Senior Product Deployment Specialist

SENTIENT - An Ascend Company; Hyderabad; On-site; INR 1,500,000 - 2,100,000; Full time

Job summary

Sentient, an Ascend Company, based in Hyderabad, seeks a Senior Product Deployment Specialist to lead large-scale software rollouts across our accounting teams and partner firms. You will work with product, engineering and deployment teams, sit with end users on the production floor, and train them in person to ensure smooth adoption.

Reporting to the Product Deployment Manager, you will create training materials, validate new features, monitor adoption metrics, and communicate progress to

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience in technology/software deployment or product management.
• Experience leading software rollouts with cross-functional teams.
• Excellent verbal and written English; ability to train in person.

Responsibilities

• Manage the release and adoption of product rollouts across Sentient’s accounting teams and partner firms.
• Deliver in-person training sessions, training materials, and process documentation for scale.
• Validate new features pre-release and communicate roadmap updates to stakeholders.
• Own release communications with leadership and partner teams.
• Observe tool usage on production floors and collect actionable feedback.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder management

Training delivery

Change management

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

Job Title: Senior Product Deployment Specialist

Department: Product Management

About Us:

Sentient an Ascend Company is a fast-growing accounting outsourcing firm serving a diverse portfolio of clients across the United States. With a highly skilled team based in both the U.S. and India, we specialize in delivering fully customized accounting solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of CPA firms.

Leveraging the power of AI, process automation, and a scalable suite of services, Sentient empowers CPA firms to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and focus on strategic growth. Our commitment to quality and innovation ensures that our clients receive accurate, timely, and value-driven support.

We are proud to be an Ascend Partner Firm, one of the top CPA firms in the U.S., enabling us to deliver exceptional service and results to clients nationwide.

For more Info: Sentient an Ascend Company & Ascend

About Ascend

Backed by private equity from people-focused Alpine Investors, Ascend is building a dynamic platform for regional accounting firms that enables them to stay independent while accessing the resources of a Top 25 firm to help them grow. Ascend provides access to growth capital, robust talent acquisition and training, leading quality management resources, best-of-breed technology, AI tools, an offshore captive, shared back-office services, a catalytic leadership system, and modernized equity incentives so that firms can surmount today’s industry challenges to reach their full potential.

For more information, visit www.ascendtogether.com.

Position Summary

Ascend is building an AI team that will power the technology transformation that the industry needs. Machine learning (ML) and Large Language Models (LLMs) will be one of the main pillars of this technological transformation. This role is dedicated entirely to Sentient. Your primary customers are the accountants who do production work in Hyderabad, along with the partner firms and clients they serve.

Reporting to the Product Deployment Manager and working day to day alongside Sentient leadership, the Senior Product Deployment Specialist will execute large scale product feature releases across Sentient’s accounting teams and build positive relationships with those teams, partner services, and partner firms. Ascend’s goal is to revitalize the accounting industry. Your team’s goal is to roll out solutions that will fundamentally change what accountants do with their time (and therefore the cost structure of the business). Success in this role will be measured by the effectiveness of product adoption on new tools, and by the sentiment of the teams using them.

This role is based in our Hyderabad office and is not a remote position. Deployment work lands on a live production floor, and the fastest way to learn where a workflow actually breaks is to sit next to the person it breaks for. Being present with Sentient’s teams during and after a release, and training them in person, is the core of how this role creates value. You should also expect part of your day to overlap with North America business hours so you can work directly with our product, engineering, and deployment teams.

This is the perfect role for you if :

• You have experience managing software product rollouts and enjoy working cross-functionally to ensure smooth adoption
• You excel at building and maintaining authentic relationships with multiple stakeholders
• You have experience leading software product rollouts and enjoy working cross-functionally to ensure smooth adoption
• You’re passionate about and enjoy change management
• You have a bias for action and take initiative to drive progress that makes a difference
• You love over-communication and enjoy constantly improving communication
• You want to be on the floor with the teams you support rather than running rollouts from a distance

Key Responsibilities

Working with the Product Deployment Manager, the Senior Product Deployment Specialist will be responsible for the following:

