Practice Director, Data & AI

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

📋 Description

• Lead the Data & AI practice within Presales & Solution Architecture, reporting directly to the Chief Technology Officer, SVP.

• Oversee the strategic, commercial, operational, and talent agenda for the practice, focusing on Data Modernization & Governance, AI Transformation & Solutions, and Data Infrastructure & Operations.

• Define and implement a practice strategy that aligns with company goals, addresses mid-market customer requirements, adheres to partner roadmaps, and meets market demand.

• Create standardized offerings, reusable assets, solution blueprints, presentation materials, labor models, qualification patterns, and scalable sales motions.

• Manage offer and pursuit narratives for data modernization, governance, AI transformation, AI infrastructure, security, and operations.

• Establish reference architectures, solution patterns, governance models, and delivery standards for data platforms, RAG, agentic workflows, and AI operations.

• Drive the go-to-market strategy and integrate Data & AI offerings with cloud, security, and managed services engagements.

• Provide leadership in deal structuring, escalation support, customer-facing architecture, discovery, proposal strategy, executive pursuit support, and seller enablement for complex opportunities.

• Advise clients on their data and AI strategy, readiness, governance, use-case prioritization, Copilot and agent adoption, and secure, cost-effective AI operations.

• Support multi-year transformation initiatives through the development of business cases, value modeling, investment roadmaps, and phased execution plans.

• Build, lead, recruit, mentor, and develop a team of Data & AI solution architects.

• Manage practice capacity, workload, resource allocation, staffing models, skills coverage, utilization, and delivery-demand forecasting.

• Lead strategic partnerships with Microsoft and other vendors in data, AI, infrastructure, and security.

• Coordinate partner investments, incentives, enablement, funding, co-selling, solution strategies, and joint go-to-market initiatives.

• Monitor and report on pipeline health, win rates, utilization, revenue, margins, recurring service attach rates, customer adoption, partner performance, and team performance.

• Maintain pipeline hygiene, forecast accuracy, CRM discipline, opportunity data integrity, and operational reporting.

• Represent the company at industry events and with clients, promoting the practice’s unique value proposition.

⛳️ Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Business, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

• 10+ years of experience in IT architecture, presales, or consulting.

• 3+ years of experience leading a practice, presales team, or advisory role in data, analytics, or AI.

• Proven track record of building and managing practices or technical teams.

• Experience working with leading OEMs, ISVs, and the professional services industry.

• Hands-on experience leading professional services, presales, delivery, or advisory functions in data, analytics, or AI practice areas.

• Demonstrated success in delivering complex customer programs, solution implementations, or transformation initiatives related to data modernization or applied AI.

• Experience assisting mid-market clients in modernizing their data estates, applying AI for business outcomes, and ensuring secure and economical AI operations using Microsoft and other leading platforms.

• Proven ability to embed repeatable methods, automation, governance, enablement, or operational discipline into customer programs and internal practice execution.

• Deep expertise in data and AI solution architectures, along with comprehensive knowledge of adjacent cloud, infrastructure, and security domains.

• Experience in developing go-to-market strategies, standardized offerings, and delivery frameworks for data modernization, analytics, and AI solutions.

• Proven capability to manage financial and operational performance metrics.

• Strong understanding of data architecture, integration, governance, and quality patterns.

• Solid understanding of AI solution design, including RAG, agentic workflows, and generative AI applications.

• Working knowledge of AI infrastructure, security, and operations topics, encompassing GPU and accelerated compute, AI-ready virtualization, AI security, responsible AI, AI FinOps, and AI observability.

• Strong understanding of current mid-market environments, common customer challenges, adjacent technology domains, and operational considerations.

• Practical experience with methods, tools, frameworks, and operational practices used to deliver data and AI solutions.

• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills.

• Effective communicator capable of presenting complex data and AI concepts to both technical and business audiences.

• Architectural experience with Microsoft Fabric, Azure data services, Power BI, and Azure AI Foundry, as well as other leading cloud data and AI platforms, is preferred.

• Industry-recognized data and AI certifications, such as Microsoft DP-600, DP-700, or AI-102, are preferred.

🏝️ Benefits

• Competitive salary and performance-based bonuses.

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.

• Opportunities for professional development and continuous learning.

• Flexible work arrangements and a supportive work environment.