You're hard to categorize
Recruiters don't know where to put you. That means you get overlooked.
For solutions architects who close deals but can't close their next role
You've designed systems worth millions. Your resume shows 'technical presales.'
Bridge the gap between technical credibility and career advancement.
- Quantify deal influence and technical wins
- Position for SA leadership or transition to product/engineering
- Interview prep for hybrid technical/business roles
Get My Deal Attribution Story
For Solutions Architects, Technical Account Managers, and Pre-Sales Engineers.
Only 2 SA career strategy spots this month
21 days
Average time to first interview
$47K
Average salary increase negotiated
89%
Land offers within 60 days
Steve J. Ngoumnai
Founder, Head Career Coach
The problem
Solutions architects fall through the cracks
Too technical for sales. Too sales-y for engineering. Sound familiar?
Deal credit is shared
Sales got the commission. You made it technically possible. Who gets the credit?
Is this a dead end?
You wonder if SA leads anywhere or if you're stuck between sales and engineering forever.
Sound familiar?
The solutions architect job search reality
These are the conversations we have every day with SAs just like you.
"Sales got the commission, I got a thank-you email"
You designed the architecture that made the deal possible. You overcame the technical objections that would have killed it. Sales closed it and took home 20%. You got... recognition in a Slack channel.
"Am I technical or am I sales?"
Engineering thinks you're too sales-y. Sales thinks you're too technical. Recruiters don't know where to put you. You're a unicorn — but that doesn't make job searching easier.
"My resume reads like a product brochure"
'Demonstrated product capabilities to enterprise customers.' Cool. But where's the architecture you designed? The objections you overcame? The millions in deals you enabled?
"I don't know if I should stay SA or switch to PM/engineering"
You love the customer-facing work but wonder if you're pigeon-holing yourself. Is SA a career destination or a stepping stone? Can you even go back to pure engineering?
"My technical skills are getting stale"
You haven't written production code in years. You design systems, but you don't build them. Imposter syndrome kicks in when engineering interviews ask about your hands-on experience.
"I can't claim the revenue directly"
You influenced $10M in deals, but you can't say 'I closed $10M' because that's not accurate. How do you show revenue impact without overstating your contribution?
If any of this sounds like you — you're not alone, and you're not stuck. We've helped SAs land leadership roles, transition to PM, and earn the recognition their technical work deserves.
Success Stories
People who made the leap
from 147+ professionals
Raymond B.
Senior Software Engineer · Google
"I'd been stuck at L5 for three years. After six weeks with Askia, I had three onsites and closed at L6 with a $350K package. The system design prep alone was worth it—I walked in..."
Sasha L.
Product Engineer · Meta
"Before Askia, I was getting ghosted after every phone screen. We rewrote my resume to lead with impact, and within two weeks I had five recruiter calls scheduled. The difference..."
Neil R.
Software Engineer · Amazon
"I was ready to accept their first offer—I had no idea how to negotiate without seeming greedy. We mapped out my leverage, practiced the exact script, and I ended up $45K higher..."
Alina K.
Senior Product Manager · Microsoft
"My background was all over the place—B2B, B2C, different industries. Askia helped me find the throughline that made it all make sense. Three interviewers said I was the most..."
Jordan T.
Data Scientist · Netflix
"I had five years of scattered projects and no clear story. After one session, we turned it into a narrative about driving decisions with data. The feedback in interviews went from..."
Priya S.
Product Designer · Apple
"The portfolio review was honest—almost too honest. But we cut three projects and rebuilt my walkthrough from scratch. When I presented it, the hiring manager said it was the..."
Miguel A.
Staff Engineer · Stripe
"I was applying to 40+ jobs a week with maybe one callback. We stopped the spray-and-pray approach, built an outreach system, and within a month I had warm intros to three of my..."
Tara J.
Growth PM · Airbnb
"My response rate went from 8% to 22% after repositioning my LinkedIn headline and summary. Same experience, totally different framing. Recruiters started reaching out for roles I..."
Kevin D.
Frontend Engineer · Shopify
"Four months of silence on LinkedIn. Then we overhauled my profile and resume together—within a week I had my first inbound message from a recruiter at a company I'd been eyeing...."
Rina M.
Solutions Architect · Salesforce
"I kept getting rejected for leadership roles because I sounded too technical. Askia helped me reframe everything around strategic impact. The hiring manager later told me my..."
Evan P.
Design Manager · Adobe
"I'd ramble for five minutes on every behavioral question. After three mock sessions, I had tight two-minute stories with clear structure. The interviewers started nodding along..."
Camila V.
