Practice Director - Data and AI (Palantir)

Rackspace Technology

United States

On-site

USD 186,000 - 272,000

Full time

10 days ago

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Job summary

Rackspace Technology is seeking a visionary Practice Director to lead our Palantir engagements, shaping ontology-driven, operational solutions. You will guide forward-deployed pods embedded with clients, drive platform deployment, and partner-driven growth while mentoring a team of engineers and strategists.

As a senior leader, you will own the practice roadmap, oversee delivery quality, support sales initiatives, and manage resource allocation and Palantir enablement efforts to win strategic

Qualifications

Extensive leadership experience with 12+ years in leadership and 10+ years in consulting/professional services.
Proven business line oversight with P&L experience and ability to launch or scale a new practice.
Palantir platform experience (Foundry, Gotham, or AIP) including ontology design and deployment.
Familiarity with forward-deployed delivery models and embedding teams with clients.
Experience guiding senior teams and driving development and performance.
Trusted advisor to clients, including government/defense or regulated commercial clients.
Strong financial management experience and ability to run a business.
Capability-led engagement management and governance across portfolios.
Executive-level communication and ability to build trusted C-suite relationships.
Experience leading strategic pursuits and partner-led opportunities.
Experience building or scaling a practice around a strategic software partner.

Responsibilities

Spearhead Palantir practice growth with strategy for business development, talent and delivery.
Define a compelling practice vision aligned to partner roadmap and org goals.
Own practice growth end-to-end including sales, recruiting and client management.
Mentor leaders and practitioners to grow skills and pursue Palantir certifications.
Recruit and retain forward-deployed talent; lead onboarding.
Provide thought leadership on Palantir delivery patterns and best practices.
Manage engagement risk, budgeting and accounts receivable; define deliverables.
Maintain high client satisfaction with production-grade solutions and trusted relationships.
Oversee governance across Palantir portfolio ensuring quality and delivery standards.
Identify growth opportunities, shape offerings and expand client value.
Cultivate relationships with C-suite and mission owners; position as trusted partner.
Guide solution architecture on ontologies, pipelines and apps for complex challenges.
Explore emerging Palantir capabilities and adjacent tech; push deliverable boundaries.
Share knowledge through whitepapers, talks and workshops.
Work directly with clients to define roadmaps using agile, pod-based delivery.
Collaborate with internal teams, Palantir and clients on cohesive solutions.
Support pre-sales with technical insight and solution shaping.
Organize knowledge-sharing events; encourage community engagement.

Skills

Leadership

Consulting

Palantir Foundry

Forward Deployed

Team Management

Executive Presence

Financial Acumen

Engagement Management

Partner Ecosystem

Delivery Leadership

Strategic Advisor

Tools

AIP

Job description

Overview

Practice Directors are expected to be visionary leaders and credible practitioners, capable of driving success across Palantir-centric engagements. You will define how we deliver ontology-driven, operational solutions to clients, lead forward-deployed pods embedded directly with customers, and help build the commercial engine — pipeline, partnership, and finances behind the practice. As an experienced Practice Director with a proven ability to manage and execute professional services engagements, you will lead initiatives spanning platform implementation, operational AI, and rapid application development on Palantir. Successful candidates will demonstrate strategic thinking, align complex technical objectives with business goals, and deliver measurable outcomes in high-stakes, mission-critical environments. You will inspire and mobilize resources, provide technical guidance, and cultivate our strategic relationship and joint go-to-market with Palantir. As a director, you will lead a team of Forward Deployed Engineers, Forward Deployed Strategists, Software Engineers, Machine learning Enginers mentoring and guiding their development. Beyond team leadership, you will champion practice goals, ensure high-quality and efficient delivery, support sales efforts, shape project opportunities, and manage operational priorities such as resource allocation, hiring, and Palantir certification/enablement. Strong communication skills, a collaborative mindset, and the ability to inspire trust and innovation are essential to succeeding in this role.

