Solutions Architect

Location: London

Working Environment: Hybrid

Sales Engineering at FactSet creates large-scale enterprise solutions for clients in the financial services sector. The team strengthens relationships and crafts solutions with C-Suite leaders, leveraging FactSet’s 40 years in content, analytics, technology, and services. This multidisciplinary team focuses on business advisory, technological consulting, due diligence, and process engineering, comprising relationship managers, architects, engineers, and advocates with extensive industry and technical expertise. Aligned with FactSet’s Sales and Technology divisions, they offer clients support from a vast network of service personnel and over 2,400 technologists and product developers. 

About the Role: 

The Real-Time Pre-Sales Engineer (Technical Solutions Architect) plays a key role in using FactSet's expertise in content, analytics, and technology to create innovative real-time market data solutions. This position focuses on building collaborative relationships and driving digital transformation with an enterprise mindset. The role requires a dynamic individual to manage the pre-sales lifecycle, working closely with Sales, Engineering, Product, Implementation, and Support teams to serve major clients. The candidate must engage with business and technology stakeholders and communicate with an enterprise perspective, understanding industry trends and the competitive landscape to deliver impactful solutions. 

Key Responsibilities:  

• Function as a client-facing subject matter expert on our real-time solutions stack, helping clients use our content and technology to solve enterprise-scale business needs. Speak credibly about the competitive landscape of market data workflows across the Front, Middle, and Back Office. 
• Engage with clients using the FactSet Blueprinting process to gather current state requirements, functional gaps, and inefficiencies. Be conversant in strategic and tactical conversations on modern technologies (e.g., APIs, public cloud, and mobile platforms). 
• Document the current state of platforms, vendors, technology, data providers, and applications. Overlay technical architecture against business functions across asset management, sell-side, wealth advisory, and retail business functions. 
• Iterate on target operating model designs with client stakeholders to meet operational, strategic, and TCO goals. Articulate a digital transformation journey to modernize real-time market data architectures aligned with FactSet and third-party partner solutions. 
• Produce pre/post-change artifacts (including diagrams, capabilities, integration maps, and statements of work) with internal and external stakeholders. 
• Consult with FactSet’s multidisciplinary teams (Engineering, Product, and Strategy) to drive a pipeline of high-impact, significant revenue market data opportunities using FactSet’s real-time capabilities. 

Business Requirements: 

• 5-10+ years of industry experience within financial services, fintech, or market data firms/consultancies. 
• 5+ years in a client-facing role with prior sales, pre-sales, or sales engineering experience. 
• Strong understanding of financial client needs, industry trends, and the competitive ecosystem of vendors and platforms. Interpret client requirements and map them onto the full suite of FactSet’s applications, content, technology, services, workflow solutions, and professional services. 
• Senior-level business and technology stakeholder relationship management, both internally and externally. 
• Initiative-taker who can thrive in a dynamic environment and embody an enterprising spirit, managing multiple client engagements and projects simultaneously. 
• Prior experience with technology, either through work experience or education (such as a degree in Information Systems, Business Technology, or Computer Science). 
• Ability to travel as needed. 

Technical Expertise: 

• Demonstrated experience in market data qualities of service (e.g., streaming, snap, real-time, delayed, conflated, tick-by-tick, etc.). 
• Demonstrated experience with competitor market data vendors and products (e.g., Bloomberg B-Pipe, ICE Data Services, LSEG Real-time/RTDS). 
• Strong knowledge of tick history data, application integrations (e.g., high-speed databases), and resulting business processes (e.g., TCA). 
• Strong knowledge of developing and integrating with APIs, data models, protocols, and symbology across diverse systems. 
• Strong knowledge of a broad base of security reference data (e.g., corporate actions, terms & conditions) and data management services (e.g., pricing & security masters) 
• An understanding of industry metrics (e.g., latency, market volumes, message rates) concerning firm-type workflows. 
• An understanding of market data applications within trading, wealth management, and retail workflows. 
• Knowledge of global markets, financial asset types (including depth of book), and data products offered. 
• Awareness of commercial practices (e.g., data access, licensing, redistribution fees) used by exchange venues, data providers, and software platforms. 
• Awareness of emerging market data products, platforms, and technologies. 

Essential Leadership Behaviors: 

Real-Time Pre-Sales Engineers (Technical Solutions Architects) will be visible within FactSet’s sales, product, and engineering organizations. The successful candidate will exemplify the seven essential leadership behaviors that FactSet has identified as critical to our future growth and corporate culture. 

• Operates with an Enterprise Mindset – Uses the enterprise strategy to drive focus, clarity, and accountability. 
• Leads with Courage and Decisiveness – Courageous in thought. Challenges oneself and the organization to assess basic assumptions; is a curious and agile thinker. 
• Is an Outside-in, Market-Focused Innovation Leader – Takes a holistic perspective when considering client solutions; considers challenges, needs, and opportunities through the eyes of the client first. 
• Demonstrates a Strategic/Tactical Balance – Focuses on the future while driving the existing business in a measurable and trackable way, aligning resources and time to key strategic goals. 
• Builds Collaborative and Trusting Relationships – Models FactSet’s corporate values; works with integrity and is a trusted business partner to stakeholders; is an extension of the client’s team, working to solve their most significant challenges.  
• Embraces and Drives Change – Paints a compelling picture of the future and how to uniquely position FactSet within this shifting landscape, transforming into a clear business strategy and plan as a roadmap for success. 
• Leads a High-Performing Business Unit. Empowers decision-making in the organization, providing clear decision rights and process structure to ensure transparency. Actively seeks input from diverse constituents to make better decisions. 

What’s In It For You:

• The opportunity to join a growing firm with a proven track record of success for over 40 years, made up of thoughtful, innovative minds that value collaboration and welcome your new ideas to the table.
• Mentorship and growth opportunities from senior employees.
• Career progression planning and a focus on career development, complete with dedicated time each month for conference attendance, online learning seminars, and networking.
• A robust social community dedicated to volunteerism, intramural sports, and team-building events.
• Business resource groups that align with our DE&I strategy, designed to cultivate an inclusive environment for all.

Learn more about our benefits here.

Company Overview:

FactSet Research Systems Inc. is a global provider of integrated financial information, analytical applications and industry-leading services for the investment and corporate communities. As a publicly traded company (NYSE:FDS | NASDAQ:FDS) recently added to the S&P 500 index, FactSet delivers superior content, analytics, and flexible technology to help more than 162,000 users see and seize opportunity sooner. For over 40 years, the company has served financial professionals, which include portfolio managers, investment research professionals, investment bankers, risk and performance analysts, wealth advisors and corporate clients.  FactSet gives our clients the edge to outperform with informed insights, workflow solutions across the portfolio lifecycle, and industry-leading support from dedicated specialists.