Product Analyst · Uber
"I was offered a lateral move initially. After we built my case for promotion—concrete metrics, leadership examples, market data—I countered and got the senior title with a $38K..."
Omar H.
Platform Engineer · Spotify
"Cold outreach was getting me nowhere—maybe one reply for every 50 messages. Askia gave me a template that actually worked. Three weeks later, I had coffee chats with engineers at..."
Lena Q.
Product Designer · Figma
"I'd failed three final rounds in a row and was starting to think something was fundamentally wrong with me. After six mock interviews with Askia, I understood exactly where I was..."
Miles S.
Backend Engineer · Notion
"I was burning out applying to everything. Askia helped me build a system—targeted companies, warm outreach, weekly check-ins. It felt sustainable for the first time. Landed an..."
Isabelle C.
Engineering Manager · Atlassian
"Transitioning from IC to manager felt impossible—I kept getting passed over. Askia helped me articulate my leadership impact in a way that made sense to hiring committees. Within..."
Noah G.
Developer Advocate · GitHub
"My answers were all over the place—five minutes on something that needed thirty seconds. Askia gave me a framework: setup, action, result, reflection. Now every story has punch...."
Hannah W.
Customer Success Lead · Slack
"I was interviewing at six companies simultaneously and losing track of everything. Askia helped me prioritize, prep smarter, and close the one I actually wanted. Turned three..."
Diego R.
Security Engineer · Zoom
"I'd never negotiated before and was terrified of losing the offer. We role-played the conversation three times until I felt bulletproof. Asked for $35K more than they offered. They..."
Maya N.
Technical Program Manager · Oracle
"The resume rewrite made me realize I'd been underselling myself for years. We quantified everything—scope, team size, business impact. Recruiters started reaching out for roles I'd..."
Vikram P.
Machine Learning Engineer · NVIDIA
"I kept getting stuck explaining technical details instead of business outcomes. Askia taught me to lead with the 'so what'—revenue impact, time saved, decisions enabled. The shift..."
Lauren D.
Product Manager · LinkedIn
"I was getting callbacks but bombing final rounds. Turns out I was answering questions like an IC, not a PM. After three sessions focused on strategic framing, I went 3-for-3 on..."
Arjun S.
Backend Engineer · Snowflake
"System design interviews terrified me. Askia broke it down into a repeatable framework—requirements, estimation, architecture, trade-offs. Practiced it until it felt natural...."
Chloe H.
Data Analyst · Pinterest
"Everyone kept telling me I needed more experience to break into tech. Askia showed me how to position my non-tech background as an asset—different perspectives, fresh thinking. Got..."
Marcus J.
DevOps Engineer · Databricks
"My resume was a wall of tools and technologies. Askia helped me rewrite it around reliability outcomes—uptime improved, incidents reduced, deployments accelerated. Started getting..."
Sofia R.
Mobile Engineer · DoorDash
"I'd wing it in behavioral interviews and hope for the best. Askia made me build a story bank—eight polished examples I could adapt to any question. Now I walk in knowing exactly..."
Amir K.
Product Designer · Dropbox
"My portfolio was a random collection of projects. Askia helped me curate it around a clear theme—systems thinking and user advocacy. The hiring manager said it was the most..."
Grace T.
Analytics Lead · Intuit
"I was great at SQL but terrible at explaining why my analysis mattered. Askia taught me to frame everything as business decisions enabled. Now I lead with impact, and executives..."
Diego M.
FinTech Engineer · PayPal
"I had no idea what I was worth. Askia pulled comp data, helped me set a target, and coached me through the conversation. Ended up $40K above my initial expectation with better..."
Riya V.
Growth Engineer · Coinbase
"I was applying everywhere and getting nowhere. Askia made me pick 15 target companies, research them properly, and tailor my approach. Closed two offers from that list within six..."
Raymond B.
Senior Software Engineer · Google
"I'd been stuck at L5 for three years. After six weeks with Askia, I had three onsites and closed at L6 with a $350K package. The system design prep alone was worth it—I walked in..."
Sasha L.
Product Engineer · Meta
"Before Askia, I was getting ghosted after every phone screen. We rewrote my resume to lead with impact, and within two weeks I had five recruiter calls scheduled. The difference..."
Neil R.
Software Engineer · Amazon
"I was ready to accept their first offer—I had no idea how to negotiate without seeming greedy. We mapped out my leverage, practiced the exact script, and I ended up $45K higher..."
Alina K.
Senior Product Manager · Microsoft
"My background was all over the place—B2B, B2C, different industries. Askia helped me find the throughline that made it all make sense. Three interviewers said I was the most..."
