Vice President - Research and Development

MediSolution; Columbia (SC); On-site; USD 120,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Culture for growth

Top health benefits

Global opportunities

Meaningful work and career development

Job summary

Harris School Solutions is seeking a Vice President of Research & Development for its FINS division to own and drive AI‑enabled product development across K12 finance, HR, and administrative workflows. The role blends hands‑on software leadership with strategic product planning, governance, and responsible AI practices.

You will manage both onshore and offshore teams, shape the AI roadmap, and ensure timely delivery within budget while advancing AI tooling adoption and security standards.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of management experience leading software development teams.
• P&L experience.
• Portfolio management of multiple products and tech stacks.
• Hands‑on familiarity with AI‑assisted development tools and demonstrated experience delivering AI or machine‑learning capabilities into production software.

Responsibilities

• Translate business goals and product requirements into actionable development plans, including a clear, prioritized AI roadmap for each product.
• Ensure development projects are delivered on time and within budget, using AI‑assisted development, testing, and documentation to compress cycle times and raise quality.
• Provide strategic planning, direction, and control of product development activities, and contribute technical input into the overall business unit strategy, including where AI creates differentiation and where it creates risk.
• Drive adoption of AI developer tooling across the team, set the standards for how it is used, and measure productivity and quality results.
• Lead the delivery of AI-enabled product capabilities for K12 finance, HR, and administrative workflows.
• Establish responsible AI practices for the business unit: data privacy and student-data protections, model governance, human‑in‑the‑loop controls, and transparent communication with customers about how AI is used.
• Communicate strategy developments and provide executive updates, prioritize initiatives, and elevate roadblocks to leadership.
• Manage onsite and offshore development teams and foster cross‑unit collaboration.

Skills

AI‑assisted development

Leadership

Portfolio management

P&L experience

Agile management

Tools

AI tooling

Job description

Vice President, Research & Development – Harris School Solutions, FINS

This is a unique opportunity to own and drive all facets of Research & Development for Harris School Solutions' FINS expanding growth products, at a moment when AI is reshaping both how software is built and what K12 customers expect from it. This is a technical leadership position that requires a strong blend of people management and hands‑on software development experience, product vision, deep knowledge of Microsoft technologies and the multi‑tooled AI ecosystem, fluency with modern AI‑assisted development practices, and a working command of the agile scrum process.

What your impact will be:

• Translate business goals and product requirements into actionable development plans, including a clear, prioritized AI roadmap for each product.
• Ensure development projects are delivered on time and within budget, using AI‑assisted development, testing, and documentation to compress cycle times and raise quality.
• Provide strategic planning, direction, and control of product development activities, and contribute technical input into the overall business unit strategy, including where AI creates differentiation and where it creates risk.
• Drive adoption of AI developer tooling (for example GitHub Copilot and agentic coding assistants) across the team, set the standards for how it is used, and measure the productivity and quality results.
• Lead the delivery of AI‑enabled product capabilities for K12 finance, HR, and administrative workflows, such as intelligent automation, natural‑language reporting, anomaly detection, and assistive experiences that reduce manual effort for district staff.
• Establish responsible AI practices for the business unit: data privacy and student‑data protections (FERPA and state requirements), model governance, human‑in‑the‑loop controls, and transparent communication with customers about how AI is used.
• Communicate strategy developments, provide ongoing executive updates, prioritize initiatives, and elevate roadblocks to executive leadership.
• Communicate development progress and issues to senior management and across the organization.
• Manage both onsite and offshore development teams.
• Proactively foster and build channels of communication across business units to ensure collaboration and achievement of organizational objectives, and share AI learnings and reusable components across Harris.
• Provide technical direction and guidance for all product development and support services needs throughout the organization.
• Continually evaluate the organizational structure, current technology, and engineering practices as a means to enhance productivity, and implement appropriate changes.
• Track and communicate industry trends and emerging technologies, with particular attention to AI, that can provide the organization with a competitive advantage.
• Perform a full range of leadership responsibilities, which may include but are not limited to: interviewing, hiring, coaching and developing employees, assigning and directing work, driving performance management, and managing department budgets.
• Display a consistent desire to learn and seek professional growth opportunities, and build the same learning culture in the team as AI capabilities evolve.
• Attend training and develop relevant knowledge, techniques, and skills.

What we are looking for:

• A Technical Visionary Provide an overall vision for the product and technical roadmap, with AI as a core pillar rather than a side project. Drive best practices for all R&D processes including product delivery, rollout, feedback, and internal and external communication. Set the engineering standards for AI‑assisted development, secure coding, and cloud‑native architecture on the Microsoft stack. Drive initiatives and solutions for the product and technical teams, and know when to build, buy, or partner for AI capability.
• A Business Visionary Be financially savvy, including understanding the cost model of AI services and how to price and position AI features. Innovate and evolve the business. Integrate customers into the overall strategy, using their real workflows and data challenges to decide where AI earns its place.
• A People Visionary Build effective teams and develop team members for an AI‑augmented engineering world. Work with existing teams and structure, and bring people along through change with clarity and empathy. Build, listen to, and develop effective teams and team members. Bring departments together.

Qualifications:

• 5+ years of management experience leading software development teams.
• P&L experience.
• Portfolio management of multiple products and tech stacks.
• Hands‑on familiarity with AI‑assisted development tools and demonstrated experience delivering AI or machine‑learning capabilities into production software.

What will make you stand out:

• Agile expert.
• Experience in public sector or K12 solutions.
• SaaS deployments and infrastructure.
• Experience with the AI platforms, LLM integration, or building agentic and copilot‑style experiences into enterprise applications.
• A track record of establishing responsible AI or data governance practices in a regulated environment.
• Innovative examples of driving measurable value in products.

What we offer:

• Culture for growth
• Top notch employee health and wellbeing benefits
• Every voice matters
• Global reach
• Careers with purpose
• World class career development programs

About us: Harris School Solutions is dedicated to using innovative technology, increasingly powered by AI, to bridge gaps in communication, workflows, connectivity, safety, and efficiency within school districts, county offices of education, and related organizations. We consistently strive to help K12 teams optimize their time so they can focus on what's most important: teaching and learning.

Salary range: $120,000 - $130,000 USD per year.

At Harris, we believe great people build great software. We offer an environment where employees are empowered to make a real impact, grow their skills, and shape their careers. Our teams enjoy a supportive, award‑winning culture, a casual and collaborative workplace, and opportunities to learn from a diverse group of businesses and industries. We are financially strong and proudly part of Constellation Software Inc. (CSI), the largest software company in Canada, providing long‑term stability alongside entrepreneurial autonomy. In addition to a competitive compensation and benefits package, we offer meaningful perks, flexibility, and—most importantly—a culture that values people, curiosity, and having fun while doing great work.

Harris is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. Applicants who require a reasonable accommodation due to a disability may contact us by email at [e-mail]. Accommodation requests may be made at any time. This email address is dedicated solely to accommodation requests and cannot be used to inquire about application status.

Know Your Rights Poster EO 13496: Notification of Employee Rights under Federal Labor Laws.

Our commitment to fair and equitable hiring. As part of our recruitment process, we use artificial intelligence (AI) tools during the initial screening phase to help identify candidates whose qualifications most closely align with the requirements of the role. This technology supports efficiency and consistency in the early stages, but it never replaces human judgement. All subsequent evaluations and final hiring decisions are made by our recruitment professionals. AI does not make final hiring decisions.

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