Director, Talent Engine

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United States.

📋 Description

• Oversee the strategic development, establishment, and operational management of OperateCo's talent capabilities for Rackspace's Data & AI division.

• Create an internal system that identifies, trains, certifies, and deploys technical operators for Palantir Foundry and AIP projects.

• Collaborate in developing the model alongside Palantir's Forward Deployed Engineer program.

• Work in partnership with HR, Delivery, Engineering, and Business Unit leaders to implement scalable sourcing, training, certification, and workforce operations.

• Develop and manage pathways for high-school/early-career fellowships, non-graduate, and graduate sourcing.

• Establish and enforce merit-based selection criteria across all pathways.

• Take ownership of sourcing volume, pipeline yield, cost-per-hire targets, pathway distribution, and selection-rate metrics.

• Design and operate a Rackspace academy that transitions new hires from foundational skills to production-ready capabilities.

• Utilize OneOS and live Customer Zero engagements as structured training opportunities.

• Align the curriculum with Palantir's training organization while creating Rackspace-owned educational content.

• Set certification as the standard for deployment quality.

• Propel Rackspace Forward Deployed Engineers to achieve Palantir Foundry/AIP certification or an equivalent standard prior to customer assignments.

• Oversee the relationship with Palantir's certification team to establish shared standards and certification pathways.

• Anticipate demand, plan cohorts, and deploy certified FDEs into private cloud, sovereign, and air-gapped customer environments.

• Monitor utilization, time-to-deploy, and performance following deployment.

• Collaborate with delivery and account leadership to enhance operator capacity according to demand.

• Act as the main operational contact for Palantir's FDE program leadership.

• Develop the business case and operational model to scale the Talent Engine from a Data & AI pilot to a comprehensive Rackspace capability.

• Provide updates on progress, economics, and risks to the CHRO and executive sponsors.

• Manage the P&L logic linking certification levels with billing tiers.

⛳️ Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, Organizational Development, or a related field (or equivalent experience).

• 8+ years of experience in talent strategy, workforce development, or technical staffing leadership.

• 3+ years of experience in building a training or certification program from the ground up.

• Proven experience designing multi-pathway hiring programs at scale, incorporating early-career, non-traditional, and graduate pathways.

• Solid understanding of technical delivery models in cloud, data, or AI settings.

• Capability to engage confidently with engineering and delivery leaders regarding production-ready standards.

• Experience collaborating with or operating alongside a customer or partner organization on shared standards.

• Strong program and financial acumen linking certification levels, deployment readiness, and billing/margin results.

• Exceptional stakeholder management skills across HR, delivery, sales, and executive leadership.

• An advanced degree is preferred.

• Familiarity with Palantir Foundry, AIP, or the Forward Deployed Engineer model is specifically preferred.

• Experience in establishing an internal academy or bootcamp model tied to live customer delivery is preferred.

• Background in sovereign, private cloud, or air-gapped/regulated delivery environments is preferred.

🏝️ Benefits

• Annual bonus or incentives.

• Equity awards.

• Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP).

• Comprehensive benefits package at Rackspace.

• Equal employment opportunity.

• Disability or special-needs accommodations.