The Data and AI team acts as trusted advisors and subject matter experts with core capability and expertise in Data Modernization, Analytics and AI. We work with customers to leverage data to help them achieve their business priorities and help guide customer’s journey through Analytics-led Azure Data transformation. We also support customers in evaluating their applications and business requirements, recommend solutions that meet their requirements, and demonstrate these solutions to win the technical decision.​​

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Responsibilities

We are looking for a seasoned Solutions Specialist to join our Global Black Belt (GBB) team to help us accelerate market adoption of Azure Data offerings with a focus on modernizing to Operational Databases (Azure SQL / OSS DB) and ARC enabled Data Services on Azure as well as winning new applications on Azure Data Platform with strategic customer projects. As a Specialist on the Global Black Belt team, you will be joining a team of highly skilled experts across the company who are driving the most strategic and innovative customer projects. This role is a senior sales lead within our enterprise sales organization focused on driving customer digital transformation scenarios. Microsoft Global Black Belt (GBB) Data & AI Specialist’s main goal is to win the technical decision within strategic customers and lead these engagements.
 
The successful candidate will accelerate and scale Microsoft’s share of customers' data estates (leveraging SQL and Azure ARC enabled Data services) with Azure Data & AI solutions driving cloud consumption. You will partner closely with our mainstream solution sellers, and key partner stakeholders to accelerate data modernization engagements with our customers leveraging value-based assessment/business case assessment.
 
Being part of the Global Black Belt team, you will maintain and develop deep professional, sales and industry thought leadership. You will have opportunities to showcase your expertise at various Microsoft and Industry conferences and work directly with our product engineering teams to influence the evolution of our Data technologies.
 
As a member of the Global Black Belt team, you will be responsible for:

• Win new engagements via technical sales expertise proving technical and business value via workshops (1:1, 1:many) that drive commitment for minimum viable product (MVP) for business and technical decision makers showcasing Data modernization capabilities leveraging Azure Hybrid and Data modernization solutions.
• Accelerate Azure consumption in targeted accounts landing Data modernization & Hybrid Data platform engagements by demonstrating technical depth with solution selling expertise, including best practices for industry application, solution value and specialized co-sell solutions that accelerate time to market and customer’s digital transformation.
• Enable solution selling expertise across mainstream sellers by being the coach and model seller, scaling technical solution selling approach, engaging partners and engineering where needed, and championing the voice of customer, partner and field to global stakeholders.

Qualifications

The successful candidate will demonstrate the following skills and professional experiences.

Solution Skills

• Understanding of data modernization technologies within organizations and functional stakeholders (ex: LOB managers, Application owners,  IT admins, Database administrators, Developers, and associated interaction patterns)
• Knowledge of designing or managing a large SQL Server implementation
• Deep knowledge and experience on solutions architecture of cloud-based data platform workloads preferably across OLTP and Analytics workloads with Relational database solutions, and especially with SQL required.
• Knowledge of common hybrid data scenarios and experience architecting these solutions
• SQL Server or other Relational Database or NoSQL database knowledge.
• Knowledge of SQL Licensing and SQL Azure Hybrid Benefits and Microsoft modernization programs (including Solution Assessments & TCO analysis)
• Knowledge about competitor programs and differentiators
• Understanding of microservices and application modernization techniques including cloud native design
• Understanding of highly available data center operations including Hybrid Data platform capabilities
• Familiarity with Azure Arc-enabled SQL offerings, Azure Arc-enabled data services
• Experience in Data Platform solutions, engaging with enterprise customers in sales or technical architect roles
• Experience with database analysis and design.
• Good understanding of change control and data validation techniques.
• Be an Azure Platform evangelist for SQL and Open-Source database scenarios such as modernizing Database VM clusters of SQL, MySQL or PostgreSQL to modern PaaS architectures, creating new resilient data architectures to accompany container services.
• Common understanding of industry or functional scenarios
  

Sales Skills

• Experienced Seller: Disciplined in business-management, meeting sales targets and operational standards. Mentors' other sellers by prompting them to engage the customer early with new insights. Demonstrated experience influencing senior stakeholders within customer and own organization.
• Solution Expert: Deep understanding of unique solution area value, key areas of differentiation, and knowledge to create industry-centric use cases for the solution area.
• Business Value Seller: Proven record of effective account management, particularly demonstrating: coupling business acumen with technology knowledge, to connect customer business challenges to their technology decisions and; coaching the customer through business case creation, approval, stakeholder buy-in and delivering results for large scale, cross-functional engagements, preferably on Data modernization to Cloud & Digital Transformation scenarios
• Audience Credibility: Has credibility with key decision makers within our customers. Ability to influence target decision makers such as Business Decision Makers, Operational Technology Leaders, Database Administrators etc.
• Social Seller: Builds a strong and active business network that stretches and influences far beyond themselves, including leveraging social selling tools such as LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
• Excellent Communicator and Collaborator:  Strong relationship building, negotiation, organizational, presentation, written, and verbal communication skills. Ability to effectively collaborate across teams and drive meaningful outcomes with corporate, field, partner and customer stakeholders.
• Purposeful Planner and Orchestrator: Builds a purposeful sales plan with a bold ambition to identify and capitalize on transformational shifts in the market and leads plan orchestration and execution across a v-team through influence.
• Technical Acumen: Experienced at driving solutions to full production roll out and solving technical challenges encountered through the project implementation. Strong synthesizer of tools, services and resources with own expertise to build complete end to end solutions.
• Skill Enablement: A passion for and demonstrated capability of scaling own knowledge with others and building organizational capability in a targeted solution area.

The successful candidate will demonstrate the following skills and professional experiences.

Professional Experience

Required Experience: 5+ years of Data estate modernization and Hybrid Data solutions selling experience in enterprise public cloud-based solutions. Experience and understanding of large-scale data deployments in enterprise-wide environments
Recommended Sales Experience: 10+ years experience selling & deployment business solutions to large/global enterprise customers.
Knowledge of Data Base Platform:

• Strong understanding of Database modernization solutions leveraging Cloud Platforms and Hybrid Data platform (including security) and the role Database platform plays in unlocking Cloud Platform value.
• Strong understanding of Microsoft SQL Server T-SQL.
• Strong understanding of ETL methodology and related data conversion/migration techniques.

Preferred Consultative Technical Selling. Validated experience in consultative technical selling approach, including bringing innovative ideas to customer problems and being customer focused.

Addressing Industry scenarios with technology: Demonstrated effectiveness in landing technology scenarios in industry-relevant ways and credibility to lead and influence niche industry conversations.
Competitive Landscape: Firm understanding of Microsoft’s Data platform technologies relative to major competitors
Partner Knowledge: Strong understanding of the partner ecosystem and the ability to leverage partner solutions to solve customer needs
 

Education
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a similar information technology-related discipline, or in Business Administration (required)
Master’s degree  (preferred)
•Certification in sales, sales management, complex sales training, sales methodologies, broad evangelism through events (presentation skills), and consultative selling (preferred)
•Additional training or education in Enterprise Architecture (preferred)

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.

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