Principal IT Consultant

Job Description

Job Description

The Principal IT Consultant / IT Architect is a strategic leader responsible for designing, implementing, and optimizing complex, enterprise-level IT infrastructures for a diverse range of clients. This role requires deep technical expertise in IT architecture, including cloud environments, systems and infrastructure, IT security, and automation. You will serve as a trusted advisor to executive stakeholders, lead multi-disciplinary teams, and drive innovation across projects. Equally important, you will own the commercial side of the work: sizing effort, recommending hours and resource mix, and aligning client budgets to the outcomes they are buying. As a key technical authority, you will shape IT strategies, solve high-level challenges, and mentor senior engineers, ensuring the successful delivery of cutting-edge IT solutions. 

Archetype SC is seeking an elite-level Principal IT Consultant / IT Architect to lead the design, strategy, and implementation of complex IT solutions across a diverse client base. This role requires visionary leadership, technical mastery, and strategic foresight to shape the future of IT architecture. As a Principal Consultant or Architect, you will drive the technical direction of IT projects, establish best practices, and mentor senior IT engineers. This is a pivotal role, ideal for someone who thrives on innovation, solving high-level IT challenges, and collaborating with both clients and internal teams. 

Location:  Myrtle Beach, SC preferred; open to qualified candidates throughout the Southeast.

Key Responsibilities 

• Define the strategic vision for IT architecture and serve as the top technical authority in the design, implementation, and optimization of advanced IT solutions. 

• Lead complex, multi-disciplinary IT projects from conception through completion, including cloud infrastructure, data centers, virtualization, and IT automation. 

• Collaborate with executive leadership and clients to develop technology roadmaps, ensuring IT solutions align with business goals and future growth. 

• Design and architect scalable, secure, and high-performance IT infrastructures that meet the needs of global enterprises. 

• Oversee the integration of new IT technologies into existing environments, ensuring seamless transitions with minimal disruption to client operations. 

• Lead pre-sales efforts, including developing and presenting technical solutions to clients, assisting with proposals, and contributing to business development. 

• Provide expert consulting services in areas such as IT security, high-availability architectures, disaster recovery, and compliance. 

• Develop level-of-effort estimates for proposed engagements, recommending hours, resource mix, and timelines that are realistic, defensible, and aligned to the complexity of the work. 

• Align client budgets with business outcomes, advising on phasing, trade-offs, and prioritization so that every dollar invested maps to a measurable result. 

• Author and review statements of work (SOWs), scoping documents, and change orders, clearly defining deliverables, assumptions, exclusions, and acceptance criteria. 

• Partner with sales and delivery leadership on pricing strategy, margin targets, and risk assessment across fixed-fee, time-and-materials, retainer, and managed services engagements. 

• Monitor burn rate, utilization, and budget-to-actual performance on active projects, surfacing variances early and recommending corrective action before they affect the client or the engagement margin. 

• Advise clients on total cost of ownership (TCO), return on investment (ROI), and cloud and licensing cost optimization as a core part of technology roadmap planning. 

• Serve as the escalation point for complex IT issues that require deep technical expertise and innovative problem-solving. 

• Drive continuous improvement and optimization of IT infrastructure through the development and implementation of cutting-edge solutions. 

• Mentor senior IT consultants and engineers, sharing knowledge and promoting technical growth within the team. 
• Keep pace with the latest advancements in IT, evaluating and integrating new tools, platforms, and methodologies to maintain Archetype SC’s competitive edge .  

Required Qualifications 

• 10+ years of experience in IT engineering, architecture, or IT consulting with an emphasis on large-scale enterprise environments. 

• Proven consulting ability, including discovery, requirements definition, and managing client expectations through difficult conversations. 

• Proven expertise in architecting and implementing IT infrastructures, including data centers, enterprise systems, virtualization, cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), and IT automation. 

• Hands-on experience with enterprise-grade technologies from vendors like Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, Palo Alto, and Fortinet. 

• Deep knowledge of IT security, including identity and access management, endpoint and perimeter security, and zero-trust architecture. 

• Demonstrated ability to translate business requirements into technical designs, while balancing performance, scalability, and security considerations. 

• Demonstrated experience scoping and estimating consulting engagements, including level-of-effort models, resource planning, and SOW development. 

• Working knowledge of consulting commercial models (fixed-fee, time-and-materials, retainer, and managed services) and the levers that drive project margin and client satisfaction. 

• Ability to frame technical recommendations in financial terms for executive and financial stakeholders. 

• Strong leadership capabilities with a history of managing cross-functional teams and mentoring senior technical staff. 

• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to present and defend technical decisions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. 

• Proven experience in client-facing roles, with the ability to manage executive-level client relationships and drive successful outcomes. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Architect-level credentials such as CISSP, TOGAF, AWS Solutions Architect, or Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert. 

• Additional relevant certifications. 

• Extensive experience in cloud environments, hybrid/multi-cloud strategies, and edge computing solutions. 

• Expertise in emerging technologies. 

• Familiarity with DevOps practices and IT automation. 

• Familiarity with professional services automation (PSA) tools for forecasting, utilization tracking, and project financial reporting. 

Benefits 

• Competitive salary and performance-based bonuses.
  
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
  
• 401K Retirement savings plan with company match.
  
• Life Insurance
  
• Short and Long-term Disability Coverage
  
• Opportunities for professional development and career advancement .
  

Check us out at archetypesc.com!

We are interested in every qualified candidate who is eligible to work in the United States. However, we are not able to sponsor visas.