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Practising for the listing Partner Solutions Architect. Its requirements are filled in below. When you have an answer you like, paste it with your CV in Career Mirror to see which of the job's skills it shows.

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Partner Solutions Architect
Elastic, the Search AI Company, enables everyone to find the answers they need in real time, using all their data, at scale — unleashing the potential of businesses and people. The Elastic Search AI Platform, used by more than 50% of the Fortune 500, brings together the precision of search and the intelligence of AI to enable everyone to accelerate the results that matter. By taking advantage of all structured and unstructured data — securing and protecting private information more effectively — Elastic’s complete, cloud-based solutions for search, security, and observability help organizations deliver on the promise of AI.

What is The Role

Are you looking to make a real impact and play a meaningful role in the growth of our company?

The Partner Solutions Architect (PSA) multiplies Elastic's technical reach through partners. An account SA wins one deal at a time. You build technical capability across a focused group of partners (SIs, resellers, MSSPs, cloud providers) so they can source pipeline, win deals, and deliver Elastic on their own.

The role has three pillars: drive partner-sourced pipeline; multiply technical capacity and co-build repeatable solutions.

You will work a defined portfolio of managed partners, each with an agreed technical engagement plan, and be measured on outputs, partner sourced deals, committed engagement plans and published assets, not on activity volume but impact.

Prior presales experience in the software sector is required for this role. It is a sales-aligned position that carries a partner-sourced pipeline target and candidates should plan for up to 40% travel.

What you will be doing

Drive growth with and through partners

• Generate approved partner deal registrations, jointly owned with Partner Managers for your territory.

• Run partner-tailored sales playbooks on registered deals: qualify the deal shape, support intake and technical scoping, and help partners attach their own services, lifting average deal size.

• Accelerate partner-led opportunities, hands-on labs and proofs of concept, in collaboration with account AEs and SAs.

• Stays current on competitive dynamics and market trends, equipping partners with sharp "Why Elastic" positioning over competing vendors

Architect of leverage

• Own the technical relationships and named champions at each partner in your portfolio; build trusted advisor status with senior technical stakeholders.

• Create, commit and maintain a Technical Engagement Plan per focus partner, the technical section of the Joint Business Plan, and run quarterly read-outs with the partner, Partner Manager and other stakeholders.

• Deliver enablement and certification roadmaps, accreditations & certifications, that move partners up a defined technical maturity model.

• Leads hands-on technical lab workshops across Elastic products, building partner technical confidence and solution fluency

Co-innovate on repeatable solutions

• Co-architect solution blueprints and reference architectures with partners, including hyperscalers.

• Build reusable demos, sales cards and battlecards partners can run without Elastic in the room; co-publish reference win stories and joint blog posts.

• Authors customer-facing content including white papers, blogs, and sales collateral, informed by market trends and deep relationships with partner technical leaders

• Supports technical deployments of Elastic in partner labs, demonstration environments, and testing grounds

What you bring

• 8+ years in technology solutions, practice development, architecture, consulting and/or cloud/infrastructure technologies.

• 3+ years of pre-sales experience in the software sector, ideally partner-facing: channel, alliances, SI/GSI or MSSP ecosystems.

• A one-to-many mindset: you would rather teach ten engineers to run the demo than run it ten times yourself, and you can show where your enablement turned into someone else's win.

• Working knowledge of security operations (SIEM, endpoint, cloud security) and/or observability, plus an understanding of AI and semantic search technologies.

• Professional experience architecting or operating solutions on AWS, Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure.

• Commercial fluency: you can read a deal, discuss services scope and margin with a partner, and translate technical capability into the business case their customer buys.

• Excellent communication and presentation skills for technical and non-technical audiences

• Comfort with ambiguity and a self-starter's bias to action; you inspire partner teams to work on what is most relevant, not just what is urgent.

• Demonstrated ability to stay focused and deliver results amid ambiguity, distractions, and competing priorities.

• Comfortable operating both collaboratively across partner and cross-functional teams and independently to execute a plan and deliver results

• Skilled at leading through influence, aligning partners and internal stakeholders around shared priorities and goals

• Technical experience and depth in at least one Elastic solution area required (AI agents & Search, security operations, or observability); cross-domain fluency across all three is a differentiator

• Must be able to travel to partner offices, events, and conferences in support of partner activities; approximately 40% travel expected

Bonus Points

• Meaningful, demonstratable, experience with AI/ML technologies, including exposure to LLMs, embeddings, vector search, or agentic AI frameworks

• Proficiency in at least one scripting or programming language (Python, Bash, or similar) for automation, integration, or demonstration purposes

• Prior experience in a technical training, instruction, or curriculum development capacity is a plus

Compensation for this role is in the form of base salary plus a variable component, that together comprise the On-Target Earnings (OTE). On-Target Earnings (OTE) are based on a 70/30 pay mix (base salary / target variable).

