Director, Data and AI Architect

Salesforce•Mclean, VA

About The Position

About Salesforce Salesforce is the #1 AI CRM, where humans with agents drive customer success together. Here, ambition meets action. Tech meets trust. And innovation isn’t a buzzword — it’s a way of life. The world of work as we know it is changing and we're looking for Trailblazers who are passionate about bettering business and the world through AI, driving innovation, and keeping Salesforce's core values at the heart of it all. Ready to level-up your career at the company leading workforce transformation in the agentic era? You’re in the right place! Agentforce is the future of AI, and you are the future of Salesforce. Director, Technical Architects - Data and AI About Salesforce Salesforce is the #1 AI CRM, where humans with agents drive customer success together. Here, ambition meets action. Tech meets trust. And innovation isn't a buzzword — it's a way of life. The world of work as we know it is changing and we're looking for Trailblazers who are passionate about bettering business and the world through AI, driving innovation, and keeping Salesforce's core values at the heart of it all. Ready to level-up your career at the company leading workforce transformation in the agentic era? You're in the right place! Agentforce is the future of AI, and you are the future of Salesforce. Department Description The Data & AI Expert team is an innovative group of technical architects at the heart of Salesforce's newest innovations — Data360 and Agentforce. They don't just work with today's technology — they help customers architect for the future. This is a startup within a massive organization, focused on next-generation Data + AI + CRM + Analytics at Salesforce. This team sits at the center of our GTM strategy, connecting the dots between Data & AI Products, Product Marketing, Enablement, Customer Success & Support, and the Partner Ecosystem. But their impact doesn't stop at the sale — this team operates across the full customer lifecycle, ensuring customers don't just buy Data360 and Agentforce, but genuinely succeed with it. Your Impact As a leader, your primary impact is building elite Data & AI Technical Architects and enabling them to operate at scale — across the full customer journey, from initial discovery through to realized value.

Requirements

You are a people builder and architecture leader, with a proven ability to scale deep technical talent:
10+ years leading Solution Engineering, Technical Architecture, or Technical Sales teams in Data, Analytics, and AI domains.
Demonstrated success building and scaling teams of senior architects.
BS in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or equivalent experience; advanced degree preferred.
Strong full-stack technical credibility across enterprise data platforms, AI/ML concepts, and Salesforce architecture — including hands-on familiarity with Agentforce, Data360, and the Salesforce platform.
Working knowledge of agent interoperability standards (e.g., MCP, A2A) and the broader external agent ecosystem — enough to coach architects and shape Salesforce's architectural point-of-view.
Understanding of prompt engineering, agent lifecycle strategy, and applied Generative AI — able to set standards and review the work of senior architects in these areas.
Proven ability to engage and influence C-level executives — including CDOs and CIOs — while remaining grounded in hands-on architectural realities.
Data-driven leader with a history of defining and over-achieving on technical KPIs, such as architectural win rates, technical debt reduction, and time-to-value for AI deployments.
Experience driving success within large, matrixed enterprise sales organizations.
Track record of leadership recognition, customer impact, and measurable business outcomes.
Deep understanding of industry-specific data challenges, enterprise data governance (e.g., Informatica, Collibra), architectural patterns, and complex integration strategies.
Exceptional communicator and storyteller — able to translate complex Data and AI architectures into executive-level value narratives.
Familiarity with the Partner Ecosystem and experience co-developing GTM strategies with SI and ISV partners.
Data Architecture & Platforms Cloud data platforms, SQL, ingestion pipelines (batch, streaming, CDC), ETL/ELT, data modeling, semantic layers, integration patterns, and the TCO tradeoffs of building with hyperscalers vs. Salesforce. Deep familiarity with Informatica (IDMC) for enterprise data integration and MDM, alongside Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, and Redshift.
AI & Analytics Foundational ML concepts, data preparation, Python/R, applied AI, Generative AI, prompt engineering, and agentic use cases. Hands-on familiarity with platforms like Databricks, Snowflake, Sagemaker, or Vertex is a strong plus. Awareness of agent lifecycle management, observability, and governance frameworks.
Agentforce & Salesforce Platform Admin-level fluency, hands-on experience across Salesforce Clouds, and deep architectural understanding of how Data and AI are activated within Salesforce — including Agentforce, Data360, Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Industry Clouds. Understanding of how external agents (Copilot, Gemini, etc.) integrate with Agentforce via open standards.
Analytics & BI Working knowledge of tools like Tableau, PowerBI, or Looker and how they connect to enterprise data strategy.
Integration Patterns MuleSoft APIs, hyperscaler SDKs, cross-platform integrations, and enterprise governance and compliance frameworks.
Futurist: Sees beyond today's problems — consistently brings a forward-looking perspective to customers, the team, and the product roadmap. Connects today's architectural decisions to tomorrow's possibilities.
Passion: Deeply committed to customer success — before, during, and after the sale.
Leadership: Self-aware, strategic thinker, skilled at building relationships and developing people.
Communication: Communicates with clarity, brevity, and purpose; influences and engages at all levels.
Storytelling: Translates complex technical concepts into compelling narratives that resonate with both technical and business audiences.
Adaptability: Thrives in high levels of uncertainty and change — comfortable being a pioneer.
Horizon Thinker: Doesn't just respond to the market — helps shape it.
Trust: Demonstrates integrity, transparency, and reliability with customers, teammates, and partners.
Community Champion: Actively contributes to the knowledge base within the organization and the broader ecosystem.
Curiosity: Stays close to the technology — continuously learning, experimenting, and bringing new ideas back to the team.

Responsibilities

Build and lead a best-in-class team of Data and AI Technical Architects, recognized for deep expertise across data architecture, AI, Salesforce, and enterprise integration patterns.
Recruit and mentor senior-level architects with versatile communication styles. Our goal is to build a team capable of translating technical architecture into business value, whether they are whiteboarding with engineers or securing buy-in from CDOs and CIOs.
Establish clear technical standards, architectural principles, and operating rhythms that ensure consistent, high-quality execution across the territory.
Partner with Sales Leadership to define coverage and engagement models that align technical architect capacity to the highest-impact accounts and opportunities.
Serve as a technical executive sponsor for strategic customers — guiding enterprise data and AI strategy, influencing architectural decisions, and earning long-term trust that extends well beyond the close.
Champion customer outcomes across the full lifecycle — partnering with Customer Success, Support, and Professional Services to ensure technical wins translate into measurable business value. The greatest impact is realized when technical leadership remains a constant partner from the initial sale through to final delivery.
Design and scale repeatable technical evaluation motions — architectural workshops, POVs, POCs, and reference designs — that accelerate time-to-value for Data and AI initiatives.
Drive strong alignment with Product and Engineering to stay ahead of the Data & AI roadmap and represent field-driven architectural requirements.
Work closely with the Partner Ecosystem to develop offerings, use cases, and GTM strategies that extend Salesforce's Data360 reach.
Develop scalable, reusable technical enablement assets that uplift the architectural maturity of Solution Engineers, sellers, partners, and customers.
Own Salesforce's point-of-view on enterprise data and AI architecture, aligned to industry-specific needs and grounded in proven, repeatable patterns.
Bring a futurist mindset — anticipating where data, AI, and CRM technology is heading and helping customers, your team, and Salesforce think 2-3 years ahead, not just solve for today's problems.
Drive operational rigor and accountability, linking architectural excellence to ACV growth, expansion, and customer success.