About this opportunity
Original employer descriptionThe Consulting Solution Architect - NetApp is a nationally aligned technical pre-sales role within CDW’s National Specialized Presales team, with primary responsibility for advancing NetApp Keystone and Storage-as-a-Service solutions across CDW customers. The role combines deep NetApp technical expertise with consulting, financial, and consumption-model knowledge to help customers evaluate, architect, adopt, and optimize storage-as-a-service solutions.
The Consulting Solution Architect serves as a national subject matter expert for NetApp Keystone while maintaining broad expertise across NetApp storage, data management, data protection, cyber resiliency, hybrid cloud, and AI-ready infrastructure. The role works closely with customers, CDW sellers, Solution Architects, services organizations, and NetApp to identify consumption-based infrastructure opportunities, develop customer-specific architectures and financial models, scope associated services, and guide strategic opportunities throughout the sales lifecycle.
The role develops and maintains strategic relationships and serves as a trusted advisor for organizations evaluating the transition from traditional capital infrastructure purchases to flexible consumption and Storage-as-a-Service operating models. This position provides national technical leadership, accelerates Keystone pipeline development, enables the field, and helps grow CDW’s overall NetApp product and services business.
What you will do
- Serve as a national subject matter expert for NetApp Keystone and Storage-as-a-Service, supporting strategic customer opportunities across CDW.
- Identify and develop customers and workloads that are strong candidates for consumption-based storage and Keystone adoption.
- Lead customer discovery focused on capacity growth, workload requirements, performance expectations, data protection, cyber resiliency, operating models, financial objectives, and infrastructure lifecycle requirements.
- Help customers evaluate traditional capital acquisition, leasing, cloud, and Storage-as-a-Service approaches and determine where Keystone can provide business and operational value.
- Translate customer consumption patterns, growth expectations, performance requirements, and business objectives into appropriate Keystone architectures and subscription recommendations.
- Develop technical and financial recommendations addressing committed capacity, expected consumption, growth, performance service levels, subscription structure, and lifecycle requirements.
- Communicate the business value of consumption-based infrastructure to technical, financial, procurement, and executive stakeholders.
- Develop assessment and advisory offerings that help customers evaluate Storage-as-a-Service readiness and identify workloads appropriate for Keystone.
- Collaborate with customers, services teams, field Solution Architects, internal sales, and NetApp to provide consultative guidance, develop sales strategy, and scope Statements of Work.
- Design and position comprehensive NetApp solutions across Keystone, ONTAP-based storage, data protection, cyber resiliency, hybrid cloud, cloud storage, data services, and AI-ready infrastructure.
- Position Keystone as part of broader infrastructure modernization, hybrid cloud, cyber resiliency, AI, and data center transformation strategies rather than as a stand-alone procurement alternative.
- Support Keystone opportunities from qualification through discovery, consumption modeling, architecture, proposal development, implementation transition, and adoption.
- Work with CDW and NetApp stakeholders to address technical, commercial, operational, and contractual considerations affecting Keystone opportunities.
- Develop reusable Keystone discovery frameworks, qualification tools, reference architectures, financial-modeling guidance, customer presentations, proposal content, and best practices.
- Partner with business and practice leaders to develop and execute national Keystone pipeline, go-to-market, and growth strategies.
- Collaborate with services teams to identify implementation, migration, optimization, managed services, and lifecycle services that complement Keystone.
- Build and maintain strategic relationships with NetApp Keystone technical, sales, specialist, and leadership teams.
- Provide structured customer and field feedback to NetApp regarding Keystone requirements, competitive considerations, adoption barriers, and emerging use cases.
- Drive national outreach, technical enablement, and coaching that improve the ability of sellers, Solution Architects, Solution Executives, and specialists to identify and qualify Keystone opportunities.
- Develop field-ready positioning that differentiates Keystone from traditional infrastructure acquisition, public cloud consumption, leasing, and competing Storage-as-a-Service models.
- Maintain expertise across the broader NetApp portfolio so Keystone recommendations are developed in the context of each customer’s complete data infrastructure strategy.
- Collaborate across cloud, compute, networking, security, virtualization, AI, consulting, managed services, and professional services teams to develop integrated customer solutions.
What we expect of you
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience and 7 years in a technical, pre-sales, consulting, architecture, or post-sale delivery role; or 11 years of relevant experience. Final requirements are subject to HR validation against the approved Consulting Solution Architect profile.
- Strong knowledge of enterprise storage, data management, data protection, cyber resiliency, hybrid cloud, and infrastructure modernization.
