AI and Applications Development Presales Solution Architect

AI and Applications Development Presales Solution Architect

About Centrilogic

Centrilogic is a global provider of Cloud, Data, AI, and Managed Services. We help organizations modernize their systems, adopt secure and scalable AI/ML architectures, and operationalize intelligent platforms that drive measurable business outcomes. As a Microsoft-focused managed services and cloud consulting partner, CentriLogic delivers transformation outcomes across the full Microsoft ecosystem — from Azure infrastructure and Microsoft 365 to custom AI solutions and intelligent applications.

Role Overview

The AI and Applications Development Presales Solution Architect is a senior, client-facing role that sits at the intersection of Microsoft AI, custom application development, and enterprise sales. As the primary technical voice in AI and app dev engagements, you will translate complex client challenges into compelling, commercially viable solutions built on Azure AI, Microsoft AI Foundry, Copilot Studio, and modern .NET/Python application platforms.

You will drive presales engagements end-to-end — from initial discovery through proposal delivery — working closely with Account Executives, SMEs, and delivery teams to design solutions that are technically sound and tightly aligned to business outcomes.

The ideal candidate brings deep hands-on experience with Microsoft AI and modern application development platforms, a track record in consultative presales, and the ability to engage credibly with both C-suite stakeholders and technical architects. You are a self-starter, a natural problem solver, and someone who brings energy, curiosity, and conviction into every client conversation.

Primary Responsibilities

Solution Architecture Development

• Design end-to-end AI and application architectures that address client business challenges using Microsoft's AI and developer platform stack.
• Architect solutions leveraging Azure OpenAI, Microsoft AI Foundry, Copilot Studio, Semantic Kernel, and Microsoft Agent Framework — including agentic, RAG-based, and multi-model patterns.
• Design custom application solutions using .NET/C#, Python (FastAPI), Azure PaaS services, and relevant APIs — spanning net-new builds, modernization, and integration scenarios.
• Incorporate Microsoft Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI) into solution designs where workflow automation and business intelligence are required.
• Apply Responsible AI principles — including content safety, data governance, model transparency, and compliance — throughout every solution design.
• Size and scope engagements accurately using rough-order-of-magnitude (ROM) estimation and structured discovery frameworks.
• Define and communicate clear engagement models distinguishing project-based delivery from ongoing AI Managed Services.

Technical Consultation

• Act as a senior technical advisor to sales leadership, account teams, and client stakeholders across all stages of the sales cycle.
• Engage confidently with C-level executives and technical architects to address AI strategy, application modernization, security, and integration concerns.
• Lead discovery workshops, current-state assessments, and solution ideation sessions to surface the right problem before proposing a solution.
• Translate complex AI and application capabilities into clear business value narratives, ROI models, and executive-ready presentations.
• Maintain deep, current knowledge of the Microsoft AI and developer ecosystem — including Azure AI Foundry, Copilot Studio, GitHub Copilot, Azure OpenAI, and Microsoft's agentic AI roadmap.
• Advise clients on responsible AI adoption, governance frameworks, and readiness for production AI workloads.

Sales Support

• Partner with Account Executives to develop and advance client opportunities, providing technical credibility and strategic recommendations.
• Own the technical narrative in RFP responses, competitive engagements, and executive briefings.
• Lead the creation and delivery of tailored proposals, effort estimates, pricing models, and Statements of Work (SOWs).
• Design and deliver proof-of-concepts (POCs) and live demonstrations that illustrate measurable AI and application outcomes for specific client use cases.
• Build business cases and articulate the value proposition of CentriLogic's AI, application development, and managed services capabilities.
• Leverage your professional network and industry presence to open new doors and generate pipeline.

Collaboration with Subject Matter Experts

• Partner with SMEs across CentriLogic's practice areas — Cloud, Data, Security, ERP, and Managed Services — to design holistic, feasible solutions.
• Engage delivery and implementation teams to validate technical designs before proposal submission and provide guidance at project kick-off.
• Conduct due diligence and peer reviews of proposals to ensure accuracy, scope integrity, and alignment with CentriLogic delivery standards.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of CentriLogic's AI and application practice through IP creation, reusable assets, and internal enablement.

Qualifications

Education

• University degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent technical discipline.

