Director, Application Support

Job description

Alkami is the digital sales and service platform provider for U.S. banks and credit unions. Our unified Platform integrates onboarding, digital banking, and data and marketing—each solution can stand alone, but together they deliver more—to help institutions onboard, engage, and grow relationships. As the future shifts toward Anticipatory Banking, we help data-informed bankers meet the moment with technology that drives action. Founded in 2009, we continue to be recognized for our intentional culture and tremendous growth (Best Place to Work in Fintech; Best & Brightest to Work For Nationally; and Comparably’s Best Company Culture, Best Career Growth, Best Engineering Team, and Best Places to Work in Dallas, among others). We’re building a culture where each Alkamist can perform to their highest potential, and we’re always on the lookout for the best and brightest minds. If you’re ready to experience the power of alchemy - transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary - come join one of the fastest growing SaaS companies in the U.S. As a remote-first company, most of our positions can be remote in the US, except for key roles, which will be indicated in the Job Title. Follow us on Glassdoor and LinkedIn ! The Director, Application Support provides strategic and operational leadership over Alkami’s Application Support function, managing a team of front‑line Application Support Managers and their respective engineer teams. This role is accountable for overall service performance, client experience, and operational maturity within Application Support, with a focus on: - Delivering consistent, high‑quality support for Alkami’s digital banking solutions at scale - Aligning Application Support operations and use of tooling (ServiceNow/Alkami Support Hub) with the Support Excellence strategy and business/client outcomes - Partnering with Product, Engineering, Client Care, and other stakeholders to reduce incident volume, improve stability, and drive long‑term customer retention The Director operates at both tactical and strategic levels—ensuring day‑to‑day execution through managers while steering medium‑ to long‑range improvements in people, process, and platform usage for Application Support. Essential Duties & Responsibilities 1. Strategic & Operational Leadership Execute and operationalize the vision, strategy, and operating model for Application Support as defined by the Sr Director, Support Excellence , translating them into concrete goals, priorities, and expectations for managers and their teams. Translate strategy into clear annual/quarterly priorities, metrics, and execution plans for Application Support managers and their teams. Own department‑level KPIs for Application Support (e.g., FRT, backlog age, SEV MTTR, CSAT/CES) and run regular business reviews to track performance and drive decisions. 2. People Leadership & Manager Coaching Lead, develop, and mentor front‑line Application Support Managers , building a strong bench of people leaders. Set clear expectations for managers around queue management, communication standards, coaching, and performance accountability . Drive consistent people leadership practices (1:1s, team meetings, performance management, recognition, succession planning) across all Application Support teams. Partner with HR/People teams on hiring, workforce planning, and career pathways for Application Support (IC and leadership tracks). 3. Operational Excellence & Performance Management Establish and enforce standard operating rhythms for Application Support managers (daily queue reviews, SLA monitoring, SEV reviews, backlog hygiene). Use data to proactively identify risks, trends, and bottlenecks and hold managers accountable for remediation plans. Govern ticket quality and communication standards within Application Support, ensuring consistent client‑ready updates and documentation across teams, in alignment with Support Excellence frameworks. Oversee on‑call and incident coverage models for Application Support, ensuring sustainable rotations and clear ownership for after‑hours support. 4. Incident Management & Client Experience Serve as the escalation point for complex or strategic client issues owned by Application Support, supporting managers in de‑escalation and communication. Ensure Application Support managers and teams follow a disciplined SEV process , including timely engagement, clear roles, and executive‑ready status updates, in alignment with global incident governance. Drive post‑incident reviews across Application Support, ensuring learnings translate into durable changes in process, tooling, or product. Partner with Client Care, CSMs, and Support Escalation Managers to ensure coordinated engagement for red or at‑risk accounts that rely on Application Support. 5. Cross‑Functional & Governance Leadership Represent Application Support in cross‑functional forums (Product, Engineering, Release Management, InfoSec, Client Care) to align on priorities and trade‑offs. Influence roadmaps, defect prioritization, and release readiness based on Application Support data and client impact, providing domain‑level input into the governance led by Support Excellence. Help define and enforce governance for ticket flow across Delivery, Support, and other teams from an Application Support perspective, minimizing “ping‑pong” and ownership gaps. 6. Risk, Compliance, and Communication Ensure Application Support practices align with corporate policies, security, and regulatory expectations , especially for financial services clients. Provide clear, timely communication to internal and executive stakeholders around major incidents, emerging risks, and support trends within Application Support. Contribute to client‑facing narratives about Application Support performance, improvements, and commitments, partnering with CXG leadership as needed. Recommended Experience & Education Minimum Years of Experience 10+ years in B2B application/technical support for complex, distributed SaaS applications 5+ years directly leading managers or multi‑team operations in a high‑volume support or technical operations environment Education Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Business , or related field; or equivalent practical experience Master’s degree or advanced leadership/technical certifications preferred Knowledge, Skills, & Qualifications Required Proven success leading leaders in a technical support or operations environment, ideally across distributed/remote teams. Deep understanding of B2B application support for n‑tier, API‑driven, or cloud architectures (e.g., C#, SQL Server, IIS, web services/APIs). Demonstrated ability to run an operation from metrics : building dashboards, interpreting trends, and using data to make staffing and prioritization decisions. Strong experience with incident management and crisis leadership , including executive‑level communication. Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills , comfortable operating with executives and strategic clients. Experience with ServiceNow (or similar ITSM/Ticketing platforms) and Jira/Confluence or equivalent tools, specifically in the context of running Application Support. Ability to navigate ambiguity, balance short‑term fire‑fighting with long‑term improvements , and lead teams through change. Preferred Experience in FinTech, BankTech, or financial services , with familiarity with online banking workflows and partner integrations. Knowledge of ITIL or similar service management frameworks; relevant certifications a plus. Background in workforce planning, forecasting, and performance management for support organizations. Experience leading large‑scale process/tooling transformations (e.g., migration to ServiceNow or similar platforms) from an Application Support execution standpoint. The salary range for this position is: $156,000 - $195,000 Cool Things to Know Not Just Any Company : Alkami has an awesome diverse and inclusive environment. We have a FUN culture and offer great benefits, including remote-first environment, unlimited paid time off, 401(k) with employer match, and more. Work Authorization : We cannot offer employment sponsorship at this time. Candidates must be eligible to work in the US for full-time employment. Recruiters : We are not looking for outside recruiting firms to help us in this search. Thank you for understanding. Pay Transparency: As of January 1, 2023, new states and locales have enacted pay equity laws that require more pay transparency by employers in the following states: California, Colorado (effective January 1, 2021), Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington. The Important Stuff Alkami Technology is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Prohibits Discrimination and Harassment of Any Kind: Alkami is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at Alkami are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, national, social or ethnic origin, sex (including pregnancy), age, physical, mental or sensory disability, HIV Status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital, civil union or domestic partnership status, past or present military service, family medical history or genetic information, family or parental status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. Alkami will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. Alkami encourages applicants of all ages. #LI-REMOTE