Practice Director, Application Services

The Practice Director, Application Services, is responsible for leading and managing the Application Services practice. This role involves overseeing the development and delivery of custom application solutions that meet customers’ business needs. The Practice Director will collaborate with various departments, including Sales, Marketing, and Product teams, to identify and develop new opportunities, products, and services. They will also manage and mentor a team of presales and delivery resources to ensure high utilization and productivity.

The Practice Director will play a key role in developing go-to-market strategies, promoting innovative technologies, and maintaining strategic partnerships with OEMs and ISVs. This position requires a deep understanding of software development processes, modern programming languages, and the ability to support AI-focused solutions and application modernization projects.

Responsibilities 

• Support the sales team in the identification and development of Application Services opportunities in new/existing accounts.
• Identify new products and services for Arraya’s solutions catalog and work with Product and Marketing teams on development, testing, enablement, and release.
• Co-develop custom Application Services solutions alongside principal architect that achieve customers’ desired business outcomes and account for access, availability, mobility, performance, and security.
• Position and support proof of concepts to reinforce service value and encourage Customer adoption.
• Provide opportunity feedback and participate in the development of sales forecasts.
• Develop, promote, and maintain strategic tech partnerships with OEMs and ISVs to expand the Application Services portfolio.
• Co-develop go-to-market (GTM) strategies with channel partners and sales contacts to support opportunity development.
• Support the preparation and execution of sales & marketing campaigns.
• Promote innovative technologies, partnerships, and services at virtual/in-person events.
• Contribute to blogs, use cases, case studies, whitepapers, and podcasts that promote solution value, brand awareness, and thought leadership.
• Manage practice efforts and expenditures to meet financial and strategic goals.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Source and onboard Application Services resources through internal recruiting and subcontracting relationships.
• Manage and mentor Application Services presales and delivery resources to support utilization and productivity targets.
• Coordinate with the Project Management Office on resource allocation, project status and portfolio health.
• Participate in agile-based ceremonies including sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews and retrospectives.
• Validate and address escalations that reflect Customer concerns about project scope and resources.
• Monitor and govern standards, processes and artifacts supporting Application Services delivery.

Qualifications

• Possess a deep understanding of agile software development processes, platforms, tools, and methodologies (SDLC) sufficient to position and support full lifecycle services in an ASP model.
• Possess strong, working knowledge of modern, object-oriented programming languages, tools, and platforms with a focus on Microsoft technologies. This includes C#, F# and Visual Basic, developer platforms (.NET, ASP.NET), hosting platforms (Azure), development tools (Power Platform, Visual Studio, Azure DevOps, CoPilot Studio), data platforms (Fabric, Databricks, SQL Server) and collaboration tools (SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams). Exposure/experience with IBM watsonx technologies and platforms a plus.
• Possess the ability to develop and support AI-focused solutions that incorporate large language models (LLMs), generative AI and retrieval generation (RAG) capabilities to curate data insights, create content, deploy chatbots, streamline code development, and improve customer experiences.
• Possess the ability to develop and support Application Modernization projects and initiatives, including architectural changes, third-party integrations, re-coding, re-hosting, and re-platforming.
• Possess the ability to foster technology partnerships to support Application Services opportunity and solution development.
• Possess the ability to work with product marketing teams to ideate, evaluate, prototype, market, develop, launch, and enhance Application Services products and solutions.
• Possess the ability to develop and lead Application Service Delivery & Management teams.

Experience

• 5+ years’ experience working for an Application Service Provider, Consultancy or ISV developing, reselling, and supporting Enterprise Application Development & Maintenance Services.
• 3+ years’ experience leading an Application Services business unit, practice, or function.
• Proven track record building an Application Services Solutions portfolio through strategic technology partnerships and new product development.
• Proven track record working with customers to develop and implement custom solutions.
• Proven track record meeting practice financial goals, including revenue and gross profit targets, which align with budget.
• Proven track record building a high-functioning Application Services delivery team that incorporates onshore, nearshore, and offshore resource groups.

Education

• A bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering, or similar discipline

Position Type and Expected Hours of Work

• Full-Time
• Remote
• 40 hours per week
• Monday through Friday

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements

• Prolonged periods of being in a stationary position while working on a computer
• Must be able to move and/or lift up to 40 pounds at times
• Must be comfortable operating a computer and/or other office productivity machinery