Jordan T.
Data Scientist · Netflix
"I had five years of scattered projects and no clear story. After one session, we turned it into a narrative about driving decisions with data. The feedback in interviews went from..."
Priya S.
Product Designer · Apple
"The portfolio review was honest—almost too honest. But we cut three projects and rebuilt my walkthrough from scratch. When I presented it, the hiring manager said it was the..."
Miguel A.
Staff Engineer · Stripe
"I was applying to 40+ jobs a week with maybe one callback. We stopped the spray-and-pray approach, built an outreach system, and within a month I had warm intros to three of my..."
Tara J.
Growth PM · Airbnb
"My response rate went from 8% to 22% after repositioning my LinkedIn headline and summary. Same experience, totally different framing. Recruiters started reaching out for roles I..."
Kevin D.
Frontend Engineer · Shopify
"Four months of silence on LinkedIn. Then we overhauled my profile and resume together—within a week I had my first inbound message from a recruiter at a company I'd been eyeing...."
Rina M.
Solutions Architect · Salesforce
"I kept getting rejected for leadership roles because I sounded too technical. Askia helped me reframe everything around strategic impact. The hiring manager later told me my..."
Evan P.
Design Manager · Adobe
"I'd ramble for five minutes on every behavioral question. After three mock sessions, I had tight two-minute stories with clear structure. The interviewers started nodding along..."
Camila V.
Product Analyst · Uber
"I was offered a lateral move initially. After we built my case for promotion—concrete metrics, leadership examples, market data—I countered and got the senior title with a $38K..."
Omar H.
Platform Engineer · Spotify
"Cold outreach was getting me nowhere—maybe one reply for every 50 messages. Askia gave me a template that actually worked. Three weeks later, I had coffee chats with engineers at..."
Lena Q.
Product Designer · Figma
"I'd failed three final rounds in a row and was starting to think something was fundamentally wrong with me. After six mock interviews with Askia, I understood exactly where I was..."
Miles S.
Backend Engineer · Notion
"I was burning out applying to everything. Askia helped me build a system—targeted companies, warm outreach, weekly check-ins. It felt sustainable for the first time. Landed an..."
Isabelle C.
Engineering Manager · Atlassian
"Transitioning from IC to manager felt impossible—I kept getting passed over. Askia helped me articulate my leadership impact in a way that made sense to hiring committees. Within..."
Noah G.
Developer Advocate · GitHub
"My answers were all over the place—five minutes on something that needed thirty seconds. Askia gave me a framework: setup, action, result, reflection. Now every story has punch...."
Hannah W.
Customer Success Lead · Slack
"I was interviewing at six companies simultaneously and losing track of everything. Askia helped me prioritize, prep smarter, and close the one I actually wanted. Turned three..."
Diego R.
Security Engineer · Zoom
"I'd never negotiated before and was terrified of losing the offer. We role-played the conversation three times until I felt bulletproof. Asked for $35K more than they offered. They..."
Maya N.
Technical Program Manager · Oracle
"The resume rewrite made me realize I'd been underselling myself for years. We quantified everything—scope, team size, business impact. Recruiters started reaching out for roles I'd..."
Vikram P.
Machine Learning Engineer · NVIDIA
"I kept getting stuck explaining technical details instead of business outcomes. Askia taught me to lead with the 'so what'—revenue impact, time saved, decisions enabled. The shift..."
Lauren D.
Product Manager · LinkedIn
"I was getting callbacks but bombing final rounds. Turns out I was answering questions like an IC, not a PM. After three sessions focused on strategic framing, I went 3-for-3 on..."
Arjun S.
Backend Engineer · Snowflake
"System design interviews terrified me. Askia broke it down into a repeatable framework—requirements, estimation, architecture, trade-offs. Practiced it until it felt natural...."
Chloe H.
Data Analyst · Pinterest
"Everyone kept telling me I needed more experience to break into tech. Askia showed me how to position my non-tech background as an asset—different perspectives, fresh thinking. Got..."
Marcus J.
DevOps Engineer · Databricks
"My resume was a wall of tools and technologies. Askia helped me rewrite it around reliability outcomes—uptime improved, incidents reduced, deployments accelerated. Started getting..."
Sofia R.
Mobile Engineer · DoorDash
"I'd wing it in behavioral interviews and hope for the best. Askia made me build a story bank—eight polished examples I could adapt to any question. Now I walk in knowing exactly..."
Amir K.
Product Designer · Dropbox
"My portfolio was a random collection of projects. Askia helped me curate it around a clear theme—systems thinking and user advocacy. The hiring manager said it was the most..."
