Appian Development Lead – Platform & Architecture Lead

ICF•Washington, DC

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking a Senior Appian Development Lead to serve as the strategic engineering authority for Appian delivery across a multi-team program. This role combines hands-on technical leadership with program-level oversight, ensuring high-quality, scalable, and secure Appian solutions. The Senior Appian Development Lead will guide day-to-day development for their team while setting architectural direction across all Appian teams. This includes mentoring other Appian leads, representing Appian engineering with leadership and client stakeholders, and driving continuous improvement in delivery practices and platform usage. This role is expected to lead platform modernization efforts, challenge legacy patterns, and proactively introduce forward-looking solutions that improve efficiency, scalability, and long-term maintainability. The candidate for this position will be required to work on our customers site in Washington, DC at least 2 days a week. What You’ll Do Lead an Appian development team, providing day-to-day technical and people leadership and ensuring predictable, high-quality delivery Translate business and functional requirements into well-designed Appian solutions and guide implementation decisions for the team Remain hands-on in Appian design, development, and troubleshooting while leading the team Review Appian designs, configurations, and implementations to ensure quality, performance, security, and maintainability Coach and mentor Appian developers through design reviews, feedback, and technical guidance Ensure technical documentation, design artifacts, and implementation standards are created and maintained for the team Provide senior technical leadership across all Appian teams, guiding architectural consistency and engineering practices Mentor and support other Appian development leads, helping resolve technical challenges and cross-team dependencies Set and reinforce Appian development standards, best practices, and reusable patterns across teams Serve as the primary senior technical representative for Appian engineering with executive leadership and client stakeholders, providing architectural guidance, modernization strategy, and engineering direction Communicate technical direction, risks, and tradeoffs clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences Identify opportunities to improve Appian delivery practices, architecture, and platform usage, and drive adoption of those improvements across teams Partner with program leadership to manage subcontractor performance, onboarding, and technical integration into delivery teams Drive Platform Modernization & Innovation Continuously evaluate new Appian platform capabilities and introduce practical modernization initiatives across teams Identify architectural inefficiencies, technical debt patterns, and delivery bottlenecks, and implement measurable improvements Lead platform-level improvement efforts that enhance performance, scalability, maintainability, and development velocity Develop and present modernization roadmaps and innovation proposals to program and client leadership Develop and lead technical upskilling initiatives to keep Appian developers current on platform capabilities, best practices, and evolving patterns What We’re Looking For Extensive hands-on experience designing, developing, and delivering solutions on the Appian platform Proven experience leading an Appian development team, including day-to-day technical leadership and people management Experience providing technical leadership and oversight for subcontractors or vendor resources within an enterprise delivery environment Strong understanding of BPM concepts, application architecture, integration patterns, and enterprise application design Experience translating business and functional requirements into scalable, maintainable Appian solutions Ability to remain technically hands-on while effectively leading and mentoring developers Experience providing senior technical leadership across multiple teams or a complex delivery environment Demonstrated ability to mentor and support other technical leads and guide architectural consistency across teams Experience setting and enforcing development standards, best practices, and reusable patterns at a program level Experience building, contributing to, or operating within an Appian Center of Excellence or similar shared engineering capability Strong ability to communicate technical direction, tradeoffs, and recommendations to leadership and client stakeholders Proven track record of contributing technical thought leadership and driving improvement initiatives beyond a single team Required Experience: 7+ years of professional application development experience, including significant hands-on delivery on the Appian platform 5+ years in a technical leadership role with direct responsibility for leading Appian development teams 5+ experience serving as the senior technical lead across multiple teams or within a complex, enterprise-scale program 5+ years of experience designing enterprise-grade Appian solutions, including workflows, records, integrations, performance-sensitive components, and scalable architectures 5+ years of experience establishing and enforcing technical standards, best practices, and architectural consistency across teams 5+ years of experience leading platform modernization or large-scale refactoring initiatives in enterprise Appian environments 5+ years of experience acting as a primary technical representative to senior leadership and client stakeholders, with strong executive-level communication skills 5+ years of experience evaluating and implementing newer Appian platform capabilities (e.g., AI features, Intelligent Document Processing, Process HQ) within enterprise environments 5+ years of experience upskilling and training technical teams to adopt new platform features, tools, or engineering practices 5+ years of experience operating within multi-team agile delivery environments Preferred/Optional Experience & Certifications Experience operating within scaled agile delivery environments (e.g., SAFe), including cross-team release planning and enterprise-level coordination Demonstrated track record of driving cross-team engineering improvements that result in measurable gains in efficiency, stability, scalability, or maintainability Demonstrated ability to identify technical risks, evaluate tradeoffs, and guide program-level decision-making Proven ability to remain hands-on in Appian design, development, and troubleshooting while leading and mentoring developers Experience leading performance testing, tuning, and scaling of large, production Appian environments Experience designing or supporting Appian solutions in cloud-based environments (AWS, Azure), including secure integration and data architecture patterns Experience introducing new Appian platform capabilities (e.g., AI features, Intelligent Document Processing, Process HQ) into enterprise solutions SAFe, Scrum, or other agile delivery certification Working at ICF ICF is a global advisory and technology services provider, but we’re not your typical consultants. We combine unmatched expertise with cutting-edge technology to help clients solve their most complex challenges, navigate change, and shape the future. We can only solve the world's toughest challenges by building a workplace that allows everyone to thrive. We are an equal opportunity employer. Together, our employees are empowered to share their expertise and collaborate with others to achieve personal and professional goals. For more information, please read our EEO policy. We will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Reasonable Accommodations are available, including, but not limited to, for disabled veterans, individuals with disabilities, and individuals with sincerely held religious beliefs, in all phases of the application and employment process. To request an accommodation, please email [email protected] and we will be happy to assist. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations. Read more about workplace discrimination rights or our benefit offerings which are included in the Transparency in (Benefits) Coverage Act. Candidate AI Usage Policy At ICF, we are committed to ensuring a fair interview process for all candidates based on their own skills and knowledge. As part of this commitment, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to generate or assist with responses during interviews (whether in-person or virtual) is not permitted. This policy is in place to maintain the integrity and authenticity of the interview process. However, we understand that some candidates may require accommodation that involves the use of AI. If such an accommodation is needed, candidates are instructed to contact us in advance at [email protected]. We are dedicated to providing the necessary support to ensure that all candidates have an equal opportunity to succeed. Pay Range - There are multiple factors that are considered in determining final pay for a position, including, but not limited to, relevant work experience, skills, certifications and competencies that align to the specified role, geographic location, education and certifications as well as contract provisions regarding labor categories that are specific to the position. The pay range for this position based on full-time employment is: $158,132.00 - $268,824.00 DC Client Office (DC88) Need help? We're here: [email protected] About ICF ICF is a global consulting and technology services company with approximately 9,000 employees, but we are not your typical consultants. At ICF, business analysts and policy specialists work together with digital strategists, data scientists and creatives. We combine unmatched industry expertise with cutting-edge engagement capabilities to help organizations solve their most complex challenges. Since 1969, public and private sector clients have worked with ICF to navigate change and shape the future. Learn more at icf.com.

