Chief Applications Officer (CAO)

University Of Michigan; Ann Arbor (MI); Hybrid; USD 230,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Michigan Medicine seeks a Chief Applications Officer to lead the strategy, delivery, lifecycle management, and performance of enterprise applications and platforms supporting clinical care and operations.

Reporting to the CDIO, the CAO will own a comprehensive portfolio, ensure user-centered and interoperable capabilities, and partner with infrastructure, data, and governance leaders to drive modernization and value across three domains: clinical, business, and integration enablement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in IS, CS, Healthcare Admin, or related field.
• 15+ years of IT leadership with 10+ years in large-scale application organizations.
• Deep understanding of clinical systems, ERP, revenue cycle, and enterprise platforms.
• Experience operating in large, matrixed environments.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute a unified enterprise application and platform strategy.
• Lead clinical, business, and enterprise application leadership across domains.
• Drive modernization across ERP, CRM, and revenue cycle platforms.
• Partner with enterprise delivery, governance, and cross-functional leaders.

Skills

Executive leadership

Strategic roadmap

Portfolio governance

Interoperability principles

Vendor management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Healthcare Administration, or related field

Master's degree in related field

Tools

Epic EHR

ServiceNow

CRM

Integration platforms

Job description

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Michigan Medicine is seeking a Chief Applications Officer (CAO) to provide executive leadership for the strategy, delivery, lifecycle management, and performance of enterprise applications and platforms supporting clinical care, business operations, and shared enterprise capabilities.

Reporting to the Chief Digital & Information Officer (CDIO), the CAO is accountable for a comprehensive, integrated application portfolio that enables safe, high-quality patient care, operational excellence, financial performance, and a seamless digital experience across Michigan Medicine.

The CAO serves as the enterprise owner of application and platform capabilities, ensuring they are user-centered, interoperable, reliable, and aligned to strategic priorities. This role partners closely with the leaders of infrastructure and technology platforms, data and analytics, portfolio governance and delivery excellence, and academic research.

Organizational Scope (Authoritative Scope Definition)

The CAO provides end-to-end leadership across three core domains:

• 1. Clinical Applications
  • Inpatient, emergency, and critical care systems
  • Ambulatory and specialty care applications
  • Perioperative and procedural systems
  • Ancillary domains (lab, imaging, pharmacy, cardiology, etc.)
  • Post-acute and continuing care systems
• 2. Business Applications
  • Revenue Cycle and Patient Financial Services
  • Patient Access, scheduling, registration, and contact center platforms
  • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP): finance, HR, supply chain
  • CRM, patient engagement, and consumer experience platforms
  • Enterprise workflow and automation platforms (e.g., ServiceNow, low-code/no-code)
  • Integration and interoperability platforms (API management, middleware)
  • Digital front door platforms (patient portals, mobile apps, omnichannel experience)
  • Identity, access, and experience orchestration platforms (in partnership with Security and CX)
  • Enterprise productivity and collaboration platforms
• 3. Integration, Interoperability & Ecosystem Enablement
  • Ensure seamless integration across: Clinical, business, and enterprise platforms
  • External systems, partners, and regulatory interfaces
  • Advance API-first, modular, and interoperable design principles
  • Enable a cohesive digital ecosystem supporting patients, clinicians, researchers, and staff

These platforms serve as shared, cross-cutting application capabilities that enable consistency, speed, and scalability across all domains.

Responsibilities*

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Application & Platform Strategy

• Define and execute a unified enterprise application and platform strategy aligned to Michigan Medicine's clinical, operational, and financial priorities.
• Manage applications and platforms as an integrated portfolio of products and capabilities.
• Partner with enterprise delivery leader to align with enterprise portfolio governance, prioritization, and investment planning.
• Establish and enforce application lifecycle management, including modernization, rationalization, and technical debt reduction.

Clinical Applications Leadership

• Lead the strategy, delivery, and optimization of systems that support the full continuum of patient care.
• Ensure applications:
  • Reduce clinician burden and cognitive load
  • Improve workflow integration and usability
• Partner closely with:
  • Chief Health Information Officer and clinical informatics leaders
  • Customer Experience (adoption, support, training)

Business Applications Leadership

• Provide executive oversight for enterprise systems supporting financial and operational performance.
• Ensure business applications:
  • Enable revenue integrity, access, and operational efficiency
  • Provide accurate, integrated, and actionable information
  • Scale effectively across the enterprise
• Drive modernization across ERP, CRM, and revenue cycle platforms to enable automation and end-to-end process integration.
• Lead strategy and governance for shared enterprise application platforms that enable:
  • Workflow orchestration and automation
  • Digital experience and engagement
  • Integration across systems and domains
• Establish platforms as reusable enterprise capabilities, reducing duplication and accelerating delivery.
• Partner with:
  • Technology leaders for underlying infrastructure, hosting, and platform engineering.
  • Chief Data & AI Officer for data integration and analytics enablement.
  • Enterprise Delivery for platform prioritization and scaled adoption.

Integration, Interoperability & Ecosystem Enablement

• Ensure seamless integration across:
  • Clinical, business, and enterprise platforms
  • External systems, partners, and regulatory interfaces
• Advance API-first, modular, and interoperable design principles.
• Enable a cohesive digital ecosystem supporting patients, clinicians, researchers, and staff.

Delivery, Operations & Service Alignment

• Partner with the Enterprise Delivery leader to:
  • Align to enterprise Agile, Lean, and governance practices
• Partner with Customer Experience to:
  • Ensure high-quality support, training, and service delivery
  • Drive adoption, usability, and satisfaction
• Ensure application services meet availability, reliability, and performance expectations, aligned to patient-care criticality.
• Lead modernization of application environments, including:
  • Cloud-enabled applications
  • Platform consolidation and standardization
  • Digital front door and omnichannel capabilities
• Enable emerging digital capabilities such as:
  • Intelligent workflows embedded in applications
  • Integrated care and operational journeys
• Oversee application portfolio investment strategy, budgeting, and cost transparency.
• Lead relationships with major vendors (EHR, ERP, CRM, platform providers).
• Build and lead high-performing teams across:
  • Application development and engineering
  • Configuration and optimization&nbsp
  • Product and platform management

Required Qualifications*

• Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Healthcare Administration, or related field.
• 15+ years of progressive IT leadership experience, including:
  • 10+ years leading large-scale application organizations
  • Demonstrated experience managing complex enterprise application portfolios.
  • Deep understanding of clinical systems, ERP, revenue cycle, and enterprise platforms.
  • Proven ability to operate in large, matrixed, federated environments.

Desired Qualifications*

• Master's degree (MBA, MHA, MS, or similar).
• Experience leading enterprise EHR environments (e.g., Epic).
• Experience with enterprise platforms (ServiceNow, CRM, digital front door, integration platforms).
• Experience in academic medical centers or large health systems.

Modes of Work

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes .

Additional Information

Benefits Information

We offer a benefits package that includes comprehensive training and career development opportunities, generous retirement savings plans, ample paid time off, and a wealth of family care support: https://careers.umich.edu/benefits/

Michigan Medicine conducts background screening and pre-employment drug testing on job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent job offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background screenings. Background screenings are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Report Act. Pre-employment drug testing applies to all selected candidates, including new or additional faculty and staff appointments, as well as transfers from other U-M campuses.

U-M EEO Statement

The University of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.