Overview
Microsoft is on a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our culture is centered on embracing a growth mindset, a theme of inspiring excellence, and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their best each day. In doing so, we create life-changing innovations that impact billions of lives around the world.
We are a frontier company. Microsoft is not simply keeping pace with the technology landscape — we are actively defining it. From the development of large language models and agentic AI systems to quantum computing, mixed reality, and next-generation cloud infrastructure, Microsoft operates at the edge of what is scientifically and technically possible. This is not incremental progress; it is a fundamental reimagining of how the world works. When you join Microsoft, you join a company where the work you do today shapes the capabilities the world will depend on tomorrow.
Microsoft Industry Solutions Delivery (ISD) is Microsoft's frontier consulting practice. We sit at the point where the latest platform capabilities meet the most complex and consequential customer challenges. ISD does not wait for technology to mature before bringing it to customers — we are the team that makes frontier technology real in production, at enterprise scale, in industries that matter. As a frontier consulting firm, we operate differently from traditional systems integrators: we build with what is emerging, not just what is established; we lead with AI, not retrofit it; and we hold ourselves to an engineering standard that reflects the quality of the platform we represent.
For a Senior Solution Architect in ISD Canada, this means you are not implementing yesterday's solutions — you are architecting what comes next. You will work with capabilities that are weeks or months old, design AI-powered systems that redefine how our customers operate, and set the standard for how enterprise technology delivery looks in the age of AI. This is what it means to be part of a frontier consulting team.
Responsibilities
The Sr. Solution Architect role is organized around five key accountability areas:
- Business Outcome-Led Architecture
Deeply engage with customer executives and business sponsors to understand strategic priorities, then design solutions that directly deliver against those outcomes.
Own the translation of business requirements into architecture — bridging the gap between what the business needs and what technology can deliver.
Challenge assumptions and guide customers toward solutions that are viable, scalable, and aligned with both their strategy and Microsoft's platform capabilities.
Present architecture proposals, solution visions, and delivery approaches to executive audiences with clarity and confidence.
- Technical Team & AI Leadership
Act as the Lead Architect and single accountable technical authority on accounts or complex delivery engagements.
Lead, mentor, and orchestrate a team of architects and technical resources — setting direction, resolving blockers, and ensuring architectural coherence across workstreams.
Integrate AI agents and tools into the team's delivery model — treating AI as a first-class technical resource to be planned, directed, and governed alongside human contributors.
Drive technical governance and quality assurance across the full solution lifecycle, collaborating closely with Program Directors and Project Managers.
Build and influence a broader technical community within ISD Canada, sharing reusable patterns, IP, and best practices.
- AI-Powered Delivery
Author an AI Usage Plan for every significant engagement — identifying where AI tooling (GitHub Copilot, Azure OpenAI, M365 Copilot, and others) can be applied to accelerate development, improve quality, or reduce cost.
Champion AI-first delivery practices across the team: use AI for code generation, documentation, testing, architecture analysis, and requirements synthesis.
Stay current on the evolving AI tooling landscape and continuously raise the bar on how ISD Canada uses AI to deliver faster, better, and more efficiently than the competition.
Measure and communicate the impact of AI usage in delivery — speed, quality, and cost metrics.
- Engineering-Grade Rigor
Establish and enforce engineering standards for solution delivery: architecture documentation, code quality, peer review processes, automated testing, CI/CD practices, and operational readiness.
Lead architecture and solution reviews, identifying risks, resolving technical constraints, and ensuring delivery meets the highest quality bar.
Anticipate and proactively mitigate risks that could impede pre-sales or delivery success.
Drive a culture of engineering excellence — where quality is a shared responsibility, not an afterthought.
Contribute to and generate reusable intellectual property: reference architectures, accelerators, and delivery frameworks.
- Full Stack Solution Capability
Design and architect solutions that span the Microsoft platform breadth: Data & Analytics, AI & Machine Learning, Application Development, and Cloud Infrastructure.
Ensure cohesion across the full technology stack — preventing siloed workstreams and architectural misalignment between platform layers.
Provide technical depth in at least two to three domains while maintaining the architectural breadth to guide the full solution.
