment and frequency of pay will be in accordance with employment classification and applicable laws. For part time roles, your compensation and benefits will be adjusted to reflect your hours. Benefits may be pro-rated for those who start working during the calendar year.

This position is eligible for participation in an IBM Sales Incentive plan. Actual incentive opportunity will be based on performance and the eligible Target Incentive, as addressed in the applicable plan, all of which is subject to change. The compensation range listed for this position is the IBM Reference Salary that is used when you are not actively participating in a sales plan. Your actual base pay plus incentive opportunity will be determined by the Incentive Plan assigned to you.

Job Title

Platform Architect

Date posted

17-Mar-2026

Job ID

102625

City / Township / Village

Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, New York

State / Province

Georgia, Illinois, Texas, New York

Country

United States

Work arrangement

Hybrid

Area of work

Sales

Employment type

Regular

Contract type

Regular

Projected Minimum Salary per year

177,300.00

Projected Maximum Salary per year

269,496.00

Position type

Professional

Travel required

Up to 40% or 2 days a week (home on weekends- based on project requirements)

Company

(0147) International Business Machines Corporation

Shift

General (daytime)

Is this role a commissionable/sales incentive based position?

Yes



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