Requirements

Extensive Leadership Experience: 12+ years of leadership, with a strong track record of 10+ years in consulting/professional services.
Business Line Oversight: Proven experience managing a business line and P&L, ideally including the launch or scaling of a new practice or platform-centric service line.
Palantir Depth: Demonstrated experience delivering client engagements on Foundry, Gotham, and/or AIP — including ontology design, pipeline and application development, and operational deployment. Experience with other enterprise data or AI platforms is a plus but not a substitute.
Forward-Deployed Delivery Model: Familiarity with embedded, pod-based delivery — working side-by-side with client teams to rapidly prototype and ship production solutions rather than traditional waterfall consulting.
Team Management: Skilled in managing senior-level teams — including Forward Deployed Engineers, Forward Deployed Strategists, and Software Engineers — and driving their development and performance.
Strategic Advisor: Strong ability to act as a trusted advisor to clients and stakeholders, including government, defense, or regulated commercial clients typical of Palantir engagements.
Financial Acumen: Proven experience in financial management and successfully operating a business.
Engagement Leadership: Proficiency in leading transformation projects involving change management, organizational design, process mapping, and platform implementation.
Executive Presence: Exceptional communication skills and the ability to establish trusted relationships with C-level executives and mission owners.
High-Stakes Engagements: Experience leading strategic pursuits for key accounts and capability-focused deals, including partner-led opportunities.
Partner Ecosystem Experience: Prior experience building or scaling a practice around a strategic software partner (Palantir or a comparable ISV/platform partnership) is strongly preferred.
Delivery Leadership: Ability to shape and lead delivery pods from technical design through go-live, ensuring alignment with client objectives and high-quality outcomes.

Responsibilities

Practice Leadership and Growth

Practice Building: Spearhead the growth of the Palantir practice by developing strategies for business development, talent management, and delivery. Build reusable accelerators, reference architectures, and case studies that differentiate the practice with Palantir and in the market.
Strategic Vision: Define and communicate a compelling vision for the practice, aligned to the Palantir partnership roadmap and broader organizational goals.
Accountability: Own practice growth end-to-end — help driving sales, recruiting talent, managing client accounts, overseeing engagements, and ensuring operational excellence.

Team and Individual Development

Leadership Development: Build a team of high-performing leaders and practitioners by mentoring individuals to grow their skills, take on greater responsibility, and pursue Palantir certifications.
Team Building: Create a collaborative, inclusive culture of trust and continuous learning. Lead recruiting to attract and retain top forward-deployed talent, and support onboarding.
Technical Excellence: Provide thought leadership on the Palantir platform and delivery model, ensuring the team stays current with product releases, patterns, and best practices.

Engagement Management

Project Oversight: Manage engagement risk and economics — planning, budgeting, and monitoring accounts receivable. Define clear deliverables aligned to client objectives.
Client Satisfaction: Maintain high client satisfaction by delivering impactful, production-grade solutions and building trust at the highest levels of client organizations.
Governance: Oversee execution across the Palantir portfolio, ensuring alignment with the practice's quality and delivery standards.

Business Development

Opportunity Identification: Identify growth opportunities by analyzing market trends, client needs, and competitive dynamics; shape offerings that extend the value of the Palantir platform.
Relationship Management: Cultivate strong relationships with C-suite executives and mission owners, positioning the organization as a trusted delivery partner.

Technical and Strategic Expertise

Solution Architecture: Guide the design of ontologies, pipelines, and applications on the Palantir platform to solve complex, mission-critical client challenges.
Innovative Thinking: Lead exploration of emerging Palantir capabilities (including AIP and agentic workflows) and adjacent technologies, pushing the boundaries of what's deliverable for clients.
Thought Leadership: Develop and share thought leadership — whitepapers, talks, workshops — that positions the organization as a leading Palantir delivery partner.

Collaboration and Delivery

Client Engagement: Work directly with clients to understand mission needs, shape objectives, and define delivery roadmaps using an agile, pod-based approach.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with internal teams, Palantir, and clients to deliver cohesive solutions addressing both technical and mission requirements.
Pre-Sales Support: Support sales teams through the pre-sales process with technical insight and solution shaping.

Team and Community Engagement

Community Building: Organize and participate in knowledge-sharing, technical meetups, and workshops; encourage contribution to Palantir and industry communities of practice.
Knowledge Sharing: Capture and share learnings from engagements to build a collective repository of practice insight.

Flexibility:

Demonstrate a willingness to travel up to 30% during peak periods, supporting client engagements, business development, and team initiatives as needed.

About Rackspace Technology

We are the multicloud solutions experts. We combine our expertise with the world’s leading technologies — across applications, data and security — to deliver end-to-end solutions. We have a proven record of advising customers based on their business challenges, designing solutions that scale, building and managing those solutions, and optimizing returns into the future. Named a best place to work, year after year according to Fortune, Forbes and Glassdoor, we attract and develop world-class talent. Join us on our mission to embrace technology, empower customers and deliver the future.