Principal Solutions Architect

Who We Are VML is a global creative company that combines brand experience, customer experience, and commerce to create connected brands that drive growth. Guided by a Human First philosophy, VML is known for its innovative work for brands and consistently ranks among the world’s leading creative companies, including the WARC Creative 100. VML’s global network spans 55+ markets with principal offices in Buenos Aires, Kansas City, London, New York, São Paulo, Shanghai and Singapore. VML is part of WPP, the trusted growth partner for the world's leading brands. Powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform WPP Open, WPP unites cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, creativity, production, enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel. For more information, please visit www.vml.com and follow along on   LinkedIn #WeAreVML. Our Commerce & Technology division helps leading global brands design, build and run the commerce platforms behind their growth. We are seeking a Principal Solutions Architect to lead solution in business pursuits and account growth, across enterprise commerce. You will be the person in the room who understands how the whole commerce estate fits together, from web storefront and mobile app through commerce platform, data and ERP. You will turn that understanding into a clear case for business value, win the trust of senior client stakeholders, and when it helps, build a working demonstration to show them what good looks like. Key Responsibilities • Architect Enterprise Commerce: Design end to end commerce solutions across Adobe Commerce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Shopify, HCL and composable (MACH) solutions, spanning web, mobile apps, data and back office systems. • Lead with value: Frame every solution around commercial outcomes, cost and return, so clients can see clear cases for change rather than a technology shopping list. • Serve as an outward-facing, energetic leader who runs workshops, participates in governance, and collaborates with commercial teams to identify and shape technical growth opportunities. What you’ll be doing • Client Engagement and Discovery: Build trusted relationships with senior business and technology stakeholders. Run discovery workshops, ask the questions that uncover what really matters, and cut through complexity to the decisions that count. • Solution Design and Architecture: Produce clear architecture diagrams and solution designs covering storefront, mobile apps, commerce platform, search, content, order management, product information, payments, data and other integrations. Recommend the right platform and approach for each client rather than defaulting to one. • Platform Selection and Replatforming: Guide clients through platform choices and migrations, including the move from monolithic to composable, weighing total cost of ownership, speed to market, risk and operating model. • Data, Integration and Back Office: Get into the detail of how commerce connects to ERP (such as SAP, Microsoft Dynamics or Oracle), order management, warehouse, customer data and analytics, and design integration patterns that hold up at enterprise scale. • Mobile and Omnichannel: Shape mobile app strategy and architecture (native, cross platform and headless) alongside web, store and marketplace channels, so the customer experience is joined up. • Business Case and Value: Build business cases, value models and roadmaps that link technology decisions to revenue, conversion, margin and cost to serve. • Demonstrations and Proofs of Concept: Stand up demo storefronts and prototypes quickly, such as a Shopify store or a composable proof of concept, to show clients what is possible and take risk out of their decisions. • Proposals and Pitches: Own the solution story, architecture, assumptions and effort estimates in proposals, and present them with confidence at pitch. • Handover and Delivery Assurance: Make sure what is sold can be delivered, with a clean handover to delivery teams and continued involvement through mobilisation. • Market and Partner Leadership: Stay across the commerce market, including cloud (AWS, GCP), AI in commerce and agentic commerce. Share that knowledge to strengthen our propositions and our partner relationships. What we want from you • Enterprise Commerce Experience: Extensive senior experience in enterprise commerce across retail, consumer brands or B2B, gained in digital agencies, consultancies or large brands. • Breadth Across Platforms: Strong working knowledge of Adobe Commerce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud and Shopify, plus composable and MACH (microservices, API first, cloud native, headless) components such as Commerce tools, Contentful, Algolia, Akeneo or similar. • Presales and New Business: A track record of shaping and winning significant commerce deals, running workshops, writing proposals and presenting to senior audiences. • Commercial Acumen: Understands how clients make money. Speaks confidently about value, cost and return, and can hold a commercial conversation with a Chief Executive or Chief Financial Officer as easily as with a Chief Technology Officer. • Data and ERP Integration: Hands on understanding of how commerce connects with ERP, order management, product information, customer data and analytics, and the integration patterns that make it work. • Mobile Apps: Solid understanding of mobile commerce app architecture and delivery, including native and cross platform approaches and how apps connect to headless commerce services. • Architecture and Communication: Excellent diagramming, written and verbal skills. Able to turn complex estates into simple pictures and clear stories for senior audiences. • Hands On Credibility: Comfortable building a demo store, configuring a platform or proving a concept yourself, rather than relying on slides alone. • Presence: Energetic, confident and credible with clients. Able to cut through noise and lead the room.