Azure AI Applications Practice Lead

The Practice Lead is ultimately responsible for driving and supporting growth in our business relative to revenue, technical delivery, customer management and people leadership.  That requires that this person will closely collaborate with the Go-to-Market and Commercial teams, having business driven, technology supporting, and solution focused conversations in the marketplace.  This role requires close collaboration with our Go-to-Market teams to develop relevant offerings, as well as with Delivery and Operations to ensure the successful and efficient execution of projects.  Other core responsibilities include understanding and shaping the market landscape, driving talent acquisition and retention, and ensuring optimal workforce utilization to exceed client expectations and drive profitability.

·Contribute to Lantern GTM Offering development, prioritization, and activation. ·Develop Practice Sales Plays and partner with Business Development Teams to take those to market in areas not covered by Lantern GTM Offerings.

·Champion Lantern GTM Campaigns and support related demand generation activities (e.g. briefings, events, sales enablement, etc.)·Partner with Business Development teams in driving pipeline by presenting Lantern GTM Offerings & Studio Sales Plays to Clients and Microsoft. 

·Provide input during New Business Meetings to help qualify and ensure new opportunities have practice support.·Contribute to strategic account planning with the Business Development team, based on deep client environment knowledge.·Proactively support sales pursuits and coordinate people requirements as required to win business.·Develop project estimates and resource plans in support of delivering proposal and presentations to clients.·       Partner in the Sales Process for solution shaping and deal success.

·Work closely with Delivery & Operations teams to ensure seamless transitions from Sales to Delivery and mobilize resources effectively.·Oversee delivery quality, addressing escalations and offering guidance throughout project lifecycles.·Optimize staffing, resource planning, and utilization management to maximize and balance efficiency, profitability and client satisfaction.

·Set the vision and strategy for the Generative AI, ML, and Custom App Dev practice, inspiring consultants to deliver high-impact results.· Facilitate consultants' continuous professional development in priority areas such as AI model development, deployment, and custom application engineering.·Develop and roll out training plannings to meet our current and upcoming delivery needs·Partner with recruiting and People & Culture teams to attract and retain top talent in alignment with the practice’s growth objectives.

· Act as the primary technical leader for clients, consultants, and sales pursuits within the practice.·Provide expert technical oversight and mentorship to consultants in AI-enabled applications, Generative AI, custom agents, UI/UX and custom application development.·Establish thought leadership through posts, webinars, workshops, presentations, and conference speaking engagements.·Develop strong relationships with Microsoft and other partners to support clients in adopting cloud, AI, and application technologies.·Exhibit a strong knowledge of the Microsoft Data Ecosystem (Fabric, PowerBI, Event Hubs), Databricks and Machine Learning • Experienced consulting leader with a deep understanding of the Microsoft ecosystem• Experienced in supporting sales and driving new business with existing clients, and the ability to drive growth through Go-to-Market offerings. • Experienced in practice development, team leadership, sales enablement, and high-level client engagements, ensuring the practice meets both technical excellence and business objectives. • 10+ Years in a consulting leadership role is required with experience leading custom application and UI/UX development, building data platforms, data lakes and machine learning solutions.• 2+ years leading Generative AI & Custom Agent and multi-agent (agentic) engagements.