The DataDirect Networks Principal Solutions Architect role blends deep technical expertise with a strong consultative approach to helping customers build and scale AI, ML, and HPC solutions. This position plays a key role in connecting DDN’s AI and data platform technologies to real customer business challenges — helping organizations improve performance, reduce latency, increase operational efficiency, and accelerate time-to-insight. Core Responsibilities • Serve as a trusted advisor to customers by understanding their AI, data, and infrastructure challenges and recommending tailored solutions. • Design scalable AI and data architectures that support long-term growth, performance, and operational efficiency. • Partner closely with Sales, Engineering, Product, and Marketing teams to support customer engagements and influence strategy. • Lead technical presentations, demos, proof-of-concepts, and customer workshops throughout the sales cycle. • Support partner and alliance relationships across cloud providers, OEMs, integrators, and hyperscalers. • Deliver enablement and technical training to internal teams and external partners. • Stay current on AI, data infrastructure, and competitive market trends to effectively position DDN solutions. What We’re Looking For • Strong background in AI/ML infrastructure, data engineering, AI application development, or technical consulting. • Experience with modern AI technologies including LLMs, RAG, inference, neural networks, vector databases, and AI pipelines. • Hands-on familiarity with tools and frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, NVIDIA Enterprise Suite, NeMO, and NIMs. • Ability to communicate effectively with both technical teams and executive stakeholders. • Experience supporting complex customer engagements in a pre-sales or solution consulting environment. • Strong presentation, relationship-building, and strategic problem-solving skills. Preferred Background • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, AI, Data Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience). • Experience working with cloud providers, strategic alliances, and partner ecosystems. • Background in technical sales engineering, AI consulting, or customer-facing architecture roles. • Understanding of AI infrastructure optimization, scalability, and data center performance considerations