• Manage the release and adoption of product rollouts across Sentient’s accounting teams and the partner firms they serve, with a focus on releasing quickly and iteratively
• Become the subject matter expert on our products, and deliver in-person training sessions, training materials, and process documentation that work at Sentient’s scale
• Support in testing and validating new features and products before release
• Own release and product roadmap communications with Sentient leadership, partner services teams, and the partner firms Sentient supports
• Consistently work with partner services and Sentient team leads to align cross functional teams on common goals and outcomes, and identify areas of collaboration
• Build strong relationships and trust with leaders and accountants across Sentient, and with the partner firms whose work they deliver
• Sit with production pods during and after each release to observe how tools are actually used, not how they are reported to be used
• Act as the bridge between Sentient and our North America product, engineering, and deployment teams, making sure issues raised in Hyderabad are visible and prioritized
• Support in executing on EPD team collaboration processes so we work as effectively as possible as a team
• Collaborate early with product managers and engineers to help define the scope of projects and to add insights that ensure we are building the right products for our users
• Manage a strong feedback loop process to both ensure Sentient’s teams feel that their feedback is actioned, and work closely with our product managers and engineers to effectively action feedback
• Establish deployment and change management logistics and processes
• Defining, monitoring, and reporting on leading and lagging product metrics that align with desired outcomes
• Clearly communicating outcomes to the Ascend leadership team, recommending necessary pivots, and reprioritizing based on outcomes

Qualifications

• A strong project management background, having served as the primary project manager on software projects involving multiple cross-functional teams
• A portfolio of successful product or project launches in which you owned
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience working in a technology organization supporting project or product management organizations
• Excellent verbal and written English, with the presence and confidence to lead in-person training sessions for groups of accountants
• Highly comfortable with software. You pick up new tools quickly, go deep on how they work, and can teach them to someone else the same week
• Experience working in or alongside the accounting domain, or a clear appetite to learn it quickly
• Experience deploying software or driving process change inside a large delivery, shared services, or captive operation (preferred)

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Communication: Demonstrates excellent verbal and written communication skills, delivering clear, concise messages tailored to each audience. Effectively explains complex AI concepts to non-technical stakeholdersStakeholder Management: Builds authentic, strong relationships with internal partner firms and clients, positioning the product team as trusted advisors in the accounting industry. Initiates collaboration, fosters open feedback loops, and drives alignmentOwnership and Strong Work Ethic: Takes responsibility for the successful and timely completion of projects and initiatives with a bias for action. Ensures all tasks meet high standards and that all stakeholders understand their responsibilities. Maintains a "can-do" attitude, fosters accountability, and coordinates efforts to drive progress and resultsProblem Solving: Actively participates in technical and industry-specific discussions, identifying actionable next steps to address deployment challenges. Owns facilitation, develops recommendations based on feedback, and provides clear paths forward. Thinks holistically to align solutions with broader goals while avoiding unintended consequences. Combines active listening, creativity, and foresight to drive overall successEarns Trust: Upholds commitments to the business and builds trust with collaborators, even in uncertain or challenging situations. Maintains transparency, acts proactively, and navigates ambiguity with confidence. Anticipates possible outcomes, prepares for various scenarios, and ensures successful results. Voices opinions constructively using data and anecdotes, driving next steps with a bias for action while prioritizing stakeholder buy-inSolution and Growth Oriented: Drives both personal and team growth by fostering an environment of continuous learning and improvement. Embraces experimentation with new strategies, particularly during releases, and encourages innovation to enhance workflowsOrganization and Prioritization: Manages tasks and resources effectively to meet deadlines and achieve key milestones. Demonstrates strong time management skills, adapting and shifting priorities as needed to ensure critical tasks are completed first, even in evolving situationsAdditional Skills:Strong understanding of US accounting workflows, tax preparation processes, or related fields (preferred)
• Experience with AI-powered tools (preferred).

Our values:

• Own it: We seize growth opportunities with the passion, speed, and accountability of an Entrepreneur.
• Serve whole-heartedly: We love our people and serve them with positivity and kindness.
• Be excellent: We set a high bar because our mission matters.
• Win together: We stay in sync, achieve as a team and celebrate each other.
• Bring the sunshine: We have fun and bring enthusiasm to make the journey joyful.