Microsoft Solutions Engineer

Description:
The Microsoft Solutions Engineer is a client-facing technical pre-sales professional who partners with Account Executives, Architects, and Engineers throughout the sales cycle. This role serves as a trusted technical advisor and Microsoft product expert, translating customer business challenges, technical requirements, security considerations, and desired outcomes into compelling solutions built on the Microsoft ecosystem.
The primary objective is to secure the technical win by building customer confidence in Weidenhammer's recommended approach. The role leads technical discovery, solution design, demonstrations, proofs of concept, technical validation, proposal development, and delivery handoff across Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Copilot, and related security and governance services.
Work closely with sales, delivery, clients, Microsoft, distributors, and strategic partners to shape business-outcomes-driven solutions. Balance technical depth with commercial awareness, clearly communicate value to technical and executive audiences, and ensure proposed solutions are secure, scalable, supportable, and aligned with the customer's priorities, budget, timeline, and readiness.
Requirements:
* Technical Discovery & Qualification: Lead customer discovery sessions to understand business priorities, current-state architecture, pain points, constraints, stakeholders, decision criteria, success measures, and technical risks. Help qualify opportunity fit and identify the technical path to a successful outcome.
* Solution Architecture & Design: Co-design secure, scalable, resilient, and cost-optimized Microsoft solutions. Develop solution narratives, conceptual architectures, workload mappings, assumptions, dependencies, bills of materials, licensing inputs, phased roadmaps, and statements of work appropriate to the opportunity.
* Demonstrations, Workshops & Proofs of Concept: Plan and deliver compelling product demonstrations, architectural design sessions, hands-on workshops, and proofs of concept tailored to the customer's use cases. Define success criteria and use technical evidence to validate platform fit and business value.
* Technical Sales Partnership: Partner with Account Executives to develop pursuit strategy, prepare for client meetings, identify technical champions, map decision makers, advance opportunities, and maintain alignment between the customer's business case and the proposed technical solution.
* Technical Win Strategy: Establish and execute a technical close plan for qualified opportunities. Surface and resolve technical blockers, competitive concerns, integration questions, security requirements, and adoption risks that could prevent the customer from selecting the recommended solution.
* RFI/RFP, Proposal & SOW Support: Contribute accurate technical content to RFIs, RFPs, proposals, security questionnaires, estimates, pricing assumptions, bills of materials, and statements of work. Partner with delivery leaders to ensure scope is achievable and responsibilities are clear.
* Business Value & Executive Communication: Connect capabilities to measurable business outcomes. Present solution recommendations, tradeoffs, ROI/TCO considerations, risk reduction, and adoption implications to audiences ranging from engineers and administrators to business leaders and executives.
* Objection Handling & Competitive Positioning: Address technical concerns directly and credibly. Position Microsoft and Weidenhammer solutions against relevant alternatives using customer-specific requirements, architecture, security, integration, operating model, and lifecycle value rather than feature comparisons alone.
* Security, Governance & Responsible AI: Embed identity, security, compliance, data governance, privacy, resiliency, and responsible AI considerations into solution recommendations from the beginning of the sales cycle.
* Handoff to Delivery: Facilitate a structured transition from pre-sales to professional services, managed services, or customer success teams. Transfer discovery findings, architecture, assumptions, risks, decisions, open items, acceptance criteria, and stakeholder expectations.
* Practice & Partner Enablement: Maintain current knowledge of Microsoft's product roadmap, licensing, partner programs, incentives, solution design guidance, and competitive landscape. Create reusable demonstrations, reference architectures, proposal content, and internal enablement for sales and delivery teams.
* Customer and Market Feedback: Capture patterns, feature requests, implementation concerns, and market feedback, then share them with practice leadership, delivery, engineering, and strategic partners to improve offerings and go-to-market readiness.
Microsoft Solution Areas
The successful candidate is expected to have broad Microsoft cloud fluency and deeper expertise in one or more solution areas. The role is not expected to be the primary implementation engineer for every workload.
Cloud Infrastructure & Application Platform
Azure IaaS/PaaS, networking, identity, security, governance, migration, modernization, integration, resilience, monitoring, cost optimization, and hybrid cloud.
Modern Work & Security
Microsoft 365, Teams, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, Exchange Online, Intune, Entra, Defender, Purview, and Zero Trust-aligned capabilities.
AI & Copilot
Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, Agent 365, Microsoft Foundry, adoption readiness, governance, security, and responsible AI.
Competencies
* Trusted-advisor presence with the ability to establish credibility quickly with technical and business stakeholders.
* Exceptional discovery, active listening, facilitation, storytelling, presentation, whiteboarding, and written communication skills.
