Principal Architect

ePlus Technology, inc. is seeking a highly skilled and experienced Principal Architect specializing in High Performance Compute (HPC) & AI Infrastructure Design to join our presales team in the Bay Area. In this critical role, you'll be the technical expert responsible for understanding customer needs, designing robust and scalable HPC / AI solutions, and articulating their value proposition to a diverse range of clients. You'll focus on the latest HPC / AI technologies from leading compute vendors such as NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, Lenovo, HPE, and Dell, alongside high-performance storage solutions like VAST Data, Pure Storage (FlashBlade), NetApp, and Hammerspace. You'll also work with critical MLOps platforms, NVIDIA's AI Enterprise software stack, and advanced GPU orchestration tools, ensuring our clients can tackle their most demanding computational and AI/ML challenges.

The essential functions of this position include:

• Technical Presales Leadership: Act as the primary technical presales resource for HPC / AI opportunities, engaging with customers from initial discovery to solution proposal and design.
• Solution Design & Architecture: Design and architect complex HPC / AI solutions, including compute clusters (CPUs, GPUs, interconnects), high-performance storage systems, networking, and related infrastructure.
• Customer Engagement: Conduct technical presentations, workshops, and white boarding sessions with clients to deeply understand their unique HPC and AI/ML requirements, workflows, and performance objectives.
• Technical Authority: Serve as a subject matter expert on HPC and AI/ML infrastructure trends, technologies, and best practices, providing insights and recommendations to both internal teams and external customers.
• Vendor Collaboration: Work closely with key technology partners such as NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, Lenovo, HPE, Dell, VAST Data, Pure Storage, NetApp, Hammerspace, and staying current on product roadmaps, new features, and integrated solutions.
• Proof-of-Concept (POC) Support: Support technical validation efforts, including designing and overseeing proof-of-concept engagements to demonstrate solution capabilities and performance.
• Proposal Development: Contribute to the technical sections of proposals, Statements of Work (SOWs), and bills of material (BOMs), ensuring accuracy and alignment with customer needs.
• Competitive Analysis: Stay informed about the competitive landscape in the HPC and AI/ML infrastructure market and articulate ePlus' unique differentiators.
• Knowledge Transfer: Share knowledge and best practices with the broader ePlus sales and engineering teams.

• Bachelor's degree preferred
• 5+ years of applicable technical pre-sales engineering experience
• Specific Technical Focus: Demonstrated expertise in High Performance Compute (HPC / AI) architectures, including parallel processing, distributed computing, and relevant software stacks.
• Vendor Knowledge: Hands-on experience and architectural understanding of HPC / AI solutions from leading compute vendors such as NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, Lenovo, HPE and Dell.
• Storage Expertise: Strong understanding and practical experience with high-performance storage solutions, with specific emphasis on all-flash, parallel file systems (e.g., Lustre, BeeGFS), global namespace (like Hammerspace), and next-generation storage architectures (like VAST Data, Pure Storage, and NetApp).
• Networking Knowledge: Familiarity with high-speed networking technologies used in HPC / AI environments (e.g., InfiniBand, high-speed Ethernet, RoCE v2).
• Operating Systems: Proficiency with Linux-based operating systems commonly used in HPC / AI environments.
• Containerization: Familiarity with containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) for HPC and AI/ML workloads.
• AI/ML Expertise:
  • Comprehensive understanding of the AI/ML lifecycle and stack, including familiarity with MLOps platforms (e.g., Weights & Biases, MLflow, Kubeflow).
  • Expertise in LLM models and inference techniques like RAG and fine-tuning.
• AI/ML Cloud Knowledge: Familiarity with leading AI/ML Cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) and a readiness to deepen expertise in their HPC and AI/ML specific offerings (e.g., AWS SageMaker, AWS Bedrock, Azure HPC / AI, Google Cloud AI Platform).
• Cluster Management & Orchestration: Understanding and familiarity with HPC / AI cluster management and workload orchestration platforms (e.g., Slurm, Kubernetes, NVIDIA Run:ai), including monitoring tools (e.g., Bright Cluster Manager (BCM), Prometheus, Grafana) is a plus.
• Customer-Facing Experience: Proven ability to build strong relationships with clients, act as a trusted advisor, and prior experience at a customer or in a presales or customer-facing technical consulting role at a VAR or technology vendor.
• Problem-Solving: Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear, actionable solutions.
• Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex technical information to both technical and non-technical audiences.

The initial base salary range for this position is expected to be between $170,000 and $190,000 annually. The final base salary offered will be determined by multiple factors, including, but not limited to, job-related knowledge, depth of experience, skills, certifications, and geographic location. In addition to the base salary, our compensation structure may include other components such as commissions and discretionary bonuses.

ePlus offers a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits (including 401(k) eligibility, employee stock purchase program and various paid time off benefits, such as vacation, sick time, and personal leave), dependent on the position offered. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an offer of employment is extended. ePlus Benefits highlights can be viewed here.

If hired, employee will be in an "at-will position" and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

Notice to Recruiting Agencies: ePlus only accepts unsolicited resumes when presented directly by a candidate. Unsolicited resumes submitted to ePlus from any other source will be considered ePlus property, and will not qualify for any placement or referral fees. ePlus will only pay such fees in connection with a valid written agreement between ePlus and the referring agency, and then only after providing advance written approval to the referring agency to submit resumes in connection with a particular opportunity.

While performing this role, you will engage in both seated and occasional standing or walking activities. We provide reasonable accommodations, in accordance with relevant laws, to support success in this position.

By embracing our values, you will contribute to our collective mission of making a positive impact within our organization and the broader community. We understand that this job description serves as a guide and is not an employment contract.

Respectful communication and cooperation:  We prioritize respectful communication, fostering an environment where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

Teamwork and employee participation:  Collaboration and teamwork thrive through diverse perspectives, both within our teams and in our interactions with our customers.

Work/life balance that supports our employees' varying needs: We value the well-being of our employees, recognizing that a healthy work-life balance is pivotal to our collective success.

Embracing communities: We embrace and support the communities that nurture us. Our employees' dedication to fostering positive change is a source of immense pride for us.

We are an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate or allow discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, citizenship, disability, veteran status, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law.

ePlus is dedicated to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture that represents diversity, enables inclusion, and makes our employees feel comfortable bringing their full, unique selves to work. 

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