We're looking for an experienced Solution Architect to join our Technology team, which delivers industry-leading solutions to customers and helps to shape the future of our business.
Consult Red is a trusted partner to the digital media industry and beyond, driving innovation and delivering support through the entire product development journey.
We apply our cutting-edge experience in software development, hardware, embedded and cloud technology to help companies in all sectors to deliver connected devices, gateways and systems.
Founded by five engineering leaders from Pace Micro in 2003, Consult Red has grown a strong reputation working with some of the world's leading Pay TV, media and OTT operators.
Since then, we have grown from being an embedded specialist in the media sector to a professional services provider working with companies in other industries such as Energy, Telecommunications and Healthcare.
In 2020 we've grown our staff headcount by 15%. And we're looking to double that growth – to over 200 heads globally - by the end of the year.
Currently, having taken their equipment, office chairs, and favourite coffee cups with them, our team members #stayathome and are working safely from there.
About This Role:
Our Solution Architects play a critical role in both designing and delivering exceptional software and hardware solutions for our customers. As a senior member of the Delivery or Technology team, both internal and external stakeholders will look to you for support, advice and leadership, as you help shape and innovative an industry-leading response to a wide range of customer requirements.
A lot of the work we do is in the Digital TV space, but we're also growing our portfolio significantly in other areas, such as Cloud, IoT and Connected Devices. A broad range of knowledge and experience across one or more of these areas will serve you well and set you up for success.
Working across multiple customers and projects at any given time, you'll become a key customer confidante, teasing out their requirements, generating ideas, and providing solutions that are appropriate to their needs and provide the correct level of detail for the audience. There will be a fair amount of technical pre-sales support, where you will work closely with the wider business, providing technical inputs for customer meetings, commercial documents and marketing materials.
As a Solution Architect, you'll have significant strategic input in the success and future direction of the company. Our Architects are also the "glue" that holds projects together: advocating for the customer's needs and requirements, whilst pulling a variety of internal teams in one direction towards a common goal.
In terms of approach, you'll need more than just technical know-how. You'll be calm, measured, honest and authentic. More than anything else, you'll be a key advocate in our belief in striving for simple, successful and scalable design for all of our customers.
How You'll Spend Your Time:
- Working with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders to define product or technology requirements, whilst suggesting suitable solutions to complex technical problems.
- Designing and architecting various software and system modules that come together to form a fully functioning solution, which works to the customer's specification and timeframe (including CPE, Back-end, Third-party services, etc.).
- Defining sub-systems across a range of products and technologies.
- Developing well-structured design documents, roadmaps and specifications.
- Advising on project progress and development, including design, technology choices, life cycles, costs and resource availability.
- Pre-sales technical support and evidencing RED's capabilities to a variety of customers, including trade shows and industry forums.
- Contributing to commercial documents, including RFP's, RFI's, Statements of Work and White Papers.
- Technology strategy consultant to evaluate and select solutions according to customer business goals.
What You'll Need to Bring:
- A strong track record in software and systems architecture within a technology-focused business – Essential
- Experience must include developing software and services for either Telecommunications or Pay TV operators - Essential
- The ability to identify and explain suitable solutions, that address customer problems, whilst working with limited information – Essential
- Exceptional people skills, including the communication of technical ideas to a broad range of sponsors, as well as motivating and negotiating with internal and external teams – Essential
- A deep understanding of a variety of programming paradigms, languages, frameworks and methodologies – Essential
- A proactive approach to problem-solving and learning new skills – Essential
- Experience working within a Consultancy business - Desirable
What we'll give you in return:
- A competitive salary that grows with your career
- A twice-yearly company bonus scheme
- Opportunities to train, develop and grow your career
- 25 days' holiday as standard, rising an extra day every year
- A flexible and risk-averse approach to remote work in uncertain times
- Free on-site parking, rail season ticket support, and a cycle to work scheme for when you do need to come into the office.
- Access to the "Headspace" mindfulness app
Our Recruitment Process:
We believe in moving fast and keeping things simple.
Once you submit your CV, we'll send you a short online form asking you to confirm a couple of details. Your application then goes directly to the Hiring Manager to review. We'll always try to come back to you within a few days.
We'll usually do a short first stage telephone interview. If that goes well, we'll want to set up a longer conversation to find out more. Where possible, we'll do a face-to-face interview in our offices, so that you can get a better feel for the company and your team. However, we understand the challenges of COVID19 and have adapted our business to be completely flexible around the current situation. This means that we may do some, or all, of the interview process over video using Microsoft Teams, Skype, or GoToMeeting.
However we do it, we want you to leave us with a real feel for the role and a sense of what it's like to work with us, so we're happy to spend some quality time to answer all of your questions.