Global Practice Leader, Application Engineering in Stoke-on-Trent

The Global Practice Leader, Application Engineering owns the full commercial and operational success of SoftServe's Application Engineering Practice — one of the company's core service lines. This is a business ownership role as much as a delivery leadership role. The Practice Leader is accountable for the Practice's market position, service portfolio, revenue growth, and delivery excellence — operating at the intersection of strategy, sales, and engineering execution.

The role combines the accountability of a Practice Lead (capability strategy, talent, community) with that of a Service Owner (commercial outcomes, value proposition, pipeline, and client success) — and requires a leader who is equally comfortable shaping offerings as they are closing deals and overseeing large-scale delivery.

• Commercial Success & Pipeline Management
  • Responsible for the Practice's P&L: revenue targets, margin performance, pricing models, and investment decisions.
  • Lead go-to-market strategy for Application Engineering services — working with sales, account, and marketing teams to grow pipeline and close strategic deals.
  • Drive services diversification and move up the value chain in existing client accounts.
  • Oversee proposal strategy and provide executive-level input on major pursuits, deal structuring, and commercial risk.
  • Track and report on pipeline health, bookings, and revenue forecasts with full accountability for outcomes.
• Service Portfolio & Value Proposition
  • Define and evolve the Application Engineering service portfolio — including custom software development, application modernization, and cloud-native engineering.
  • Develop compelling, differentiated value propositions that translate technical capability into client business outcomes.
  • Drive service innovation with a product mindset: validate market demand, test new offerings, and retire or evolve services based on commercial performance.
  • Ensure services are packaged, priced, and positioned to compete effectively in the market and delivered well internally.
  • Integrate AI-driven and agentic engineering approaches into the service portfolio, staying ahead of market shifts in how software is built and delivered.
• Delivery Excellence & Client Satisfaction
  • Set and enforce the delivery framework — quality standards, operational governance, and escalation protocols across all Practice engagements.
  • Maintain executive-level client relationships; personally engage on strategic accounts and resolve high-impact escalations.
  • Drive delivery productivity and profitability — eliminating unproductive activities and improving utilization and margins.
  • Balance growth ambition with delivery capacity, ensuring the Practice scales without compromising quality or client satisfaction.
• Capability, Capacity & R&D Management
  • Own the Practice's capability roadmap: competency frameworks, certifications, knowledge base, and technical community.
  • Drive capacity planning in alignment with pipeline demand — partnering with talent acquisition and resource management on strategic workforce planning.
  • Lead R&D investment decisions within the Practice: identify emerging technologies, fund POCs, and translate research into marketable services.
  • Champion AI-driven engineering practices — including agentic engineering, AI-assisted development, and next-generation SDLC models.
• Talent & Leadership Development
  • Build and sustain a high-performing team of delivery and engineering leaders — from recruiting to performance management to succession planning.
  • Identify and directly develop the next generation of Practice leaders; create clear growth paths and leadership pipelines.
  • Foster an engineering culture of ownership, continuous improvement, and commercial accountability.

• 10+ years in technology services, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role (VP or above) with P&L accountability.
• Demonstrated track record of growing a services business or practice — owning commercial outcomes and delivery.
• Experience building or owning a service portfolio: defining offerings, pricing models, and go-to-market strategy.
• Background in application development, software engineering, or digital transformation — with the technical credibility to lead an engineering-driven practice.
• Proven ability to work in a matrixed, global environment — engaging at C-level with clients and partnering across sales, marketing, and delivery functions.
• Experience with AI-driven delivery models or agentic engineering is a strong advantage.

• Business Acumen - Understands market trends and uses this insight to make informed decisions that drive growth and profitability.
• Product & Service Mindset - Treats the Practice portfolio as a product — with a value proposition, target market, pricing strategy, and lifecycle.
• Commercial Drive - Personally engaged in pipeline development and deal pursuit. Comfortable operating in a client-facing context at senior level.
• AI-Forward Thinking - Understands where AI is reshaping software engineering and actively integrates that into service design, delivery models, and capability development.
• Strategic-to-Operational Range - Sets direction at the Practice level while staying close enough to execution to unblock delivery, resolve escalations, and maintain quality at scale.
• People & Culture Leadership - Builds strong engineering cultures — ownership mindset, high performance, and clear succession. Develops next generation of leaders.

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a related field.
• Business education (MBA, MsTM, or equivalent leadership programme) is an advantage.

SoftServe is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment regardless of race, color, religion, age, sex, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, veteran status, and other protected characteristics under applicable law.