Customer Architect, UK - Public Sector

Elastic, the Search AI Company, enables everyone to find the answers they need in real time, using all their data, at scale - unleashing the potential of businesses and people. The Elastic Search AI Platform, used by more than 50% of the Fortune 500, brings together the precision of search and the intelligence of AI to enable everyone to accelerate the results that matter. By taking advantage of all structured and unstructured data - securing and protecting private information more effectively - Elastic's complete, cloud-based solutions for search, security, and observability help organizations deliver on the promise of AI.

We are actively seeking a Customer Architect with an understanding of technology and hands-on experience in key IT domains, notably Observability, Cybersecurity, and Enterprise Search. You should possess a strong technical background, preferably with experience in cloud-based software solutions.

We value individuals who are passionate about staying at the forefront of technology trends with a growth mindset and excited to learn and implement new technologies. While previous experience with Elastic solutions is not a prerequisite, an eagerness to adopt our suite of solutions and apply them effectively to solve our customers' challenges is critical. This key role involves not only driving the consumption of our Elastic solutions by aligning them with customer business objectives but also onboarding customers, securing adoption, and facilitating expansion.

As a Customer Architect, you will be the Trusted Technical Advisor, working in tandem with the customer and complementary groups like Field and Services Teams to ensure that Elastic solutions are exceeding customer's expectations. Your technical expertise, eye for business, and ability to deliver value will accelerate and improve the customer experience leading to customer continued satisfaction and expansion within the Elastic portfolio.

In your role, a crucial part of your responsibility is defining and communicating the technical success criteria for our customers. This involves crafting detailed Technical Success Plans tailored to the specific customers' goals and critical metrics.

The Technical Success Plans act as a roadmap, outlining the optimal consumption and deployment of Elastic solutions in the customer's environment. They detail the necessary steps for implementation, highlight achievements for successful consumption or expansion, and provide effectiveness aligned to the customer's business goals. By actioning this plan, you will be seen as the trusted advisor, guiding the customer towards achieving their desired outcomes, thereby ensuring their success and satisfaction.

From providing technical guidance and sharing standard methodologies to aligning technical objectives with the customers' business goals, your work is instrumental in facilitating smooth adoption, sustained usage, and increased consumption of our solutions. This hands-on role requires you to be proactive, with a keen understanding of our customers' technical landscape and a commitment to making their journey with Elastic solutions successful and valuable.

Your chief aim will be to ensure the customer derives significant value, eliminate technical frictions, and propel the uptake and application of Elastic solutions, with the ultimate goal of growing annual recurring revenue (ARR).

Key Responsibilities

1. Collaborate closely with the account team, including the Account Executive and the Solutions Architect (Pre-sales engineer), to provide ongoing technical coverage and support, while the account team focuses on identifying new deals.
2. Define the technical success plan for each customer, outlining the optimal use of Elastic solutions to achieve their business objectives.
3. Ensure a successful technical customer journey, from onboarding to adoption, while continuously driving the consumption of Elastic solutions.
4. Understand and articulate the value proposition of Elastic solutions and align them with the customer's business goals.
5. Work closely with customers to identify and eliminate technical frictions, promoting a smoother adoption and implementation of Elastic solutions.
6. Liaise between customers and support, as necessary, to ensure an optimized support resolution experience smoothing the adoption curve for the customer.
7. As a hands-on technical authority, collaborate with the Service Team to deliver personalized, frictionless solutions that meet the unique needs of each customer.
8. Develop a comprehensive understanding of the customer's business needs and translate these into technical requirements for Elastic solutions.
9. Find opportunities for expansion, at which point the account team takes over to expand the subscription, aiming to grow annual recurring revenue (ARR).
10. Foster ongoing customer relationships, ensuring that customers continue to increase their utilization of Elastic solutions, further driving ARR.
11. Continuously review and assess customer consumption of Elastic solutions, proactively suggesting upgrades and enhancements that increase value and drive further consumption.
12. The nature of the work that you will be doing will require a high percentage of work onsite with customers, and you should be expected to travel as a result of this requirement.

Qualifications

1. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field highly preferred.
2. Validated experience in a similar role such as Solutions Architect, Technical Consultant, or Pre-sales Engineer, with hands-on experience with Elastic solutions or equivalent technologies.
3. Experienced with one or more Elastic solutions (Observability, Security, Enterprise Search) or the Elastic stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) and how to align them with business objectives is a plus.
4. Excellent communication and presentation skills.
5. A UK Security Clearance, or ability to obtain one is required for this role.
6. Strong social skills, with the ability to establish relationships with customers and team members.
7. Demonstrated problem-solving skills, with a track record of delivering innovative solutions.
8. Ability to lead multiple projects simultaneously and meet deadlines.
9. Experience working within the UK Public Sector, ideally in Defence.