Global Head of Specialist Solutions Architecture

Who We Are

About Stripe

Stripe is a financial infrastructure platform for businesses. Millions of companies—from the world’s largest enterprises to the most ambitious startups—use Stripe to accept payments, grow their revenue, and accelerate new business opportunities. Our mission is to increase the GDP of the internet, and we have a staggering amount of work ahead. That means you have an unprecedented opportunity to put the global economy within everyone’s reach while doing the most important work of your career.

About The Team

Specialist Solutions Architects (SSA) are domain experts aligned to specific Stripe solutions and customer buying centers. We have in-depth knowledge of the solution offerings and understanding of customer’s challenges. We partner with the core account team on opportunities, support revenue attainment, provide critical insights to our product and engineering teams to shape the roadmap, and enable and empower the broader GTM team.

We work with C-level executives, finance leaders, product design and engineering teams at global brands and platforms who are building financial services solutions with Stripe. Our users view us as domain experts and trust our recommendations as they redesign their existing offerings and infrastructure to build with Stripe. These SSAs typically bring years of industry experience in the domain of the product they specialize in. Our team works closely with Product Account Executives and Solutions Architects to develop and execute on the opportunity strategy for Stripe’s largest users including Enterprises, Digital Natives, and SaaS Platforms. 

At Stripe, managers grow teams and inspire them to do outstanding work. This leader must be a driver who loves building teams, growing businesses, and has a product focused mindset. This role requires great interpersonal skills to work cross functionally, as a trusted advisor to our internal teams including product sales, partner, professional services teams, product development and marketing teams. As head of Specialist Solution Architecture you will lead, build, and mentor a world class pre-sales engineering team that specialize across our many product lines including Payments, Tax, Issuing, Treasury, Capital, Connect and many others. You will lead from the front and drive outcomes for our users. 

As a leader with a product mindset, you will establish a strong point of view on the many product lines that your team supports and leverage the expertise of your team to drive outcomes based on “voice of the user” with product and engineering teams to shape Stripe’s future roadmap. 

What You’ll Do

Responsibilities

• Foster a culture of excellence by nurturing a positive, growth-oriented environment that empowers individuals to reach their full potential through mentorship and coaching.
• Articulate and champion a compelling vision for the specialist solutions architecture team, aligning it with the broader Solutions Architect and company strategy.
• Attract, recruit, and retain top talent, building a high-performing and diverse team.
• Develop and implement metrics-driven processes to assess team performance and proactively identify opportunities for improvement, ensuring agility and responsiveness to the dynamic business landscape.
• Guide and support the team in navigating intricate evaluations, resolving challenging customer issues, and achieving optimal outcomes.
• Strategize and execute initiatives to drive and close high-value, complex opportunities, maximizing revenue potential.
• Identify and cultivate strategic partnerships and alliances to expand market reach and drive business growth.
• Take ownership of being an advisor to the Global Head of Solutions Architecture that consistently shares technical insights and trends that help influence critical business decisions
• Foster strong relationships with key stakeholders across the organization, promoting cross-functional collaboration to shape and execute the business strategy, go-to-market plans, and user-centric initiatives that fuel revenue growth
• Collaborate across teams to align stakeholders and drive the strategic product roadmap, ensuring a competitive edge.
• Continuously monitor industry trends and competitive landscape, translating insights into impactful user engagement strategies.
• Act as an executive champion, leading Executive Business Councils (EBCs) and forging strong relationships with key decision-makers.
• Champion the voice of the customer, influencing the product roadmap to prioritize features that address their critical needs and pain points.
• Serve as a company ambassador at industry events, conferences, and customer business reviews, sharing insights and contributing to best practices.
• Travel approximately 25% of the time to build meaningful relationships with customers and foster internal collaboration.

Minimum Requirements

• Leadership Experience: 6-9+ years of demonstrated success leading and scaling high-performing Solutions Architecture or Technical Sales teams within a SaaS environment.
  • A proven track record of building and fostering a culture of excellence, empowering teams to achieve exceptional results.
• Technical Expertise: 10+ years of experience in technical sales or pre-sales roles, such as Solutions Engineer, Architect, or Consultant, with a focus on architecting pre-sales solutions and establishing best practices.
  • Deep understanding of cloud-based solutions and the customer journey, from prospecting to revenue realization.
  • Strong technical acumen encompassing APIs, distributed systems, databases, developer tools, and enterprise systems architecture.
• Industry Knowledge: 3+ years of experience within fintech and payments domain
  • A solid understanding of industry trends, competitive landscape, and emerging technologies.
  • Demonstrated ability to develop and execute strategic initiatives that drive revenue growth and market expansion.
• Proven success in building and nurturing strategic partnerships and alliances.
• Strong financial acumen with the ability to manage organizational resources effectively.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• Executive presence and the ability to build strong relationships with key stakeholders, including C-level executives and technical leaders.
• A passion for customer success and a dedication to championing the voice of the customer.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent
• Willingness to travel approximately 25% of the time to engage with customers and collaborate with internal teams