Requirements

Extensive hands-on experience designing, developing, and delivering solutions on the Appian platform
Proven experience leading an Appian development team, including day-to-day technical leadership and people management
Experience providing technical leadership and oversight for subcontractors or vendor resources within an enterprise delivery environment
Strong understanding of BPM concepts, application architecture, integration patterns, and enterprise application design
Experience translating business and functional requirements into scalable, maintainable Appian solutions
Ability to remain technically hands-on while effectively leading and mentoring developers
Experience providing senior technical leadership across multiple teams or a complex delivery environment
Demonstrated ability to mentor and support other technical leads and guide architectural consistency across teams
Experience setting and enforcing development standards, best practices, and reusable patterns at a program level
Experience building, contributing to, or operating within an Appian Center of Excellence or similar shared engineering capability
Strong ability to communicate technical direction, tradeoffs, and recommendations to leadership and client stakeholders
Proven track record of contributing technical thought leadership and driving improvement initiatives beyond a single team
7+ years of professional application development experience, including significant hands-on delivery on the Appian platform
5+ years in a technical leadership role with direct responsibility for leading Appian development teams
5+ experience serving as the senior technical lead across multiple teams or within a complex, enterprise-scale program
5+ years of experience designing enterprise-grade Appian solutions, including workflows, records, integrations, performance-sensitive components, and scalable architectures
5+ years of experience establishing and enforcing technical standards, best practices, and architectural consistency across teams
5+ years of experience leading platform modernization or large-scale refactoring initiatives in enterprise Appian environments
5+ years of experience acting as a primary technical representative to senior leadership and client stakeholders, with strong executive-level communication skills
5+ years of experience evaluating and implementing newer Appian platform capabilities (e.g., AI features, Intelligent Document Processing, Process HQ) within enterprise environments
5+ years of experience upskilling and training technical teams to adopt new platform features, tools, or engineering practices
5+ years of experience operating within multi-team agile delivery environments

Nice To Haves

Experience operating within scaled agile delivery environments (e.g., SAFe), including cross-team release planning and enterprise-level coordination
Demonstrated track record of driving cross-team engineering improvements that result in measurable gains in efficiency, stability, scalability, or maintainability
Demonstrated ability to identify technical risks, evaluate tradeoffs, and guide program-level decision-making
Proven ability to remain hands-on in Appian design, development, and troubleshooting while leading and mentoring developers
Experience leading performance testing, tuning, and scaling of large, production Appian environments
Experience designing or supporting Appian solutions in cloud-based environments (AWS, Azure), including secure integration and data architecture patterns
Experience introducing new Appian platform capabilities (e.g., AI features, Intelligent Document Processing, Process HQ) into enterprise solutions
SAFe, Scrum, or other agile delivery certification

Responsibilities

Lead an Appian development team, providing day-to-day technical and people leadership and ensuring predictable, high-quality delivery
Translate business and functional requirements into well-designed Appian solutions and guide implementation decisions for the team
Remain hands-on in Appian design, development, and troubleshooting while leading the team
Review Appian designs, configurations, and implementations to ensure quality, performance, security, and maintainability
Coach and mentor Appian developers through design reviews, feedback, and technical guidance
Ensure technical documentation, design artifacts, and implementation standards are created and maintained for the team
Provide senior technical leadership across all Appian teams, guiding architectural consistency and engineering practices
Mentor and support other Appian development leads, helping resolve technical challenges and cross-team dependencies
Set and reinforce Appian development standards, best practices, and reusable patterns across teams
Serve as the primary senior technical representative for Appian engineering with executive leadership and client stakeholders, providing architectural guidance, modernization strategy, and engineering direction
Communicate technical direction, risks, and tradeoffs clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences
Identify opportunities to improve Appian delivery practices, architecture, and platform usage, and drive adoption of those improvements across teams
Partner with program leadership to manage subcontractor performance, onboarding, and technical integration into delivery teams
Continuously evaluate new Appian platform capabilities and introduce practical modernization initiatives across teams
Identify architectural inefficiencies, technical debt patterns, and delivery bottlenecks, and implement measurable improvements
Lead platform-level improvement efforts that enhance performance, scalability, maintainability, and development velocity
Develop and present modernization roadmaps and innovation proposals to program and client leadership
Develop and lead technical upskilling initiatives to keep Appian developers current on platform capabilities, best practices, and evolving patterns