What Does It Take to Become a Kicksaw Solution Architect?

The Salesforce ecosystem is a beautifully complex space — every business is unique, and every business problem has its own set of nuances that rarely fit nicely into cookie-cutter solutions. Careers in Salesforce are similarly hard to summarize in a mere job description or LinkedIn bio, which is why we’ve decided to give you a closer look at what it’s like to take on a few of the roles we hire for. Today, we’re looking at the Solution Architect role!

Kicksaw offers richer, more fulfilling experiences than you might find at other consulting firms — a lofty claim, but one that we can back up for a very simple reason: we do business differently. That’s not just a line we came up with to get you to click on us, either. Our Fractional Operations business model is truly unique, radical, and (we think) the better way to work. This video sums up just what Fractional Operations are and shows how they create a better product for clients while also giving our employees ample opportunity to shine.

Using Fractional Operations as our foundation, we design the Solution Architect experience from there. The first order of business is to assign them to a Pod. 

Pods are the heartbeat of the Delivery team at Kicksaw — they are the implementation teams, and each one includes a Salesforce Consultant, a Solution Architect, and the Salesforce Admin. The Pods manage their own books of business and typically work with two to four clients at a time, depending on the size and complexity of the client. 

Each Pod member has their own set of responsibilities and duties, but they are three points of a triangle. They need each other. To break it down simply, the Salesforce Consultant works closely with the client to understand their business needs, the Solution Architect designs the best solution to meet those needs, and the Salesforce Admin puts in the hands-on-keyboard work to create the solution. But none of this work happens in isolation — pods stay in close communication throughout every stage of an implementation and rely on one another. One of the Kicksaw core values is Work Together (we’ll review the rest of the core values later in this post), and we’re pretty serious about that. You’ll get your “don’t bother me, I’m getting nerdy about creative solutions” time, but you’ll also have those other two triangle vertices at your side to help you succeed in your role and grow your abilities as an architect. 

‍The level of collaboration here really sets us apart. Internal debates and discussions around different solutions and options on behalf of our clients often result in a better design and framework. So we make it a point to invest enough weekly time together as a team to ideate and improve on behalf of our clients.
— Steven Han, Kicksaw Solution Architect

What sets the Solution Architect role apart? 

What sets the Solution Architect (we’ll just call them SA going forward) apart from the Salesforce Consultant (SC) and Salesforce Administrator (Admin) is that the SA is…well, the architect. We call them that for a good reason. They’re the designers. They work closely with the SC to understand the client’s business problems, create a plan that will address those problems, and then work with the Admin to ensure that the plan is executed correctly. Their role requires semi-frequent face time with the client via video calls (Kicksaw is 100% remote), as well as availability over email and Slack, should the client want to reach out with questions or concerns. If you’re the sort of person who craves a challenge and finds fulfillment in providing creative solutions to customers, the Solution Architect role could be a great fit.

One big difference in Kicksaw’s version of the SA versus how our competitors approach this role is that thanks to our Fractional Operations model we took a look at earlier, you don’t have to log hours. That’s right. No utilization, no time sheets. Yes, you’ll track time spent on certain tasks, but we’re interested in tracking the work itself and not so much in how you spend every fifteen-minute chunk of your time. You’re not a resource to be leveraged, you’re a valued team member who we trust to do great work.

A typical workday for an SA might look like this:

Your Morning:

Aside from those blocks of time reserved for client and internal meetings, you set your own schedule and determine the best way to spend your time in order to finish the work that you’ve been given. You might spend your morning working on one or more of these three tasks: 

• Finalizing a write-up for your Pod’s Salesforce Admin. The write-up is the technical specification document you create after sitting in on client meetings and learning about the client’s needs and business problems. It’s your job to design the solution and create the write-up for the Admin to execute, and you can expect write-ups to consume several hours of your week, every week. Write-up details can be as simple as “add this field” and as complicated as “we’re going to build this custom integration.” 
• Conducting QA testing on a task that the Admin has completed. Confirm that everything works correctly, page layouts are good, all the required fields are in, integrations are firing as expected, etc. If a minor issue pops up, you’ll likely go in and fix the issue on your own, but any larger problems you encounter are sent back to the Admin.
• Taking time for technical research and solutioning with fellow SAs and Admins. If a client comes to us for help with a Salesforce product or feature that you’re not very familiar with, or that you have no experience with at all, you’ve got your coworkers at Kicksaw to back you up. Our collective knowledge is deep, and we don’t keep it to ourselves — team members frequently meet with those outside their own Pod to help each other out. 

11:30 - 12:00 PM

Take a break from your heads-down work to attend the daily Pod standup meeting. Here, you discuss client work, problem-solve, and connect on issues that are important to the Pod, the clients, and Kicksaw.

Lunch

It may be lunch time for you, but for one of your favorite coworkers, it’s only breakfast (woot woot, remote teams!). Today you’ve arranged to share these separate meals over video chat, just because.

1:00 - 2:00 PM

You’ve opted to spend an hour of your workday studying for your next certification. (Kicksaw encourages you to devote a portion of your working hours toward professional development, and just to prove we really mean it, we cover the cert fees.)

2:00 - 3:00 PM 

You’ve got a client meeting to attend, along with your Pod’s Salesforce Consultant, where you will demo a new design for the client. After the demo, you’ll field any questions, take notes on what needs to be changed or updated, and be a sounding board for any new ideas or concerns the demo sparks.

