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Job Description: AVP/VP – Practice Leader, Application Engineering (Digital / App Dev / Integration / Cloud) Job Title Associate Vice President / Vice President – Practice Leader, Application Engineering Location India / Delhi NCR | Hybrid (as applicable) Function Technology & Delivery – Application Engineering Practice Reporting To Global Head of Technology Services / Delivery Leadership / CTO Office Role Summary Xceedance is seeking an experienced AVP/VP-level Practice Leader to build and lead the Application Engineering Practice for Insurance SI services, spanning Digital Engineering, Application Development & Modernization, Integration Engineering, and Cloud-Native Engineering. This leader will drive practice strategy, large program delivery excellence, capability building, and innovation, and will act as a client-facing technology leader across strategic insurance accounts. This role requires: - proven experience leading large-scale development programs/projects, and - onshore client-facing experience working at client locations in US / UK / Australia (or similar markets). Key Responsibilities 1) Practice Leadership & Strategy - Own the vision, roadmap, and growth strategy for the Application Engineering practice across Digital / AD / Integration / Cloud. - Build and scale the practice structure: leadership bench, competency frameworks, delivery playbooks, and engineering standards. - Define practice-level governance covering delivery quality metrics, resourcing strategy, utilization, and margin optimization. - Build capability to support insurance modernization programs through accelerators, reusable assets, and industry-aligned engineering patterns. 2) Large Program Engineering Delivery Ownership (Core Requirement) - Lead and govern large engineering programs involving complex builds, modernization, and integration transformation across multiple lines of business. - Own outcomes for large engagements: - delivery predictability and release governance - defect leakage reduction and quality metrics - architecture-led delivery, scalability, performance, security and resiliency controls - program risk mitigation across dependencies and multi-vendor ecosystems - Drive standardized delivery approach using Agile/SAFe, DevSecOps, CI/CD, test automation, and SRE practices. - Ensure high-quality technical decision-making and delivery governance across distributed teams and partners. 3) Technology & Architecture Leadership - Provide technology leadership across: - Digital engineering (web/mobile portals, omnichannel experiences) - Application modernization (microservices, event-driven systems, refactoring legacy platforms) - API & integration ecosystems (middleware, API mgmt., iPaaS, messaging platforms) - Cloud-native engineering (migration, platform engineering, containerization, Kubernetes) - Drive best practices for architecture patterns, NFRs, code quality, observability and performance engineering. 4) Client Advisory & Onshore Leadership - Act as a trusted advisor to client senior leaders (VP/CXO levels) on application modernization, cloud transformation, and digital engineering strategy. - Lead client steering committees, architecture review boards, and executive governance forums. - Translate business objectives into engineering roadmaps with measurable outcomes. - Bring proven onshore stakeholder management gained through working at client locations in US/UK/Australia (or similar) to build trust and strengthen strategic partnerships. 5) Solutioning, Pre-Sales & Revenue Enablement - Lead solutioning for strategic pursuits: discovery, target architecture, delivery approach, costing and estimation. - Support RFP responses, solution orals, and proactive transformation proposals. - Build practice offerings aligned to Insurance SI needs and drive account expansion using scalable, reusable solutions. - Collaborate with Sales and Account teams to shape opportunities, win deals, and position Xceedance as a strategic engineering partner. 6) Practice Capability Building & Innovation - Build practice assets: reference architectures, reusable components, accelerators, templates, and engineering playbooks. - Define engineering maturity and modernization models and apply them across accounts. - Sponsor innovation in: - platform engineering and cloud-native modernization - API ecosystems, integration modernization, event-driven architectures - GenAI-assisted SDLC productivity improvements - Stay current on emerging technologies and incorporate relevant innovations into delivery and offerings. 7) Talent Development & Engineering Culture - Build and mentor strong engineering leaders: architects, engineering managers, platform specialists. - Define skill development paths, certifications, and leadership development plans. - Drive a culture of engineering excellence: secure-by-design, automation-first delivery, continuous improvement and strong ownership. Key Skills & Competencies - Practice leadership: strategy, operating model, governance, utilization and margin levers - Large-program delivery: execution excellence, risk management, multi-vendor dependency management, release governance - Solutioning & consulting: discovery, target architecture, roadmap creation, proposals/RFPs, executive storytelling - Modern engineering architecture: microservices, cloud-native, integration patterns, event-driven systems - Cloud & platform engineering: AWS/Azure/GCP, containers, Kubernetes, IaC, platform modernization - DevSecOps & automation: CI/CD, test automation, security-by-design, observability, SRE practices - Client leadership: executive stakeholder management, onshore engagement exposure, influencing skills - People leadership: talent building, coaching, succession planning, culture-building Experience & Qualifications (Mandatory) - 16–22+ years of experience in application engineering and delivery leadership, ideally in SI / Consulting / Product Engineering environments. - 5+ years in leadership roles at AVP/VP level covering Delivery / Practice / Portfolio / Architecture leadership. - Insurance domain knowledge (P&C/Life/Health/Reinsurance) and familiarity with insurance platforms (Guidewire/Duck Creek/Socotra/Origami). - Demonstrated leadership in large development programs/projects, including: - multi-year and multi-release initiatives - distributed engineering teams across geographies - modernization / rebuild / integration transformation programs - complex dependency management and multi-vendor environments - Mandatory onshore experience: - worked at client locations and led delivery/solutioning engagements in US / UK / Australia (or similar international markets) - strong executive stakeholder management experience gained from onsite engagements - Bachelor’s or Master’s in Engineering / Computer Science or equivalent. Core Competencies & Skills - Strong expertise across at least 2–3 of: Digital Engineering, Cloud Engineering, Integration Engineering, Application Modernization. - Strong architecture and design capability (security, performance, resiliency, scalability, observability). - Strong delivery governance using Agile/SAFe, DevSecOps, CI/CD, test automation, and release readiness practices. - Excellent executive communication, client advisory, negotiation, and team leadership skills. - Ability to scale teams, standardize engineering delivery, and build high-performance delivery culture. Preferred / Good-to-Have - Certifications: Cloud Solution Architect (AWS/Azure/GCP), TOGAF, SAFe, Kubernetes, Security certs. - Experience establishing reusable accelerators and IP to improve time-to-market.