IT Solution Lead (Application Delivery)

Xcel Energy • Roseville, MN

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

The IT Solution Lead is responsible for leading work within or across the end-to-end solution lifecycle. The role is accountable for meeting business needs, supporting business strategy, and ensuring IT solutions operate soundly. It provides in-depth knowledge of business needs, processes, and corresponding solutions, and technical guidance in partnership with cross-organizational team members to align solutions with architecture and IT strategy. The Solution Lead is a key contact for business, customer, and stakeholder groups in the relevant domain, helping ensure business needs, value, and risk are well represented.

The role partners with business areas, customers, and stakeholders to understand needs and opportunities; contributes stakeholder input to strategic planning and investment prioritization; and maintains collaborative internal partnerships. It leads and supports delivery lifecycle activities, facilitates delivery meetings and ceremonies, leads analysis and design, and provides plans, demonstrations, artifacts, and procedural documentation. It also supports stable operations by reviewing solution performance, assessing system and process health, preventing service disruption, and coordinating maintenance with stakeholders. The role stays current with industry and technology trends to improve solution delivery practices and customer satisfaction, and provides coaching and direction to less experienced team members.

Xcel Energy supports a hybrid work model. Many roles are expected to work onsite three days per week, Tuesday through Thursday; work location expectations vary by role, team, and business needs.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Technology, Science, Business, or a related field, or four years of experience equivalent to the position.
• Seven years of related functional experience.
• Experience with project or product delivery practices, including SDLC, Agile, and Waterfall.
• Ability to recommend innovative solutions to meet business needs.
• Ability to drive continuous improvement through lean and agile practices.
• In-depth knowledge of end-to-end processes and system capabilities, industry standards, and emerging technologies and methods.
• Strong understanding of technical, functional, and operational details of the relevant solutions.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Ability to build functional and technical subject matter expertise, process and tools expertise, and drive consistency in processes.
• In-depth knowledge of, or ability to quickly attain expertise in, core IT components within the relevant domain.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to communicate across organizational levels and skill sets and translate between technical and non-technical concepts.
• Excellent relationship management and collaboration skills, with a track record of working across organizations to drive innovation and business results.

Nice To Haves

• Project management experience creating and revising complex software development project plans, leading meetings and design sessions, summarizing decisions, issues, and risks, and working across in-person, remote-team, and email mediums.
• Infrastructure, systems, and lifecycle governance experience developing and adopting stage-gate and lifecycle frameworks; defining readiness, cutover, recovery, and operational ownership standards; and planning enterprise system transitions to run-state operations.
• Financial and vendor management experience with IT budget planning, prioritization, financial reporting, investment transparency, vendor sourcing and performance oversight, purchasing compliance, vendor invoicing, accruals, and contract compliance.

Responsibilities

• Partner with business areas, customers, and stakeholders to understand business needs and opportunities.
• Represent business partners and stakeholders in strategic planning and investment prioritization.
• Establish and maintain collaborative partnerships with internal partners.
• Provide coaching and direction to less experienced team members.
• Participate in Demand Management preparation and lead and support delivery lifecycle activities.
• Ensure solutions are designed for a strong user experience and operational performance.
• Facilitate delivery meetings and ceremonies.
• Lead analysis and design, and provide plans, demonstrations, artifacts, and procedural documentation.
• Ensure solutions are designed for stable operation.
• Review solution performance and continually assess the health of systems and processes, driving action to avoid service disruption and minimize impacts.
• Align stakeholders on maintenance activities and schedules.
• Stay abreast of industry and technology trends to improve solution delivery practices and customer satisfaction.
• For preferred project management work: create and revise complex software development project plans; lead status and issue-resolution meetings and design sessions; summarize key decisions, issues, and risks; and work across in-person, remote-team, and email mediums.
• For preferred infrastructure, systems, and lifecycle governance work: lead development and adoption of stage-gate and lifecycle management frameworks; define system readiness, cutover planning, recovery, and operational ownership standards; and support enterprise system lifecycle planning, documentation, support models, and transition to run-state operations.
• For preferred financial and vendor management work: lead IT financial governance, including budget planning support, prioritization, financial reporting, and investment transparency; support vendor sourcing, contract standards, and vendor performance oversight; coordinate with finance, procurement, and external partners on purchasing-policy and budget-control compliance; and support vendor invoicing, accruals, purchasing processes, and contract compliance.

Benefits

• Annual Incentive Program
• Medical/Pharmacy Plan
• Dental
• Vision
• Life Insurance
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
• Health Care Flexible Spending Account
• Health Savings Account (if enrolled in an eligible health plan)
• Limited-Purpose FSA (if enrolled in an eligible health plan and HSA)
• Transportation Reimbursement Account
• Short-term disability
• Long-term disability
• Employee Assistance Program
• Fitness Center Reimbursement (if enrolled in an eligible health plan)
• Tuition reimbursement
• Transit programs
• Employee recognition program
• Pension
• 401(k) plan
• Paid time off
• Holidays
• Volunteer Paid Time Off
• Parental Leave

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior