Practice Director - Data and AI (Palantir)

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. Travel Requirements Flexibility: Demonstrate a willingness to travel up to 30% during peak periods, supporting client engagements, business development, and team initiatives as needed. Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several geographic markets. The compensation range for this position ranges from $185,709.00/year in our lowest geographic market up to 272,373.20 USD/year in our highest geographic market. Pay is based on a number of factors including market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process. The compensation package may also include incentive compensation opportunities in the form of annual bonus or incentives, equity awards and an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP). Learn more about benefits at Rackspace. 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. More on Rackspace Technology Though we’re all different, Rackers thrive through our connection to a central goal: to be a valued member of a winning team on an inspiring mission. We bring our whole selves to work every day. And we embrace the notion that unique perspectives fuel innovation and enable us to best serve our customers and communities around the globe. We welcome you to apply today and want you to know that we are committed to offering equal employment opportunity without regard to age, color, disability, gender reassignment or identity or expression, genetic information, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity status, military or veteran status, nationality, ethnic or national origin, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or any legally protected characteristic. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.