Collaborate with domain specialists and Microsoft product teams to bring the best of the platform to bear for customers.
Additional Accountabilities
Make the Market: Identify, pursue, and help close strategic business development and add-on opportunities within existing projects.
Drive & Accelerate production-level cloud solutions in line with customer and Microsoft strategy.
Deliver Business and Operational Excellence across the full engagement lifecycle.
Qualifications
**Required/Minimum Qualifications **
Master's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field AND 10+ years experience in technology solutions, practice development, architecture, consulting, and/or technology domain (e.g., Security) OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field AND 12+ years experience in technology solutions, practice development, architecture, consulting, and/or technology domain (e.g., Security) OR equivalent experience.
4+ years managing multiple, complex projects or portfolios.
2+ years experience leading blended, multidisciplinary teams.
**Additional or Preferred Qualifications **
Technical Skills — Full Stack Coverage Across:
Data & AI: Data & AI
- Azure Data Platform (Azure Synapse, Fabric, Data Factory, Databricks)
- AI & Machine Learning (Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Studio, Cognitive Services, MLOps)
- Big Data architectures (Lambda, Kappa), Enterprise Data Warehouse, Advanced Analytics
App Dev: Application Development
- Modern application architecture, microservices, API-first design
- DevOps, CI/CD pipelines, GitHub Advanced Security, container platforms
- App modernization, .NET, Java, and open-source software stacks
Infrastructure: Cloud Infrastructure
- Azure IaaS and PaaS services, subscription design, network architecture
- Identity and Access Management (Azure AD, Entra), security architecture
- Private/Hybrid/Public cloud configurations, migrations, and governance
Security: Security
- Security reviews, threat modeling, Zero Trust architecture
- Credential theft mitigation, compliance, and regulatory considerations in Canada
Leadership & Delivery Capabilities
Demonstrated ability to lead solution delivery as the Lead Architect on complex, multi-team engagements.
Strong AI literacy — actively using AI tooling in day-to-day architecture and delivery work.
Experience writing and executing AI usage plans or equivalent AI integration strategies for customer engagements.
Ability to execute recognized Software Architecture methods, processes, and tools.
Experience applying engineering-grade practices: architecture review boards, design patterns, quality gates, test automation.
Ability to give compelling presentations to executive audiences, linking technical decisions to business outcomes.
Proven ability to build and sustain trusted relationships at the executive level (C-suite, VP, and Board) — engaging as a peer, not just a vendor, and maintaining those relationships across the full engagement lifecycle.
Solution Architecture IC6 - The typical base pay range for this role across Canada is CAD $172,200.00 - CAD $334,000.00 per year.
Find additional pay information here: https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/canada-pay-information.html
Solution Architecture IC6 - L'échelle salariale de base typique pour ce rôle dans l'ensemble du Canada est de 172,200.00 $ CAD à 334,000.00 $ CAD par année.
Pour plus d'information au sujet de la rémunération, veuillez cliquer ici: https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/canada-pay-information.html
Ce poste sera ouvert pendant au moins cinq jours et les candidatures seront acceptées de façon continue jusqu’à ce que le poste soit pourvu.
This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.
Microsoft est un employeur offrant l’égalité d’accès à l’emploi. Tous les candidats qualifiés seront pris en considération pour l’emploi, sans égard à l’âge, à l’ascendance, à la citoyenneté, à la couleur, aux congés médicaux ou familiaux, à l’identité ou à l’expression de genre, aux renseignements génétiques, à l’état d’immigration, à l’état matrimonial, à l’état de santé, à l’origine nationale, à un éventuel handicap physique ou mental, à l’affiliation politique, au statut de vétéran protégé ou au statut militaire, à la race, à l’ethnie, à la religion, au sexe (y compris la grossesse), à l’orientation sexuelle ou à toute autre caractéristique protégée par les lois, ordonnances et règlements locaux applicables. Si vous avez besoin d’aide avec des accommodements religieux et/ou d’un accommodement raisonnable en raison d’un handicap pendant le processus de candidature, apprenez-en plus sur la **demande d’accommodement.**
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about **requesting accommodations.**