Senior Solutions Engineer

Senior Solutions Engineer

About the Role

A Senior Solutions Engineer at Swanky is responsible for translating client requirements into commercially focused, scalable technical solutions while ensuring seamless integration of front-end systems and third-party tools. This role combines technical expertise with strong business acumen, emphasising the ability to align solutions with clients' strategic goals, motivations, and budgets.

As a "Discovery Lead," you will collaborate closely with clients, sales, and project teams to define the project scope, propose impactful technical strategies, and ensure solutions translate into real-world success. You will guide clients through the discovery phase, lead workshops on Shopify's capabilities, and maintain alignment across all stakeholders, reinforcing Swanky's commitment to results-driven, client-centred solutions.

Role Responsibilities

Strategic Consultation

• Lead and facilitate discovery workshops with clients and cross-functional teams to gather detailed requirements, define project scope, and uncover client needs while ensuring comprehensive insights on technical requirements, customer experience, user journeys, and ecommerce strategy.
• Identify potential limitations of Shopify based on the client’s requirements and propose suitable workarounds or integrations with third-party tools.
• Identify additional opportunities for upselling or cross-selling other Swanky products and services that align with the client’s objectives, including opportunities for Swanky’s Growth Accelerator service to support the client with phase 2 items.
• Proactively suggest optimisations and upgrades to the client’s infrastructure and processes based on industry trends and best practices.

Client Engagement

• Act as the primary point of contact during the discovery phase, establishing a strong working relationship with the client.
• Understand the client’s business objectives, target audience, and pain points to guide the project strategy.
• Conduct strategic and technical discovery sessions to gather client requirements and identify any constraints or opportunities.
• Present solutions including the final discovery playback to clients, ensuring that they understand the proposed approach, benefits, challenges and potential risks.

Solution Design & Architecture

• Understand client requirements and translate them into detailed technical specifications and solutions.
• Design solutions that address both technical and business needs, ensuring scalability, security, maintainability, and performance.
• Oversee, evaluate and select appropriate technology stacks, frameworks, and platforms in collaboration with the engineering team.
• Design detailed architectural blueprints, including systems integration and data flow diagrams in collaboration with the engineering team.
• Collaborate with the client to prioritise features for a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that aligns with business goals and budget while clearly defining the MVP's scope and identifying potential Phase 2 features or future development opportunities.

Technical Leadership & Expertise

• Provide direction and support to the design and engineering teams throughout the discovery lifecycle and beyond by taking on the role of “Discovery Lead” during the project's discovery phase.
• Review and validate technical deliverables to ensure they meet the requirements of the solutions design and quality standards.
• Lead initiatives to explore new technologies and approaches, proposing innovative solutions to meet business challenges.
• Promote innovation by encouraging a culture of continuous improvement within the solutions engineering design and engineering teams.
• Keep up to date with the ever-evolving features within the Shopify ecosystem involving continuous monitoring of Shopify's updates, releases, and emerging functionalities to enable our team to leverage new capabilities, optimise existing solutions, and consistently deliver cutting-edge websites to our clients.

Pre-Sales and Post-Discovery Support

• Collaborate with the Sales and HoDs teams to scope new projects, providing strategic and technical support.
• Participate in client pitches and presentations, showcasing Swanky’s solution engineering capabilities and past successes.
• Facilitate a seamless transition from the discovery phase to design and development by providing the internal team with the necessary documentation and insights.
• Conducting a formal handover meeting to explain strategic goals, technical requirements, and key deliverables.
• Provide ongoing support and consultation during the project delivery phase to ensure continuity of vision.
• Collaborate with the project team to address post-implementation performance issues and support any additional customisation requests.
• Maintain long-term client relationships by offering continuous improvements and enhancements to the solution over time.
• Engage with the Head of Digital Strategy / Account Management leads within GrAc to enable them to understand the potential for future phases of work that could sit within their offering, as well as liaise on pitching for retained services.

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Work closely with business leaders, project managers and technical teams to understand business objectives and translate them into viable technical solutions.
• Collaborate with project managers to ensure the project plan aligns with the architecture and delivery roadmap while also meeting project timelines, milestones, and deliverables.
• Enabling the technical lead to understand the stakeholder’s objectives and the project’s overall impact, ensuring they can effectively translate its significance to their team.
• Collaborate with design, and engineering teams to ensure that the proposed solutions are feasible, compliant with industry standards and align with Swanky’s capabilities.

Documentation

• Produce and collate clear and comprehensive discovery and scope documentation, including requirements specifications, architecture diagrams, configuration guides, project roadmaps, user personas, and user flows.
• Ensure that documentation is easily accessible and kept up to date for ongoing maintenance and future projects.
• Develop training materials and provide technical training sessions for clients and internal teams on the solutions delivered.
• Lead comprehensive internal handovers, supported by detailed documentation, to transition projects smoothly into retainers managed by the Growth Accelerator team.
• Oversee and enhance Wrike blueprint and task setup processes for the discovery phase.

Cost Management

• Provide a clear breakdown of discovery work, MVP development, and future phases, outlining how each will deliver value to the client.
• Oversee the estimation for technical solutions, including infrastructure, development, and maintenance.
• Balance the need for innovation with budget constraints by recommending cost-effective solutions without compromising quality.
• Optimise resource allocation by identifying areas for efficiency and reusability.

Risk Management & Problem Solving

• Identify potential risks and issues early in the project lifecycle, developing mitigation strategies to minimise impact.
• Lead problem-solving efforts, working with clients and internal teams to find effective solutions to ongoing challenges.
• Ensure that project risks are communicated to stakeholders, with clear action plans to address them.

Quality Assurance & Continuous Improvement:

• Establish and maintain high-quality standards for all strategic and discovery deliverables, ensuring alignment with client expectations and adherence to industry best practices.
• Continuously evaluate discovery processes, identifying areas for improvement and implementing changes to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Create at least two thought leadership pieces annually, such as lightning talks, presentations, or blog articles for Swanky.
• Act as a representative of the company within the broader ecosystem, showcasing expertise and building connections by participating in industry events, conferences, and external engagements.

Communication:

• Have exceptional communication skills in writing and presentation.

Role Accountabilities

• Strategic Project Lead
• Client & Stakeholder Management
• Quality Assurance & Continuous Improvement of Discovery Process
• Discovery Budget & Resource Management
• Solution/Discovery Documentation incl. Final Solution/Discovery Playback