Senior Director of Solutions Architecture

This is a U.S. based position. All of the programs we support require U.S. citizenship to be eligible for employment. All work must be conducted within the continental U.S.

Who we are:

Raft (https://goraft.tech) is a customer-obsessed non-traditional small business with a purposeful focus on Distributed Data Systems, Platforms at Scale, and Complex Application Development, with headquarters in Reston, VA. Our range of clients include innovative federal and public agencies leveraging design thinking, cutting edge tech stack, and cloud native ecosystem. We build digital solutions that impact the lives of millions of Americans.

We’re looking for an experienced Senior Director of Solutions Architecture. The role will be dedicated to being able to understand (deeply) all projects at Raft, pair with PMs, and Tech Leads, and write RFIs/RFPs.

What you'll bring: 

• Develop a deep understanding of all Raft’s Products, pairing with PMs and Tech Leads to architect solutions that scale.
• Stay hands-on with technology to remain sharp in data, AL, and ML development practices.
• Ability to take highly complex ideas and explain them in technical/non-technical terms.
• Author white papers, proposals, RFI/RFP responses, and customer-facing content that highlights Raft’s differentiated value.
• Contribute to thought leadership through blog posts, conference content, and solution briefs.
• Serve as the technical growth partner in Raft’s expansion into federal defense customers.
• Build relationships with customers and partners, embedding in their missions to identify new opportunities.
• Partner with leadership to shape Raft’s go-to-market approach and win meaningful new contracts in mission-critical modernization programs.

What We’re Looking For:

• 10+ years hands-on experience building solutions, paired with a passion for writing about them (white papers, proposals, blog posts, etc.).
• Ability to zoom into details while also stepping back to think abstractly.
• Technical depth and the ability to design and build solutions when needed.
• Strong interpersonal skills that thrives when combining with other teams, joining sprint plannings, and embedding within project ecosystems.
• Demonstrated success writing winning white papers, RFIs, and RFPs.
• Will contribute to technical hiring processes and solution architecture across Raft projects.

Highly Preferred:

• Experience in the DoD space, especially in modernization efforts around data, AI, and ML.
• Deep technical background and eagerness to constantly learn.
• Proven ability to build and direct collaborative teams across multiple locations and organizational boundaries.
• Track record of successful capture strategies resulting in contract awards.

Clearance Requirements:

• Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret clearance

Work Type:

• Onsite in Honolulu,HI

What we will offer you:  

• Highly competitive salary 
• Fully covered healthcare, dental, and vision coverage 
• 401(k) and company match 
• Unlimited PTO + 11 paid holidays 
• Education & training benefits 
• Generous Referral Bonuses 
• And More!

Our Vision Statement:  

We bridge the gap between humans and data through radical transparency and our obsession with the mission.

Our Customer Obsession:

We will approach every deliverable like it's a product. We will adopt a customer-obsessed mentality. As we grow, and our footprint becomes larger, teams and employees will treat each other not only as teammates but customers. We must live the customer-obsessed mindset, always. This will help us scale and it will translate to the interactions that our Rafters have with their clients and other product teams that they integrate with. Our culture will enable our success and set us apart from other companies.

How do we get there?

Public-sector modernization is critical for us to live in a