The typical starting OTE range for new hires in this role is listed below. This range represents the lowest to highest OTE we reasonably and in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range, and the range may be modified in the future.

An employee's position within the OTE range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, performance, and business or organizational needs.

Elastic believes that employees should have the opportunity to share in the value that we create together for our shareholders. Therefore, in addition to cash compensation, this role is currently eligible to participate in Elastic's stock program. Our total rewards package also includes a company-matched 401k with dollar-for-dollar matching up to 6% of eligible earnings, along with a range of other benefits offered with a holistic emphasis on employee well-being.

The typical starting salary range for this role is:
$74,700 — $118,100 USD

The typical starting Target Variable range for this role is:
$32,000 — $50,600 USD

The typical starting On-Target Earnings (OTE) range for this role is:
$106,700 — $168,700 USD

Additional Information - We Take Care of Our People

As a distributed company, diversity drives our identity. Whether you’re looking to launch a new career or grow an existing one, Elastic is the type of company where you can balance great work with great life. Your age is only a number. It doesn’t matter if you’re just out of college or your children are; we need you for what you can do.

We strive to have parity of benefits across regions and while regulations differ from place to place, we believe taking care of our people is the right thing to do.

• Competitive pay based on the work you do here and not your previous salary

• Health coverage for you and your family in many locations

• Ability to craft your calendar with flexible locations and schedules for many roles

• Generous number of vacation days each year

• Increase your impact - We match up to $2000 (or local currency equivalent) for financial donations and service

• Up to 40 hours each year to use toward volunteer projects you love

• Embracing parenthood with minimum of 16 weeks of parental leave

Different people approach problems differently. We need that. Elastic is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to creating an inclusive culture that celebrates different perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law, ordinance or regulation.

We welcome individuals with disabilities and strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all individuals. To request an accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please email candidate_accessibility@elastic.co . We will reply to your request within 24 business hours of submission.

Applicants have rights under Federal Employment Laws, view posters linked below: Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Poster; Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision Poster; Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) Poster and Know Your Rights (Poster)

Elasticsearch develops and distributes technology and information that is subject to U.S. and other countries’ export controls and licensing requirements for individuals who are located in or are nationals of the following sanctioned countries and regions: Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, or Russia, including the Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia (The Crimea region of Ukraine, The Donetsk People's Republic (DNR), The Luhansk People's Republic (LNR), Kherson or Zaporizhzhia). If you are located in or are a national of one of the listed countries or regions, an export license may be required as a condition of your employment in this role. Please note that national origin and/or nationality do not affect eligibility for employment with Elastic.

Please see here for our Privacy Statement.

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Requirements found

Sales (nice) Marketing Python (nice) Training (nice) Scheduling (nice) Recruiting (nice)

What this posting asks for

Level: Senior — The posting asks for 8+ years of experience.

Main responsibilities

Drive growth with and through partners
Own the technical relationships and named champions at each partner in your portfolio;
build trusted advisor status with senior technical stakeholders.
Create, commit and maintain a Technical Engagement Plan per focus partner, the technical section of the Joint Business Plan, and run quarterly read-outs with…
Deliver enablement and certification roadmaps, accreditations & certifications, that move partners up a defined technical maturity model.
Build reusable demos, sales cards and battlecards partners can run without Elastic in the room;