Grace T.
Analytics Lead · Intuit
"I was great at SQL but terrible at explaining why my analysis mattered. Askia taught me to frame everything as business decisions enabled. Now I lead with impact, and executives..."
Diego M.
FinTech Engineer · PayPal
"I had no idea what I was worth. Askia pulled comp data, helped me set a target, and coached me through the conversation. Ended up $40K above my initial expectation with better..."
Riya V.
Growth Engineer · Coinbase
"I was applying everywhere and getting nowhere. Askia made me pick 15 target companies, research them properly, and tailor my approach. Closed two offers from that list within six..."
Ready to accelerate your career?
Book a free strategy call and leave with a clear action plan.
How It Works
How we get you there
1
Claim your impact
We quantify deal influence and technical wins you enabled.
2
Pick your lane
SA leadership, PM, engineering? We help you decide and position for it.
3
Tell the hybrid story
Resume, LinkedIn, and interview prep that bridges technical and business.
Deliverables
What you actually get
SA-specific career support.
Deal Attribution
Quantify your revenue influence.
Hybrid Positioning
Resume and LinkedIn that bridge technical and business.
Interview Prep
Prep for hybrid role interviews.
Your Coach
Steve knows pre-sales
Solutions architects often struggle to get credit for deals won. I help SAs quantify their technical influence on pipeline and close rates. Your technical expertise closes deals — let's make sure that shows.
20+ SAs coached
$2M+ deals attributed
$55K avg. comp increase
This is for you if
You've enabled real revenue and want real recognition.
- Your resume sounds like a product brochure
- You can't quantify your deal influence
- You want to move to SA leadership, PM, or engineering
- You feel stuck between sales and engineering
This probably isn't for you if
We work with experienced SAs.
- You're new to technical presales
- You want sales training
- You're looking for technical certifications
Questions SAs usually ask
Direct answers.
How do I quantify deal influence without overstating?
Use 'influenced' and 'enabled' language: 'Architected technical solutions that influenced $10M in enterprise deals.' You're not claiming you closed them — you're showing your technical contribution was essential to the close. That's accurate and compelling.
Can I transition from SA to Product Management?
SAs make excellent PMs. You already understand customer problems, competitive positioning, and technical constraints. We help you reframe: 'gathered requirements for custom implementations' becomes 'defined product requirements based on customer discovery across 50+ enterprise accounts.'
Can I go back to engineering after years as an SA?
Yes, but you'll need to demonstrate current technical skills. Side projects, open source contributions, or even technical blogging can bridge the gap. Your architecture skills translate — the question is showing you can still build, not just design.
Is there an SA leadership career path?
Absolutely. SA Manager, Director of Solutions Engineering, VP of Pre-Sales, and even CTO paths exist for senior SAs. The key is demonstrating you can scale technical pre-sales — hire, coach, and systematize what you do individually. We help build that narrative.
How do I handle 'Are you technical or are you sales?' in interviews?
Reframe it: 'I'm a technical expert who can communicate with business stakeholders.' The hybrid is your superpower, not a weakness. Companies need people who can translate between engineering and customers — that's increasingly rare and valuable.
My technical skills feel stale. How do I interview for technical roles?
Focus on architecture and system design — that's where your expertise actually is. You may not remember sorting algorithms, but you understand distributed systems, trade-offs, and enterprise-scale challenges better than many engineers. Position accordingly.
How do I compete against candidates from bigger tech companies?
SAs at FAANG often work on single products with established playbooks. If you've done pre-sales at a startup or smaller company, you've had broader scope and scrappier resources. We help you frame that as an advantage.
Should I get AWS/Azure/GCP certifications?
Cloud certifications help for cloud-focused SA roles but are table stakes, not differentiators. What sets you apart is deal impact and customer outcomes. Certifications prove knowledge; customer success stories prove application.
How do I show technical credibility when I don't write code anymore?
Architecture IS technical work. System design, integration patterns, security architecture, performance optimization — these are engineering skills. We help you articulate the technical complexity of what you design, not just what you demo.
I'm tired of being on the road. What are my options?
Many SA roles are now remote-friendly. You could also transition to technical PM, developer advocacy, or engineering leadership — roles that use your skills with less travel. We help you identify paths that fit your lifestyle goals.
"Within 3 weeks I had 4 interviews lined up. Steve completely changed how I talk about my work."
★★★★★ — Marcus T., Senior Engineer → Staff at FAANGYou made the deal work. Now make your career work.
Book a call. Let's figure out your SA trajectory.
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