Solutions Architect

At F5, we strive to bring a better digital world to life. Our teams empower organizations across the globe to create, secure, and run applications that enhance how we experience our evolving digital world. We are passionate about cybersecurity, from protecting consumers from fraud to enabling companies to focus on innovation. Everything we do centers around people. That means we obsess over how to make the lives of our customers, and their customers, better. And it means we prioritize a diverse F5 community where each individual can thrive. At F5, we strive to bring a better digital world to life. Our teams empower organizations across the globe to create, secure, and run applications that enhance how we experience our evolving digital world. We are passionate about cybersecurity, from protecting consumers from fraud to enabling companies to focus on innovation. Everything we do centers around people. That means we obsess over how to make the lives of our customers, and their customers, better. And it means we prioritize a diverse F5 community where each individual can thrive. Role Overview: We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Principal Solution Engineer with deep expertise in F5 Inc. technologies and a forward-thinking understanding of emerging technologies like AI and containerization to join our dynamic team. In this pivotal role, you will be responsible for designing and implementing robust, scalable, and secure application delivery and security solutions, leveraging the full capabilities of the F5 product suite, including F5 Distributed Cloud, while also considering the architectural implications of modern AI and cloud-native deployments. You will act as a trusted advisor and contribute to thought leadership, collaborating with sales, engineering, and client stakeholders to translate business requirements into technical architecture and drive successful project outcomes. You will also play a key role in supporting the Product and Engineering teams with the adoption and go-to-market strategy of new F5 products and features and potentially presenting at significant industry events. Sounds interesting? Read on! What You’ll Do: • Serve as the subject matter expert for F5 Inc. solutions, including BIG-IP (LTM, GTM, APM, AWAF), NGINX, and F5 Distributed Cloud Services. • Design and architect comprehensive application delivery and security solutions that meet client requirements for performance, scalability, security, and high availability, with consideration for AI workloads and containerized environments, potentially leveraging F5 Distributed Cloud. • Lead technical discussions with clients to understand their business needs, technical constraints, and articulate the value proposition of F5 Inc. solutions, including F5 Distributed Cloud, in the context of their overall IT landscape, including AI initiatives. • Develop detailed solution designs, including diagrams, specifications, and implementation plans, potentially incorporating F5 (including Distributed Cloud) in support of AI Factories, RAG implementations, and AI Gateways. • Provide technical guidance and support to sales teams during the pre-sales process, including presentations, demonstrations, and proposal development, highlighting how F5 Inc. solutions, including F5 Distributed Cloud, can enhance the delivery and security of AI-powered applications. • Collaborate with engineering teams during the implementation and deployment phases, ensuring adherence to the defined architecture. • Stay up to date with the latest F5 Inc. product updates, industry trends, and best practices, including developments in AI infrastructure, cloud-native technologies, and F5 Distributed Cloud. • Contribute to the development of internal knowledge base, methodologies, and best practices related to F5 Inc. solutions (including Distributed Cloud) in modern application architectures. • Troubleshoot complex technical issues related to F5 deployments, potentially within Kubernetes environments, those supporting AI workloads, or utilizing F5 Distributed Cloud. • Potentially mentor and guide junior team members. • Contribute to thought leadership activities such as white papers, blog posts, presentations, and participation in industry forums, potentially including Mainstage Keynotes. • Collaborate with Product Management and Engineering teams to provide field feedback and support the introduction of new F5 products and features to the market. • Lead and track Proof of Concepts (PoCs) with customers, ensuring successful technical validation and alignment with business requirements. What You’ll Bring: • Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering or a related field, or equivalent level of experience • Minimum of 7+ years of experience in designing and implementing network or application delivery solutions, with a strong focus on F5 Inc. is preferred. • Deep technical expertise in F5 BIG-IP platform (LTM, GTM, APM, AWAF), ideally NGINX, and familiarity with F5 Distributed Cloud Services is a plus. • Strong understanding of networking protocols (TCP/IP, HTTP, DNS, etc.) and security principles. • Experience with cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP) and Kubernetes is highly desirable. • Familiarity with concepts related to AI, including AI Factories, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and AI Gateways. • Proficiency in scripting languages (e.g., Python, Ansible) for automation. • Experience with Application-to-Application (A2A) concepts and familiarity with Anthropic's Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a plus. • Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively communicate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences, including experience with Mainstage Keynotes. • Proven ability to work independently and as part of a team. • Relevant F5 certifications (e.g., F5 Certified! Technology Specialist) are highly advantageous. • Direct experience deploy…