Competencies an interviewer will look for

Technical skill Core
In the posting: “Prior presales experience in the software sector is required for this role.” · “8+ years in technology solutions, practice development, architecture, consulting and/or cloud/infrastructure technologies.” · “3+ years of pre-sales experience in the software sector, ideally partner-facing: channel, alliances, SI/GSI or MSSP ecosystems.”
Show it by: Names the tools, languages or systems used and how; Explains a technical choice and its trade-off.
Ownership and accountability Core
In the posting: “Own the technical relationships and named champions at each partner in your portfolio;” · “Comfort with ambiguity and a self-starter's bias to action;” · “Comfortable operating both collaboratively across partner and cross-functional teams and independently to execute a plan and deliver results”
Show it by: Takes a task from start to finish without being chased; Owns a mistake and what was changed after it.
Planning and organisation Core
In the posting: “By taking advantage of all structured and unstructured data — securing and protecting private information more effectively — Elastic’s complete, cloud-based …” · “You will work a defined portfolio of managed partners, each with an agreed technical engagement plan, and be measured on outputs, partner sourced deals, comm…” · “It is a sales-aligned position that carries a partner-sourced pipeline target and candidates should plan for up to 40% travel.”
Show it by: Shows how priorities were set when everything was urgent; Mentions deadlines met and how.
Adaptability and learning Core
In the posting: “Comfort with ambiguity and a self-starter's bias to action;” · “Demonstrated ability to stay focused and deliver results amid ambiguity, distractions, and competing priorities.” · “Ability to craft your calendar with flexible locations and schedules for many roles”
Show it by: Describes learning something new quickly and using it; Shows a change of plan and how they adjusted.
Stakeholder management Core
In the posting: “The Partner Solutions Architect (PSA) multiplies Elastic's technical reach through partners.” · “You build technical capability across a focused group of partners (SIs, resellers, MSSPs, cloud providers) so they can source pipeline, win deals, and delive…” · “You will work a defined portfolio of managed partners, each with an agreed technical engagement plan, and be measured on outputs, partner sourced deals, comm…”
Show it by: Shows how they aligned people with different goals; Explains how they handled a 'no' from someone senior.
Teamwork and collaboration Core
In the posting: “Accelerate partner-led opportunities, hands-on labs and proofs of concept, in collaboration with account AEs and SAs.” · “Comfortable operating both collaboratively across partner and cross-functional teams and independently to execute a plan and deliver results”
Show it by: Says what they did inside a team, not only what 'we' did; Shows how a disagreement was handled.
Customer focus Core
In the posting: “Authors customer-facing content including white papers, blogs, and sales collateral, informed by market trends and deep relationships with partner technical …” · “Commercial fluency: you can read a deal, discuss services scope and margin with a partner, and translate technical capability into the business case their cu…”
Show it by: Puts the customer's need in their own words; Shows a result for the customer, not only for the company.
Data and analysis Core
In the posting: “Elastic, the Search AI Company, enables everyone to find the answers they need in real time, using all their data, at scale — unleashing the potential of bus…” · “By taking advantage of all structured and unstructured data — securing and protecting private information more effectively — Elastic’s complete, cloud-based …”
Show it by: Uses a number to describe the situation or the result; Explains what the data showed and what was done with it.
Attention to detail and quality Core
In the posting: “The Elastic Search AI Platform, used by more than 50% of the Fortune 500, brings together the precision of search and the intelligence of AI to enable everyo…” · “Supports technical deployments of Elastic in partner labs, demonstration environments, and testing grounds”
Show it by: Gives an example of an error caught before it caused harm; Names the check or standard they used.
Communication Supporting
In the posting: “Excellent communication and presentation skills for technical and non-technical audiences”
Show it by: Adapts the message to the listener; Gives an example of explaining something clearly in writing or speech.

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Practice questions

Tell me about yourself. Dedicated step-by-step practice.
If an interviewer asks something improper How to respond to questions about age, family, origin or health.
Built from this posting (8):
Walk me through a piece of work where you used your strongest technical skill. What exactly did you do? From this posting
Tell me about a task you took from start to finish without anyone asking you to. From this posting
You have three urgent tasks due today and time to finish only two. How do you decide? From this posting
Describe a time your plans changed suddenly. How did you adjust? From this posting
How have you used sales in your work? Walk me through one real example. From this posting
Tell me about a problem you solved using marketing. From this posting
Tell me about a time you helped someone on your team get better at their work. From this posting
Tell me about a time you had to explain something complex to someone outside your field. From this posting
Two managers ask you to book the same room at the same time. What do you do?
Tell me about a sale or agreement you are proud of.
Describe a time you handled an upset customer or colleague.
Tell me about a time you had several deadlines at once. How did you decide what to do first?
Give an example of a mistake you caught before it caused a problem.
Tell me about a time you taught someone how to do something.
Describe a time you took the lead without being asked.
Tell me about a time you had to explain something complicated in simple terms.
Describe a process you improved.
Do you have any questions for us?
Why do you want to work here?
Why is there a gap in your employment? Difficult question
Why did you leave your last job? Difficult question
Why are you changing careers? Difficult question
What is your greatest weakness? Difficult question
What are your salary expectations? Difficult question
You seem overqualified for this role. Why do you want it? Difficult question
Improper-question practice: How old are you? / Do you have children? / Where are you from originally?
A customer is angry about a delay you did not cause. What do you do?
How do you keep track of many open customer requests?
Tell me about a time you could not give a customer what they wanted.
You find that the inventory count does not match the system. What do you do?
Tell me about a time a shipment or delivery went wrong.
How do you make sure safety rules are followed on a busy shift?
How have you used spreadsheets in your work?
Tell me about a time you had to enter or check a lot of data accurately.
A prospect says your price is too high. How do you respond?
How do you keep your pipeline organised?
Tell me about a technical problem you solved on your own.
You find a bug right before a release. What do you do?
Walk me through how you would check whether a report's numbers are right.