* Ability to explain complex Microsoft technologies in clear business language without oversimplifying technical tradeoffs.
* Strong solution-design judgment across security, scalability, integration, operations, licensing, cost, adoption, and delivery feasibility.
* Hands-on ability to configure and deliver demonstrations or lightweight prototypes using non-production environments and sample data.
* Commercial awareness, including opportunity qualification, value articulation, ROI/TCO, scope control, risk management, and competitive positioning.
* Comfort managing multiple active pursuits, priorities, stakeholders, and deadlines in a collaborative, fast-paced environment.
* Growth mindset and disciplined approach to staying current in a rapidly evolving Microsoft ecosystem.
* Ability to collaborate across sales, consulting, engineering, managed services, project delivery, finance, legal, and partner teams.
* High degree of integrity, customer empathy, ownership, organization, and attention to detail.
* Experience using AI tools to assist in research, design, discovery, and proposal creation.
Preferred Education, Certification and Experience
* Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Technology, Engineering, Business Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
* Typically, 6+ years of experience in solutions engineering, solution consulting, cloud architecture, or customer-facing Microsoft technology delivery, and 3+ years of experience in technical pre-sales.
* Demonstrated experience leading technical discovery and presenting recommended solutions to both technical teams and executive stakeholders.
* Experience supporting complex sales cycles through demos, workshops, proofs of concept, proposals, technical validation, or solution architecture.
* Working knowledge of cloud architecture, identity, security, networking, data, integration, governance, and operational considerations.
* Experience creating clear technical deliverables such as diagrams, solution briefs, assumptions, estimates, bills of materials, proposals, or SOW inputs.
* Preferred Education, Certifications and Experience
* Current role-relevant Microsoft credentials are strongly preferred. Candidates are not expected to hold every certification listed below; certifications should align to the individual's primary solution area and development plan.
* Azure: Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305), Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104), Azure Network Engineer Associate (AZ-700), or Azure Security Engineer Associate (AZ-500).
* Microsoft 365 and Security: Microsoft 365 Administrator Expert (MS-102), Identity and Access Administrator Associate (SC-300), Cybersecurity Architect Expert (SC-100), Security Operations Analyst Associate (SC-200), or Information Protection and Compliance Administrator Associate (SC-401).
* Business Applications and AI: Copilot Studio or Microsoft 365 Copilot Applied Skills, or Agentic AI Business Solutions Architect credentials where relevant.
* Experience with competing or adjacent platforms such as AWS, Google Cloud, Snowflake, Salesforce, Databricks, or other SaaS and data platforms, with the ability to position Microsoft objectively and credibly.
* Experience in a Microsoft partner, managed services, consulting, systems integration, or professional services environment.
* Experience with Microsoft licensing, cloud economics, Partner Center, partner funding programs, and Microsoft pre-sales resources is a plus.
What Success Looks Like
* Customers view the Solutions Engineer as a credible technical advisor who understands their business, not simply a product presenter.
* Qualified opportunities have a clear technical win strategy, validated solution fit, identified risks, documented assumptions, and agreed success criteria.
* Demonstrations and proofs of concept are tailored, reliable, outcome-focused, and directly connected to customer decision criteria.
* Account Executives receive responsive, high-quality technical partnership that improves opportunity progression and customer confidence.
* Proposals and SOW inputs accurately represent the recommended architecture, scope boundaries, dependencies, security requirements, and delivery considerations.
* Delivery teams receive complete, actionable handoffs with minimal loss of context and no avoidable surprises.
* Reusable assets, enablement, and lessons learned improve the efficiency and consistency of Weidenhammer's Microsoft sales motion.
* Ability to successfully leverage AI tools to assist in research, design, discovery, and proposal creation.
Work Environment
This role operates in a professional office, remote, and client-facing environment and routinely uses standard business and collaboration technology. Work may be performed at Weidenhammer offices, customer locations, partner locations, or remotely, based on business and client needs.
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met to successfully perform the essential functions of this role. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to communicate, remain stationary for periods of time, move within office or client environments, and operate standard computer equipment. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Position Type / Expected Hours of Work
This is a full-time, exempt position. Typical business hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Flexibility may be required to support customer meetings, sales deadlines, demonstrations, workshops, and proposal activities outside standard hours.
Travel
Travel to customer, prospect, partner, and Weidenhammer locations is expected based on engagement needs.
Work Authorization / Security Clearance (if applicable).
Must be authorized to work in the United States for any employer. Weidenhammer requires all team members to undergo State and Federal Criminal background checks, pre-employment drug screening along with other related clearances and reference verification measures.
AAP / EEO Statement
Weidenhammer Systems Corp. is an equal opportunity employer.
Other Duties
This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of all activities, duties, or responsibilities required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.