By Ocient Staff
Solutions architects play a pivotal role in a company by designing and implementing technical solutions that address specific business challenges. They leverage their deep technical knowledge to create systems that are efficient, scalable, secure, and aligned with the organization’s goals.
In this employee spotlight, we highlight Solutions Architect, Tony Ibáñez. Tony specializes in designing comprehensive solutions, technical blueprints, and strategic frameworks that not only demonstrate the abilities of Ocient’s product and services, but also align with the unique requirements and challenges of our federal clients.
Let’s learn more about Tony’s background and see how he fits into his role here at Ocient.
Where are you based and how do you take advantage of our remote first policy?
I am based in the Greater Baltimore/Washington, DC area. Remote first helps me maximize my productive hours without having to commute to an arbitrary location around the DC Beltway.
How long have you been with Ocient?
I joined Ocient in June of 2022, so just over a year ago.
What are some things you like to do in your free time?
I love spending time with my family, going to Orioles games, cooking, and spending time outdoors. I even enjoy the occasional game of golf.
What’s the next place you’d like to check off your travel bucket list?
Domestically, I would love to go to Charleston, SC. Internationally, it would have to be England.
What’s one thing you can’t live without?
My ultra-wide monitor. It helps to not have to squint when working on multiple documents at the same time!
What’s your go-to comfort food?
It would have to be pasta. It’s one dish that always sounds good.
Which Ocient core value do you resonate the most with in your daily working life?
Craft-driven. It means a lot to me that we are working on solving very difficult problems here, because that is ultimately what is going to advance the state of the art.
What is one of your proudest career moments while working at Ocient?
I have had numerous opportunities to shape our messaging around some large challenges our government is facing. Seeing that messaging resonate with prospective customers and partners has been very rewarding.
What do you find unique about your job?
Ocient is a place where one person can make a big difference. In my job right now, I not only get to support my sales teams with progressing their opportunities, but I also get to contribute to our market positioning, help create sales collateral, even work to uncover new use cases for our product. It’s very intellectually stimulating and guarantees that I never have a boring day.
Describe your growth journey at Ocient.
I spent most of my career working with enterprise storage, so Ocient represents a move up the stack, as it was, for me. This has entailed learning about an entire new ecosystem of applications, use cases, and partners. This is an ongoing challenge for me, but I have already learned a lot, and I intend to continue learning.
What career advice would you give your younger self?
Two things: First, talk less and listen more; this is an underrated skill. And second, don’t be afraid to get uncomfortable. Growth does not happen without discomfort!
What advice would you give to someone entering the tech industry?
Technology is fascinating in that there are so many skill sets that can be brought to bear while working in this industry. Sales, marketing, product development, product management… all entail different skill sets yet are key functions of working in the tech business. I would say if your passion lies in technology, find the area that best fits your skill set and try to go work for a company with a compelling vision. Then, surround yourself with people smarter than you and learn from them.
Would you like to give an employee shoutout?
Yes! Special shout-out to my peer Adrian Burke, who has taught me a ton about the database world. And also a shout-out to TJ Loughlin from Product, who has shared tons of information with me on the broader vision for our product.
Interested in learning more?
Ocient is a remote-first company full of efficiently effective & craft driven contributors. We are passionate about delivering the very best in hyperscale data solutions to our customers. Meet other members of our team on our Meet the Team page or explore our partnership opportunities.