Principal Solution Architect

DDNSanta Clara OfficeDepartment

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Opens the official DDN careers page

Salary

$300K – $330K

Job type

Full-time

Work mode

Remote

Experience

Senior · 8+ yrs

Posted

6 Oct 2026

Status

Open · checked 7d ago

About this role

DDN is hiring a Principal Solution Architect for its Santa Clara office to deliver high-performance AI, machine learning, and high-performance computing solutions. This full-time role suits an experienced pre-sales engineering professional with deep technical expertise in artificial intelligence and data management.

Role Overview

DataDirect Networks (DDN) seeks a Principal Solution Architect to combine technical mastery with strategic consulting in the Santa Clara office. The professional in this position will align company technologies with client business needs to drive measurable outcomes such as reduced latency, optimization, and accelerated time-to-insight.

Key Responsibilities

Engage with clients to understand performance goals and recommend high-performance solutions for business outcomes.

Architect scalable AI-driven data solutions focusing on long-term value, performance optimization, and scalability.

Participate actively in the sales process through product demonstrations, technical presentations, and proof-of-concept management.

Apply knowledge in generative AI, Large Language Models, neural networks, retrieval-augmented generation, inference, and recommendation systems.

Collaborate across internal teams including sales, product, marketing, and engineering to inform product development and technical strategies.

Build relationships across partner ecosystems, alliances, original equipment manufacturers, cloud service providers, and hyper-scalers.

Deliver technical training and development for internal teams and partners regarding artificial intelligence solutions.

Requirements

Minimum of 8 years of experience in artificial intelligence and machine learning infrastructure, data engineering, or consulting for AI projects, application development, or data science architectures.

Demonstrated expertise in generative AI technologies such as Large Language Models, neural networks, and recommendation systems.

Familiarity with artificial intelligence frameworks including TensorFlow, PyTorch, NVIDIA Enterprise Suite, NeMO, and NIMs.

Track record of securing technical wins within complex sales or consulting environments.

Communication and presentation abilities tailored for technical and executive audiences.

Working knowledge of full-stack AI training, inference, deployment tools, feature stores, vector databases, embedding models, and ETL tooling.

Nice to Have

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent experience.

Certifications in AI and cloud architectures such as NVIDIA, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or similar.

Background working with alliances, original equipment manufacturers, partner ecosystems, and hyper-scalers.

Previous experience operating as a sales engineer, technical sales professional, or consultant.

Understanding of return on investment and data center optimization metrics including energy efficiency, space utilization, and performance tuning.

Skills and Tools

TensorFlow

PyTorch

NVIDIA Enterprise Suite

NeMO

NIMs

Large Language Models (LLMs)

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)

Vector Databases

Feature Stores

Cloud Storage and High-Performance Computing (HPC)

Salary and Benefits

Salary range between $300,000 and $330,000.

Offers equity.

Offers commission.

About the Company

DataDirect Networks (DDN) provides high-performance artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data management solutions that enable organizations to address complex data challenges and accelerate insights.

How to Apply

Candidates should apply on the official company careers page.

Skills and tech stack

TensorFlow PyTorch NVIDIA Enterprise Suite NeMO NIMs LLMs RAG Vector Databases Feature Stores LLM AWS Azure Generative AI

Questions candidates ask

What is the salary range for the Principal Solution Architect position?

The salary ranges from $300,000 to $330,000, with additional offerings in equity and commission.

Where is the position located?

The role is located at the DDN Santa Clara office.

How many years of experience are required for this role?

Candidates must have 8 or more years of experience in AI/ML infrastructure, data engineering, consulting for AI projects, or data science application development.

What technical frameworks and tools are mentioned in the requirements?

Required familiarity includes TensorFlow, PyTorch, NVIDIA Enterprise Suite, NeMO, and NIMs.

Is a degree strictly required?

A bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, AI, Data Engineering, or a related technical field or equivalent experience is listed under preferred qualifications.

Ready to apply?

The application is on the official DDN careers page.

Apply on company site