IT Solution Architect

Must have the ability to work onsite in a hybrid arrangement at ABC Supply's Beloit, Wisconsin campus and /or downtown Chicago office.

ABC Supply is North America’s largest wholesale distributor of exterior and interior building products.

ABC Supply is proud to be an employee-first company. In fact, we have won the Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award every year since its inception in 2007, and Glassdoor has named us one of the best places to work in the country. Be part of a company that recognizes your talents, rewards your efforts, and helps you reach your full potential. At ABC Supply, we have YOUR future covered.

Role Summary:

The Solution Architect (SA) is embedded by portfolio and typically supports ~five value streams. SAs own solution design and technical/solution ownership across their portfolio, aligning designs to enterprise guardrails and enablement assets. They collaborate with Enterprise Architects, domain architects (Security, Data, Infrastructure, Business), Product Managers, Engineering, and Operations to deliver fit-for-purpose solutions that meet functional and non-functional requirements and accelerate time-to-market.

Working at the intersection of business strategy and technology execution, the Solution Architect translates business goals, capabilities, and value streams into pragmatic, future-ready blueprints — partnering with product managers, product owners, domain and technical architects, and delivery teams to ensure solutions meet business needs, integrate cleanly, and align with enterprise standards. The role operates across ABC Supply’s modern landscape — Microsoft Azure and M365, ServiceNow, an Okta-to-Microsoft Entra ID migration, Power BI, and a growing AI/GenAI portfolio. The ideal candidate is technology-neutral, intellectually curious, outcome-driven, and trusted as a thought leader who can influence both business and IT stakeholders.

Team Context:

• Team size: 1 Principal Enterprise Architect, 4 Enterprise Architects, 5 Solution Architects
• Portfolio alignment: SAs are embedded with one portfolio and apply patterns across ~five value streams; operate in flow-based, value stream–aligned delivery.

Mission & Objectives:

• Design solutions aligned to enterprise patterns, minimal viable standards, and target architecture

• Apply enablement assets (reference architectures, starter kits, decision templates) to accelerate delivery across multiple value streams
• Establish ADRs and solution blueprints; ensure security, reliability, scalability, performance, and operability
• Integrate governance-by-enablement into delivery (policy-as-code checks, CI/CD gates) and use ARB only for exceptions
• Maintain portfolio-level roadmaps (upgrades, migrations, end-of-life) and contribute to modernization initiatives

Core Responsibilities:

1) Solution Design & Ownership

Lead solution ideation, architecture design, and implementation across portfolio value streams Produce solution blueprints, integration/data flow models, and ADRs; maintain artifacts in shared registries Ensure solutions are secure, scalable, resilient, observable, and cost-aware

2) Enablement Asset Application

Leverage EA reference architectures, starter kits, and pattern catalogs for repeatable delivery Contribute feedback to improve enablement assets and drive adoption across the portfolio Replace manual approvals with automated guardrails where feasible (policy-as-code, CI/CD checks)

3) Governance & Collaboration

Participate in ARB for exceptions; publish decisions and ADRs Collaborate with Security, Data, Infrastructure architects to satisfy NFRs and compliance (e.g., PCI DSS) Coordinate with Change Advisory Board and program governance as needed

4) Portfolio Roadmaps & Modernization

Develop and maintain portfolio product roadmaps (upgrades, migrations, end-of-life) in partnership with Product/Engineering Identify and remediate technical debt; support modernization paths aligned to target architecture Run or support pilots from the Innovation Sandbox and integrate validated patterns into solutions

Interfaces & Exclusions:

• Partners with Enterprise Architects, Product Managers, Engineering, and domain architects
• Translate business and technical requirements into architectural blueprints and maintain a robust architectural runway with product owners and managers across the product life cycle.
• Understand business drivers, value streams, and current/future-state capabilities, and determine the enterprise solution designs and change requirements that drive targeted outcomes.
• Lead the design and analysis to implement solution architectures across business applications and technologies, grounded in enterprise strategy, capabilities, and standards.
• Develop roadmaps for the portfolio’s evolution from current to future state and act as a trusted consultant across technologies, platforms, and vendor offerings.
• Collaborate with the PMO and agile delivery teams, and guide application architects so execution aligns with the overall enterprise architecture.
• Explicit exclusions: does not own vendor management, detailed financial analysis/budgeting, or contract negotiation

Key Outcomes & KPIs (Aligned to IT Strategy):

• Delivery Predictability ≥ 85% across supported value streams
• Business Area Satisfaction ≥ 4.5/5.0 within the portfolio
• Automated standards adherence coverage and reduced exception rate
• Time-to-market and change lead-time improvements attributable to automation and enablement asset reuse
• Technical-debt remediation velocity and NFR health (security findings, availability, performance)

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, information systems, or related field—or equivalent experience
• 7+ years in IT with 3–5+ years in solution architecture (design, installation, configuration) across multiple domains
• Experience designing and supporting third-party solutions and integrations; strong knowledge of APIs, microservices, containers, and messaging
• Knowledge of secure network architecture and application development methodologies; compliance awareness (e.g., PCI DSS)
• Comfortable with Agile and Waterfall; excellent written and verbal communication; cross-team collaboration; change management experience
• Hands-on cloud architecture (Microsoft Azure preferred) and the M365 ecosystem; strong integration, API, networking, and security fundamentals.
• Familiarity with IAM (Okta and/or Microsoft Entra ID), ITSM/CMDB (ServiceNow), and data/analytics platforms (Power BI); practical AI/ML and GenAI understanding.

• Modeling notations (UML or ArchiMate), agile/DevOps SDLC methodologies, and TCO/FinOps principles for evaluating solution alternatives.

Core Competencies:

• Trusted, technology-neutral thought leader who influences business and IT leaders and delivery teams and is driven by long-term business outcomes.
• Able to articulate complex ideas to technical and non-technical audiences, balance big-picture and short-term perspectives, and lead cross-functional teams.
• Organizationally savvy, with excellent communication and strong analytical, planning, and organizational skills.

Leadership Characteristics:

• Trusted, pragmatic, and vendor-neutral
• Future-focused and adaptable; comfortable operating across multiple concurrent streams
• Obsessed with clarity, flow, and continuous improvement

Benefits may include:

• Health, dental, and vision coverage - eligible after 60 days, low out of pocket
• 401(k) with generous company match - eligible after 60 days, immediately vested
• Employer paid employee assistance program
• Employer paid short term and long-term disability
• Employer paid life insurance
• Flex spending
• Paid vacation
• Paid sick days
• Paid holidays

Salary Information: $126.2K - $158.7K based on experience.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Drug Free Workplace

​ABC Supply values diversity and we actively encourage women, minorities, and veterans to apply.