3:00 - 4:00 PM

Organize the action items that came your way as a result of the client meeting, and add any pertinent notes/updates to the write-up for the Salesforce Admin.

4:00 - 5:00 PM

Time for the second client meeting of the day! This one is a little less intense for you, as the client is at an earlier stage of their Kicksaw engagement. There is nothing to demo, but you and the Salesforce Consultant have a list of questions, suggestions, and recommendations that you need to review with the client, and the client is sure to have their own list of questions as well.

5:00 PM - TBD

It’s quittin’ time, but today you’ve opted to spend some of your non-work time with your Kicksaw coworkers during a virtual “fireside chat,” where our team has the opportunity to really get to know one another by diving into topics chosen by our resident enthusiasts. These topics can range from algae (there’s more to it than you’d think) to Taylor Swift — think of these fireside chats as our version of…well, a group of friendly coworkers gathered around a fire, beverage of choice in hand, relaxed and 100% checked out from work. 

Every day and every client is different and will require different work from an SA. The important thing to remember about the Solution Architect role is that you are the one primarily responsible for the overall structure and performance of our clients’ solutions. If you love pouring over requirements lists, analyzing user stories, researching integrations and toolsets, conducting demos, asking insightful questions, and keeping your eyes and ears peeled for the next new thing that will level up your customers’ experience, this could be the role for you.

‍To succeed in this role, you need to be comfortable wearing several different hats, and know when to put them on. This role isn't only about solution design — you have to be able to consult on and lead Business Analyst discussions, troubleshoot as an Admin, manage workloads from multiple projects, etc. You have to be flexible.
— Adam Cheslyn, Kicksaw Solution Architect

‍What does career growth look like for a Solution Architect?

There are four tiers for SAs at Kicksaw, and we like to break them down this way:

• Tier 1: Associate — Can tie a knot, and participates when others tie complex knots.
• Tier 2: Mid/Developing — Ties complex knots, calculates rope strength, and knows a lot about knots of all sorts
• Tier 3: Senior — Creates their own knots, teaches others how to tie these new knots, and uses these new knots strategically
• Tier 4: Principal — Uses their extensive knowledge of knots to solve complicated problems that affect their Pod/department and result in positive change for Kicksaw

We use an online performance-management platform that makes it easy for employees and managers to keep in touch, and performance reviews occur biannually. Understanding how you measure up at Kicksaw is as simple as referencing the internal rubric for measuring tiers within each role. A separate, easily accessible internal document includes salary ranges for reference and transparency. 

Every role at Kicksaw has two documented career progression tracks — one for those who want to pursue a management role, and one for those who do not see a manager role in their future. The non-management track is what we call the “individual contributor track.” There is no pressure to follow either track, as both are equally weighted. You don’t have to become a manager in order to thrive and grow at Kicksaw. 

Speaking of career growth, support for employees who want to take classes to improve their skill sets, attend conferences (such as Dreamforce or other Salesforce events), or otherwise expand their professional abilities is readily available, and we highly encourage our employees to take advantage of this option. This support includes reimbursement (there is a cap), an annual tech stipend, access to internal resources to help you find classes, and more. 

It all boils down to this: You can go as far as you see fit as an SA at Kicksaw!

I love problem solving (my hobbies include Sudoku and complicated board games). Taking what initially seems like an impossible business process and mapping out how in the world we can make it work in Salesforce is one aspect of this role that I find incredibly satisfying.
— Andy Szymas, Solution Architect

How should I prepare for an interview for the Solution Architect role?

There are many things our People Operations team considers when looking at your resumé, but a scary long list of certs isn’t necessarily one of them. Yes, you definitely should have your foundational certifications, along with a cloud-specific cert or two, or maybe an architect one either already in the bag or well on the way. But what we’re really looking for is experience. You need to have some amount of admin experience, as well as solution design chops.

Once you’ve gone through an initial screening, if we feel like this might be a good fit, you will meet with one of our Delivery Managers, and likely also a peer panel as well, to give us an opportunity to get to know you and understand your approach to solving our customers’ technical problems using Salesforce and companion solutions. You will also meet with our Manager of Solution Architecture, as well as select leadership figures, over the course of your interviews with us. If that seems like an intimidating list of faces, at least know that all of them are friendly and want to see you succeed.  

The key to a good interview experience for the Solution Architect role at Kicksaw is to simply be you. We called out our Work Together core value earlier in this post, but the interview process revolves around our Be You core value. And we really mean this — we want to meet you during the interview. We don’t just want to review your background and work experience, because we’re hiring people, not resources. Our people make us who we are, and our core values are integral to our identity and community as a company. That’s why it’s so important that you embody all four of our core values: Work Together, Be You, Own It, and Keep It Simple. 

We’ve worked hard to create a culture that truly puts people first, and not just the people who are paying us — we put our people first as well. It’s why we started our profit sharing program, and why we work so hard to add additional employee benefits and programs at every opportunity. And it’s why it is so important to us that we hire folks who align with our core values and who will contribute to that culture by bringing their own unique talents, energy, and passions to their role. 

That’s what it takes to become a Kicksaw Solution Architect, other than one crucial step…you have to send us your resumé! We know it can be scary to apply for a new role, but we promise you — real people are going to read your application, and we take every submission under consideration. The Solution Architect role is an exciting opportunity for folks who love to design things, love to create technical solutions that resolve user stories, get nerdy about release notes and integration options, and are hungry for an opportunity to grow their career at a truly unique consulting firm. 

We look forward to hearing from you!