Salesforce Solutions Architecture Director

The purpose of this role is to lead the architecture capability of the company by establishing and maintaining the people, process and tooling that allows the leadership of the company to understand and change how both the business and technology operates.

Job Description:

Role Overview

The Salesforce Solutions Architecture Director is a senior leadership role combining client advisory, solution leadership and commercial acumen with responsibility for the technical strategy and capability development of the Salesforce team in Ireland.

The role translates client business priorities into compelling, commercially sound Salesforce solutions, leading executive conversations and shaping opportunities from discovery through proposal and delivery. It balances client value, solution quality, delivery feasibility and profitability.

As the senior technical authority for the Salesforce Practice, the role remains accountable for architecture quality, engineering standards, capability maturity and solution assurance, ensuring technical decisions support measurable client outcomes and sustainable growth.

Working closely with the sales, solutions, client leadership and alliance teams, the role helps set direction, prioritise capability investment and shape strategic pursuits. It provides visible senior leadership to clients and teams, connecting market ambition with the capability to win and deliver profitable Salesforce transformation programmes.

Key Responsibilities

Senior Leadership & People Development

Contribute to Salesforce strategy and senior leadership decisions, bringing a clear view of client priorities, solution opportunities, commercial trade-offs and capability investment

Directly lead, manage and develop the Ireland Salesforce technical and solutions team as a core priority

Develop relationships and strong collaboration with other Merkle Salesforce delivery teams across UKI, EMEA and global delivery centres

Provide leadership on modernisation of Salesforce delivery including AI, automation and evolving Salesforce product set.

Set clear objectives, expectations and development priorities for the Ireland-based Solution Architects, Technical Architects and specialist consultants

Own Ireland technical capability planning, including team shape, skills coverage, recruitment needs and succession planning

Build a strong Ireland leadership bench by coaching future technical leaders and creating clear progression paths

Establish regular coaching, mentoring and performance conversations across the Ireland technical team

Create a clear sense of community, engagement and ownership across the Ireland Salesforce technical team

Collaborate across the wider Salesforce Practice through matrix leadership, shared standards and communities of practice

Influence and coordinate with UK&I Salesforce leadership to align Ireland capability priorities with wider practice goals

Capability Strategy

Own the development of practice capability aligned to Salesforce market demand and business strategy

Define the Salesforce capability roadmap to support the Salesforce GTMs

Identify future skills requirements and capability gaps

Drive certification and accreditation plans

Develop reusable assets, accelerators and best-practice frameworks

Embed consultative selling skills throughout the technical community

Support GTM readiness for emerging Salesforce technologies

Ensure technical capabilities align to future client & business demand

Architecture & Technical Governance

Act as the technical design authority for the Salesforce Practice

Own architecture governance across Salesforce engagements

Establish technical standards and engineering principles

Define architecture review processes

Govern technical quality and design consistency

Lead technical escalations and solution reviews

Ensure delivery follows agreed architecture standards

Drive quality assurance and technical risk management

Promote scalable and repeatable delivery approaches

Client, Solutions & Commercial Leadership

Build trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders, advising on how Salesforce can address business priorities and deliver measurable value

Lead discovery and executive workshops to define the client problem, challenge assumptions and shape the transformation roadmap and investment case

Own solution strategy and architecture for priority pursuits, bringing together business, platform, integration and delivery considerations into a coherent proposition

Shape and qualify opportunities with growth and client leaders, assessing strategic fit, client value, delivery feasibility and commercial viability

Apply commercial judgement to scope, estimates, delivery models, assumptions and risks, working with commercial and delivery leads to support competitive pricing and protect margin

Lead solution responses to RFPs and RFIs, proposals and client presentations, clearly articulating differentiation, business benefits and the rationale for investment

Provide technical design authority and solution assurance across strategic opportunities, making trade-offs explicit before commitments are agreed

Partner with account and delivery leaders to identify further client needs and ensure a clear handover from the proposed solution to delivery

Delivery Excellence

Ensure architecture decisions translate into successful delivery outcomes

Provide governance across major programmes

Support delivery teams with technical decision-making

Support issue resolution on complex engagements

Drive best practice delivery methodologies

Improve delivery predictability and quality

Key Performance Indicators

Architecture Governance: Percentage of strategic Salesforce engagements with documented architecture reviews, approved design decisions and clear technical risk tracking

Technical Quality: Reduction in avoidable technical escalations, rework and quality issues through agreed engineering standards, design assurance and delivery governance

Capability Growth: Progress against the Salesforce capability roadmap, including priority skills coverage, certification targets, succession plans and readiness for agreed GTMs

Practice Engagement & Leadership: Stronger engagement across the Salesforce technical community, evidenced through active communities of practice, regular knowledge-sharing, visible leadership and clearer ownership across the technical team

Team Leadership & Performance: Clear goals, role expectations and development priorities agreed for the Salesforce technical team, with regular check-ins and visible progress against agreed objectives

Coaching & Development: Evidence of structured coaching, mentoring and career development for Solution Architects, Technical Architects and specialist consultants, including growth plans for high-potential team members

Succession & Future Leaders: Progress in building a stronger leadership bench, with named successors or deputies identified for critical technical leadership areas

Team Engagement & Retention: Improved engagement, retention and participation across the Salesforce technical team, supported by clear communication, inclusive leadership and stronger connection to practice priorities

Reusable Assets & Standards: Number and adoption of reusable architecture patterns, accelerators, delivery standards and best-practice frameworks used across pursuits and live engagements

Client, Solutions & Commercial Contribution: Senior client engagement and agreed solution roadmaps; contribution to priority pursuit conversion and commercially viable proposals, with clear client value, scope, estimates, assumptions and delivery risks

Delivery Excellence: Improved delivery predictability, margin protection and client satisfaction through better technical decision-making, issue resolution and architecture governance

Core Competencies & Exper