Pre-Sales Principal Solution Architect

CyKor is a fast-growing Technology Solutions Provider to both federal and commercial clients. We attribute our continued growth to our core values, our professional team, and the valuable relationships with our clients. Our small and growing team fosters an environment in which each team member is respected, valued, and appreciated for their contributions.

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Our Pre-Sales Principal Solution Architects lead technical strategy for high-impact federal opportunities. This is a senior, client-facing leadership position where you partner with Client Directors and agency decision-makers as a trusted technical advisor, shaping complex pursuits, guiding architecture decisions, and strengthening CyKor’s technical differentiation.

You’ll join a collaborative, high-performing team where technical expertise is valued, ideas are heard, and individuals have the opportunity to make a direct impact on both client missions and company growth. If you enjoy solving complex problems, working closely with customers, and shaping solutions from concept through execution, CyKor offers a unique platform to do just that.

• Client Partnership & Account Strategy:
  Partner with Client Directors to set technical direction for key DHS and Federal Civilian accounts, identify modernization opportunities, and align solutions to agency missions, priorities, and budgets.
• Senior Trusted Technical Advisor:
  Build lasting relationships with agency IT, cybersecurity, and mission leaders; advise senior stakeholders on architecture strategy, solution tradeoffs, and long-term technology roadmaps.
• Complex Solution Architecture & Design:
  Lead architecture for high-impact, multi-OEM solutions spanning networking, compute, storage, cybersecurity, hybrid cloud, and platform software; establish technical quality and feasibility.
• Technical Strategy & Opportunity Shaping:
  Shape requirements before procurements are defined, influence solution direction, identify technical differentiators, and lead technical strategy for strategic or complex pursuits.
• Proposal & Capture Leadership:
  Own the technical approach for major pursuits; direct solution narratives, architecture reviews, BOM validation, and risk assessments in coordination with sales, capture, and OEM partners.
• Executive Engagement & Presentations:
  Lead executive briefings, technical strategy workshops, and complex solution reviews; communicate mission outcomes, tradeoffs, and investment rationale with clarity.
• Technical Leadership & Collaboration:
  Mentor fellow Solution Architects, review critical designs, develop reusable architecture practices, and collaborate with engineering, delivery, Lab & Innovation, and OEM teams.
• Compliance & Security Alignment:
  Guide architectures that account for FISMA, NIST RMF and SP 800-53, FedRAMP where applicable, DHS-specific policies as relevant, and Zero Trust principles.
• Validation, Risk & Delivery Transition:
  Sponsor lab validation, prototypes, or OEM evaluations where appropriate; identify execution risks early and ensure strategic designs transition cleanly to delivery teams.

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field preferred; equivalent experience considered
• 10+ years of experience designing enterprise IT solutions, including leading complex technical pursuits; experience supporting DHS and Federal Civilian agencies strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ownership of large, multi-vendor solution architectures and strategic federal customer engagements.
• Ability to influence executive and technical stakeholders, make sound tradeoffs, and lead through ambiguity.
• Proven technical mentorship, written communication, and executive presentation skills.
• Clearance / Suitability: Ability to meet agency-specific suitability, Public Trust, or security clearance requirements; active clearance a plus for certain engagements.

CERTIFICATIONS:

• Advanced OEM and industry certifications (Cisco, Dell, HPE, cloud, security, etc.) preferred.

TECHNICAL SKILLS:

• Deep expertise across Networking, Enterprise Storage, Compute, Cybersecurity, and Platform Integration.
• Experience architecting Zero Trust architectures, identity, segmentation, and secure access across complex environments.
• Experience leading hybrid cloud, distributed enterprise, and on-premises architectures.
• Strong understanding of enterprise WAN modernization, SD-WAN, SASE, and resiliency.
• Ability to lead technical design reviews, assess BOMs and architecture risk, and guide high-value technical proposals.
• Working knowledge of DevSecOps, automation, infrastructure-as-code, and AI platforms is a plus.

LOCATION AND TRAVEL:

• Remote schedule; candidates based in the Washington, DC metropolitan area (DC, Maryland, Northern Virginia) preferred.
• Hybrid work model with onsite client engagement as required
• Willingness to travel (20–40%) for client meetings