Practice Director - Cloud AI, Digital Innovations

Woolpert•Dayton, OH

About The Position

Woolpert is hiring a Practice Director to lead its AI capabilities within the Digital Innovations team. Reporting to the Head of Customer Engineering, this executive leader will shape and execute the vision, strategy, and growth of the Artificial Intelligence practice, aligning technologies such as Google Cloud Platform, Vertex AI, generative AI, and geospatial intelligence with client business outcomes. The role is responsible for building strategic offerings, growing practice profitability, leading go-to-market execution, developing talent, and positioning Woolpert as a provider of enterprise AI solutions, AI agents, and advanced data platforms. The Practice Director partners with executive stakeholders, sales leaders, and delivery teams, oversees technical delivery and operational performance, and advises enterprise executives on AI transformation, readiness, ROI, and governance.

Requirements

At least 8 years of technical leadership or practice management experience in professional services, cloud consulting, or technology firms.
At least 3 years focused on building and delivering AI, machine learning, or data platform solutions.
Demonstrated success growing a professional services practice, managing P&L or practice metrics, and driving partner co-sell strategies.
Strong background in cloud architecture, enterprise AI models, data infrastructure, and modern software engineering principles.
Extensive hands-on experience designing, architecting, and deploying production-grade solutions on Google Cloud Platform, including big data architecture, data lakes, and data warehousing.
Google Cloud Certified Professional Cloud Architect, Data Engineer, or Professional Machine Learning Engineer certification.
Strong understanding of modern AI patterns, including LLMs, RAG, agentic workflows, and cloud data platforms.
Strong foundation in machine learning principles, model training, evaluation metrics, and feature engineering.
Ability to translate technical opportunities into executive strategy and operational execution, build trust with executive clients, and manage profitable consulting practices and technical teams.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Agentic AI frameworks such as LangGraph, AutoGen, CrewAI, or Semantic Kernel.
Knowledge of geospatial platforms and tools such as ArcGIS, GeoServer, QGIS, OpenLayers, MapBox, or CARTO.
Relevant Google, Amazon, or Azure certification.
Experience with cloud-native infrastructure such as Docker, Kubernetes, and Terraform, and with CI/CD pipelines.
Strong debugging skills for non-deterministic AI outputs and complex API tracing.

Responsibilities

Define and execute the AI Practice’s multi-year business strategy, service offerings, and growth roadmap within Woolpert Digital Innovations.
Recruit, mentor, and lead AI Customer Engineers, Solution Architects, and AI specialists, fostering technical excellence and innovation.
Partner with sales, account managers, and executive leadership to grow revenue, expand client relationships, and lead technical pitches and proposals.
Serve as executive sponsor for key partner relationships, including Google Cloud, and represent Woolpert at industry conferences, panels, and executive briefings.
Oversee technical delivery across AI engagements and establish best practices for solution architecture, enterprise integrations, and Responsible AI governance.
Manage practice utilization, resource allocation, margin targets, and financial performance for AI consulting engagements and technical solutions.
Advise enterprise C-suite executives on AI transformation roadmaps, ROI realization, AI readiness, and governance frameworks.

Benefits

Freedom to Work program offering flexibility in schedule and location, as appropriate.
Opportunity to become an owner of the firm through the Principal program.
Flexible paid time off and vacation.
Career development and learning opportunities.
Health, life, vision, and dental insurance.
Paid sick time.
Retirement plan.
Fitness reimbursement.
Pet insurance.
Identity protection.
Technology stipend.
Employee assistance program.
Competitive pay.