Director/Associate Director -Microsoft Presales Architect About KPMG CASA
This role is a regional role within KPMG CASA, based in Qatar, Bahrain or Kuwait, with regular travel across the CASA member firms.
KPMG CASA brings together KPMG's member firms in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the Caspian region and Sri Lanka into one cluster, so that clients across the Gulf, Central Asia and South Asia are served by one team to one standard.
KPMG has been established in the Gulf for decades, in Qatar since 1977, and each member firm is locally led and among the largest professional services firms in its market. Our firms provide Audit, Tax and Advisory services locally, drawing on the latest thinking and best practice from across the KPMG global network.
We recruit the best and brightest from around the world and move people and expertise between member firms, so this role can be based in Qatar, Bahrain or Kuwait and will work with clients across the cluster.
Business Unit Overview
KPMG's Advisory practice is one of the largest Advisory businesses worldwide and the major growth area for our organization. We work with clients to identify and tackle their challenges in Growth, Governance and Performance, supporting them as they restructure, modernise and expand.
Within Advisory, the Technology & Alliances practice for the CASA cluster (Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Caspian region and Sri Lanka) brings together KPMG's business advisory DNA and our strategic alliances with Microsoft and Service Now. The practice shapes and delivers large transformation programmes for government, energy and financial services clients, drawing on KPMG member firms across the region and the KPMG Delivery Network for delivery capacity.
Role Overview
We are looking for a Microsoft Presales Architect to own the technical shape of our Microsoft pursuits across the CASA cluster. The role is regional and can be based in Qatar, Bahrain or Kuwait. The Presales Architect is the senior technical face of KPMG in front of clients and Microsoft during the sales cycle: translating a client's business ambition into a credible, differentiated Microsoft cloud and AI solution, presenting it to C-level audiences, and standing behind the estimate and the proposal that follow.
The role sits at the intersection of sales, architecture and the Microsoft alliance. It requires hands‑on breadth across the Microsoft cloud (Azure Paa S, Microsoft Fabric, Microsoft Foundry and Copilot, Dynamics 365 and Power Platform), the commercial judgement to shape a deal that is winnable and deliverable, and the credibility to carry a design from pursuit into delivery as design authority.
Primary Job Responsibilities & Accountabilities Presales and Deal Shaping
- Lead the solution strategy for Microsoft pursuits from qualification to contract: discovery workshops, solution options, target architecture, delivery approach and commercial model.
- Prepare and deliver C-level presentations, executive briefings and solution storylines that connect the client's business outcomes to the proposed Microsoft architecture.
- Own the technical sections of proposals and RFP/RFI/RFQ responses: solution description, architecture, assumptions, scope boundaries, delivery plan and risk register.
- Design and run demonstrations, proofs of concept and pilots, personally building or directing the build of demo environments on Azure, Fabric, Dynamics 365, Power Platform and Copilot Studio.
- Produce bottom‑up effort estimates, resource plans and licence/consumption estimates, and defend them in internal pricing and risk reviews.
- Shape the competitive positioning against other hyperscalers, ISVs and system integrators, and articulate KPMG's differentiation.
Microsoft Alliance Engagement
- Act as the day‑to‑day technical counterpart to Microsoft account teams, specialist sellers, Partner Development Managers and Microsoft architects on joint pursuits.
- Drive co‑sell motions: align on account plans, secure Microsoft funding (ECIF, partner investments, pilots) and position KPMG offerings in Microsoft's field plays.
- Maintain KPMG's standing in the Microsoft partner programme: solution designations, specialisations, customer references and required certifications.
Solution Architecture
- Define target architectures across Azure Paa S, data and AI (Microsoft Fabric, Azure AI), business applications (Dynamics 365, Power Platform) and integration, including security, identity, data residency and sovereign cloud requirements across the GCC.
- Produce high‑level and detailed design documents, integration specifications and non‑functional requirements that delivery teams can build from without re‑work.
- Assess and recommend the right Microsoft services and licensing models for each business objective, including Azure Local and other sovereign or disconnected options where regulation requires.
AI and Agent Solutions
- Lead AI envisioning and use‑case prioritisation workshops with client executives, turning AI ambition into a ranked backlog scored on value, feasibility, data readiness and risk.
- Design generative and agentic AI architectures on Microsoft Foundry (Azure Open AI and partner models, Foundry Agent Service, Azure AI Search and retrieval‑augmented generation), Copilot Studio and Microsoft 365 Copilot, grounded on a Fabric data foundation and governed through Agent 365 and Entra Agent ID.
- Build AI demonstrations and proofs of value, including custom agents that act across the client's Dynamics 365, Power Platform and line‑of‑business systems.
- Advise on responsible AI, AI governance and data protection (Microsoft Purview, Entra), and on where models and agents can run given data residency and sovereign cloud constraints in the GCC.
- Size and price AI solutions: token and consumption estimates, Copilot licensing and credits, and the run‑cost model for agents in production.
- Partner with Microsoft's AI specialist teams and funding programmes on joint AI pursuits, and bring KPMG's own AI assets and accelerators into the solution.
Delivery Assurance
- Carry the solution from pursuit into delivery: lead the hand‑over to delivery and KPMG Delivery Network teams, remain design authority through mobilisation and key design decisions.
- Validate architecture deliverables, conduct design reviews and risk analysis on in‑flight programmes, and intervene when solutions drift from the sold design.
Practice Development
- Build reusable assets: reference architectures, demo kits, estimation models, proposal boilerplate and accelerators for the CASA Microsoft practice.
- Coach consultants and junior architects, and help grow a certified Microsoft bench across the CASA member firms and the KPMG Delivery Network.
- Stay current on the Microsoft roadmap (Microsoft Foundry and agents, Copilot and Agent 365, Fabric, Dynamics 365 releases) and translate it into new KPMG offerings.
Qualification and Experience Education
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology or a related field. A Master's degree or MBA is a plus.
Experience
- 10+ years in technology consulting or software delivery, of which 5+ years architecting solutions on the Microsoft cloud.
- 3+ years in a presales or solution‑lead role at a Microsoft partner, system integrator or consulting firm, with a track record of shaping and winning deals above USD 1 million.
- Demonstrable experience presenting to CIO, CTO, CFO and board‑level audiences, and leading the technical response to complex RFPs for government or large‑enterprise clients.
- Hands‑on experience producing architecture documents, effort estimates, licensing and consumption estimates and bills of material for Microsoft solutions.
- Experience working with Microsoft field teams on co‑sell pursuits and partner funding programmes.
- Experience in the GCC, with exposure to data residency, sovereign cloud and public‑sector procurement, is strongly preferred.
Technical Skills
- Azure Paa S : App Service, Azure Functions, AKS and containers, Logic Apps, API Management, Service Bus and Event Grid, Azure SQL and Cosmos DB, Azure landing zones, networking and identity (Microsoft Entra ID).
- Data platform : Microsoft Fabric (One Lake, Lakehouse and Warehouse, Data Factory, Real‑Time Intelligence, Power BI) and data governance with Microsoft Purview.
- AI and agents : Microsoft Foundry (Azure Open AI and partner models, Foundry Agent Service, Azure AI Search, retrieval‑augmented generation, evaluation and safety tooling), Copilot Studio, Microsoft 365 Copilot extensibility (declarative and custom‑engine agents), Agent 365 and Entra Agent ID for agent governance, Model Context Protocol and multi‑agent patterns.
- Business Applications : Dynamics 365 (Customer Engagement and/or Finance & Operations) including Copilot and agents in Dynamics 365, Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Pages, AI Builder), security roles and application lifecycle management.
- Sovereign and hybrid : Azure Local (Azure Stack HCI), hybrid connectivity and the options for regulated or disconnected workloads, including where AI models and agents can run.
- Engineering practice : Agile and hybrid delivery methods, Azure Dev Ops or Git Hub, infrastructure as code (Bicep or Terraform), API‑led integration and enterprise architecture frameworks.
Certifications
At least one Microsoft Expert‑level certification is required; two or more across the pillars below is strongly preferred.
- Azure: Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305)
- Data: Microsoft Certified: Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate (DP-600) or Fabric Data Engineer Associate (DP-700)
- AI: Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate (AI-102) strongly preferred; Azure Data Scientist Associate (DP-100) a plus
- Business Applications: Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Solution Architect Expert (PL-600) and/or Dynamics 365: Finance and Operations Apps Solution Architect Expert (MB-700)
- Enterprise architecture: TOGAF or equivalent a plus
Core Competencies
- Executive communication : Presents complex architecture to C-level audiences in business terms; writes proposals that are clear, concise and persuasive.
- Commercial acumen : Shapes deals that are winnable, deliverable and profitable; understands licensing, consumption economics and partner funding.
- Stakeholder engagement : Builds trust quickly with client executives, Microsoft counterparts and KPMG partners across Advisory, Tax and Audit.
- Collaboration : Works effectively across KPMG member firms, the KPMG Delivery Network and alliance partners in a multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural team.
- Analytical thinking : Translates ambiguous business requirements into practical, scalable and secure Microsoft solutions.
- AI fluency : Explains what generative and agentic AI can and cannot do for a client's business, and designs for value, governance and adoption rather than novelty.
- Ownership : Carries a solution from first conversation through contract and into delivery, and is accountable for what was sold.
- Languages : Fluent English is required; Arabic is a strong plus for client‑facing work across the GCC.
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