- Demonstrated understanding of consumption-based technology models, subscription services, Storage-as-a-Service, or cloud economics.
- Ability to conduct technical and business discovery and translate customer requirements into architectures, consumption models, recommendations, and actionable roadmaps.
- Strong business and financial acumen with the ability to communicate CapEx versus OpEx considerations, consumption economics, infrastructure lifecycle costs, and business value.
- Ability to engage effectively with technical, operational, procurement, financial, and executive customer stakeholders.
- Experience developing comprehensive solutions that address technical requirements, business challenges, operational objectives, and financial considerations.
- Strong consulting, facilitation, presentation, and executive communication skills.
- Demonstrated ability to collaborate across sales, engineering, services, finance, partner, and delivery organizations.
- Ability to influence opportunity strategy and build consensus around complex technical and commercial solutions.
- Ability to develop repeatable methodologies, customer deliverables, enablement materials, and best practices.
- Motivated, self-starting, and able to independently perform high-quality work with minimal guidance across a national coverage model.
- Willingness to travel up to 25% or as needed.
- Preferred qualifications:
- Hands-on experience designing, positioning, selling, or supporting NetApp Keystone Storage-as-a-Service solutions.
- Experience developing Keystone consumption models, including capacity requirements, workload growth, performance service levels, and subscription considerations.
- Experience articulating Storage-as-a-Service economics and comparing CapEx, OpEx, public cloud, leasing, and consumption-based infrastructure models.
- Experience supporting complex consumption-based infrastructure agreements or multi-year technology subscriptions.
- Strong knowledge of NetApp ONTAP, AFF, StorageGRID, hybrid cloud, data protection, cyber resiliency, and related NetApp technologies.
- Current NetApp technical certifications aligned to the role and CDW partner requirements.
- Experience architecting NetApp environments spanning enterprise storage, hybrid cloud, virtualization, containers, data protection, cyber resiliency, and AI infrastructure.
- Experience developing assessment methodologies, advisory engagements, Statements of Work, and professional services offerings.
- Experience supporting strategic enterprise accounts and complex, multi-practice or multi-million-dollar opportunities.
- Experience developing partner-led go-to-market initiatives, sales plays, enablement content, and reusable solution assets.
- Experience presenting technology consumption strategies and financial recommendations to executive, finance, and procurement stakeholders.
- Consulting or professional services experience with infrastructure modernization, data center transformation, or cloud operating models.
Pay range: $121,450 - $170,010 depending on experience and skill set
Annual bonus target of 25% subject to terms and conditions of plan
Benefits overview: https://cdw.benefit-info.com/
Salary ranges may be subject to geographic differentials
CDW is committed to being an AI-fluent organization
We’re looking for people who bring curiosity, a learner’s mindset, and a willingness to engage with ever-evolving technology and tools. We value adopting AI as a partner, openness to experimentation, and a shared interest in learning together on AI. Our goal is to create a culture where AI enhances—not replaces—human creativity and decision-making. You don’t need to be an expert today; what matters is your readiness to explore, adapt, and grow with us as we integrate AI responsibly and effectively into our work.
Additionally, CDW is committed to fostering an equitable, transparent, and respectful hiring process for all applicants. During our application process, our goal is to understand your experience, strengths, skills, and qualifications. As an AI forward company, we see AI not just as a tool, but as a catalyst for new ways of thinking, creating, and communicating. We encourage candidates to embrace an AI mindset, one that’s curious, adaptive, and ready to explore what’s possible. We welcome thoughtful use of AI to expand your perspective and elevate how you share your story, while ensuring your application remains rooted in your own background, judgment, and voice.
About Us
CDW is a Fortune 500 technology solutions provider that helps businesses, government, education, and healthcare organizations achieve what’s possible through technology. What makes CDW different isn’t just what we do—it’s how we do it. At CDW we act as one—building trust, speaking candidly, and working together to achieve more. We play to win—focusing on what matters most and delivering for our customers. And we think forward—staying curious, moving fast, and continuously learning. We believe meaningful work happens when people feel supported, heard, and empowered to contribute. That’s why we think of ourselves as coworkers, not just employees—working together to solve complex challenges and deliver real impact for our customers and communities.
As a full‑stack, full‑lifecycle technology partner, CDW brings deep expertise, strong relationships, and broad industry knowledge to help turn ideas into outcomes. When you join CDW, you become part of a collaborative environment where your work matters, your growth is supported, and your contributions help shape what’s next.
Together, we deliver the full promise of what technology can do. Together, we Make Amazing Happen.
CDW is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other basis prohibited by state and local law.