Experience

• 7+ years of experience in software/application architecture, cloud solutions engineering, or technical consulting.
• 3+ years in a presales, solution architecture, or customer-facing advisory role.
• Demonstrated experience designing and delivering AI-powered solutions — including LLM-based applications, RAG pipelines, AI agents, or Copilot integrations — in enterprise contexts.
• Hands-on experience with custom application development using .NET/C# and/or Python, deployed on Azure PaaS or containerized infrastructure.
• Proven ability to lead discovery workshops, write proposals, size engagements, and deliver executive-level presentations.
• Track record of successfully winning and advancing deals in a consultative, technical presales capacity.

Certifications

Required (or to be achieved within 6 months of hire):

• Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate (AI-102)
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305)

Preferred:

• Microsoft Certified: Agentic AI Business Solutions Architect
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204)
• GitHub Foundations or GitHub Copilot certification

Core Skills

AI Platform & Architecture

• Azure OpenAI Service: model selection, deployment, prompt engineering, fine-tuning, and responsible use.
• Microsoft AI Foundry: orchestration, evaluation, model hub, and multi-model pipeline design.
• Copilot Studio: designing and deploying enterprise AI agents, custom connectors, and plugin architectures.
• Microsoft Agent Framework and Semantic Kernel: agentic workflow design, tool use, multi-agent orchestration.
• RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) architectures: vector databases (Azure AI Search, Cosmos DB), embeddings, chunking strategies.
• Model Context Protocol (MCP) and Agent-to-Agent (A2A): modern interoperability standards for agentic AI.
• Responsible AI practices: content safety, data governance, fairness, model transparency, and regulatory compliance.

Application Development & Architecture

• Custom application development using C#/.NET (ASP.NET Core, Azure Functions, Web APIs) and/or Python (FastAPI, Flask).
• Azure PaaS services: App Services, Azure Functions, API Management, Azure Container Apps, AKS.
• Integration architecture: REST APIs, event-driven patterns (Azure Service Bus, Event Grid), Logic Apps, and hybrid connectivity.
• Microsoft Power Platform: Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI for low-code automation and analytics.
• DevOps and CI/CD: Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, infrastructure-as-code (Bicep/Terraform).

Presales & Client Engagement

• Solution selling: translating technical capabilities into business outcomes and commercial narratives.
• Proposal writing, SOW development, effort estimation, and pricing model construction.
• POC and demo design: ability to build or script compelling proof-of-concepts tailored to client use cases.
• Excellent written and verbal communication: equally fluent with C-suite stakeholders and technical architects.
• Ability to travel within the Greater Toronto Area, nationally, and to the United States as required.
  

Additional Qualifications (Nice to Have)

• Experience or knowledge in solutioning and/or delivering any of the following is considered an asset
  

Microsoft Ecosystem Depth

• Microsoft 365 Copilot — adoption, governance, and extensibility (Teams, SharePoint, Outlook plugins).
• Microsoft Fabric and Azure Synapse Analytics — data platform design to support AI readiness and analytics.
• Microsoft Purview — data governance, compliance, and AI observability.
• Microsoft Sentinel and Defender for Cloud — security-aware architecture for AI workloads.
• Microsoft Industry Clouds — Financial Services, Healthcare, Manufacturing for vertical AI use cases.

Managed Services & Operations

• LLMOps / MLOps — model lifecycle management, drift detection, evaluation frameworks, and observability.
• FinOps for AI — token usage optimization, cost modeling, and consumption forecasting.
• AI Managed Services concepts — SLA design, operational readiness, and ongoing model governance.

Enterprise Applications & Data

• CRM: Dynamics 365 (Sales, Customer Service), Salesforce.
• ERP: Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain, NetSuite, JDE.
• Databases: Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, SQL Server, MongoDB, Azure AI Search.
• Data & analytics strategy, governance, and pipeline design.

Platforms & Infrastructure

• Managed Infrastructure: Public/Private/Hybrid cloud, Azure landing zones.
• Managed Connectivity: Cloud/private networking, vWAN, SD-WAN.
• Managed Security: Cyber assessments, identity (Entra ID), RBAC, and Zero Trust principles.
  

Experience with Anthropic/Claud/Cowork/Claude Code also a plus.