Principal Consultant - Application Modernization

AHEAD builds platforms for digital business. By weaving together advances in cloud infrastructure, automation and analytics, and software delivery, we help enterprises deliver on the promise of digital transformation.

At AHEAD, we prioritize creating a culture of belonging, where all perspectives and voices are represented, valued, respected, and heard. We create spaces to empower everyone to speak up, make change, and drive the culture at AHEAD. 

We are an equal opportunity employer, and do not discriminate based on an individual's race, national origin, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, marital status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law, whether actual or perceived. 

We embrace all candidates that will contribute to the diversification and enrichment of ideas and perspectives at AHEAD. 

This leadership role within the Application Modernization practice focuses on guiding clients through the transformation of their application portfolios. The ideal candidate will possess deep expertise in modern application architectures, cloud-native technologies, and modernization strategies, leading engagements from strategy through implementation, driving business development, and contributing to the practice's growth.

Responsibilities

• Client Engagement and Project Leadership
• Facilitate application portfolio assessment, modernization strategy development, target architecture design (including microservices, serverless, containerization), roadmap creation, and planning workshops.
• Lead discovery sessions to deeply understand client business objectives, pain points, existing application landscape (including legacy systems), and technical constraints.
• Ensure client expectations regarding modernization outcomes (e.g., cost savings, agility, scalability), timelines, technical approaches, and potential challenges are clearly defined and managed.
• Lead technical project teams in delivering Application Modernization consulting services and implementation projects, covering various modernization patterns (e.g., Rehost, Replatform, Refactor, Rearchitect, Rebuild, Replace).
• Drive and manage project objectives, gather detailed functional and non-functional requirements for modernized applications, track project tasks/milestones, manage status reporting, identify dependencies, and ensure engagements deliver tangible business value through successful modernization, on time.
• Break down complex application modernization challenges into manageable workstreams, identify key factors (e.g., technical debt, data migration complexity, organizational change readiness), and determine the optimal modernization approach for specific applications or portfolios.
• Perform final review, editing, and sign-off on project deliverables such as assessment findings, modernization strategy documents, target state architecture blueprints, migration plans, and potentially code reviews or PoC results.
• Present modernization strategies, proposed architectures, project updates, and final deliverables effectively to both technical stakeholders and client executive management.
• Lead, mentor, and guide consultants and client team members, fostering best practices in modern software development, cloud-native principles, and specific modernization techniques.




• Business Development
• Support business development activities by leading client discovery meetings specifically aimed at identifying, qualifying, and shaping application modernization opportunities.
• Act as the subject matter expert for Application Modernization offerings during the sales cycle, contributing to project scoping, effort estimation, defining value propositions, developing proposals, and presenting compelling solutions to prospective clients.
• Develop and nurture strong client relationships, positioning AHEAD as a trusted advisor, and effectively communicate the business and technical benefits of application modernization to C-Level executives and IT leadership.




• Practice Development and Thought Leadership
• Actively contribute to the development and enhancement of AHEAD's Application Modernization service offerings, methodologies (e.g., assessment frameworks, pattern selection guides), standardized deliverables, and reusable assets.
• Maintain deep knowledge and understanding of the current and emerging landscape of application development, architecture, and modernization, including key trends (e.g., DevSecOps, AI/ML integration, event-driven architectures), technologies (e.g., Kubernetes, service mesh, specific PaaS/FaaS offerings), and cloud provider advancements.
• Establish and maintain technical credibility through thought leadership activities (e.g., writing blog posts, presenting at webinars/conferences, contributing to open source) focused on application modernization.
• Mentor junior team members and peers, sharing expertise in application modernization strategies, cloud-native development, and modern software engineering practices.
• Consciously foster a collaborative and innovative workplace culture consistent with AHEAD's values and guiding principles.

Qualifications

• Significant, demonstrable experience leading large-scale application transformation and modernization engagements for enterprise clients.
• Deep expertise and practical knowledge across key areas of Application Modernization:
• Modernization Strategies & Patterns: Strong understanding and application of the 6 R's (Rehost, Replatform, Refactor, Rearchitect, Rebuild, Replace), Domain-Driven Design (DDD), and Strangler Fig pattern.
• Application Portfolio Assessment: Proven ability to analyze complex application landscapes, assess technical debt, identify modernization candidates, determine business value, and estimate effort/risk.
• Cloud-Native Architecture & Development: Expertise in designing and building applications using microservices, APIs, event-driven patterns, serverless functions (FaaS), containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and associated management/orchestration tools.
• Cloud Platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP): In-depth knowledge of relevant application services on at least one major cloud platform, including compute options (VMs, Containers, Serverless), managed databases (SQL/NoSQL), messaging queues, API gateways, monitoring, and security services.
• DevOps & DevSecOps: Solid understanding and practical experience with CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code (IaC - Terraform, CloudFormation, ARM templates), automated testing strategies (unit, integration, E2E), code security scanning, and observability (logging, metrics, tracing) in the context of application lifecycles.
• Programming Languages/Frameworks: Broad familiarity with common enterprise languages and frameworks (e.g., Java/Spring Boot, .NET Core/Framework, Python/Django/Flask, Node.js) and experience addressing challenges in modernizing applications built with them.
• Database Modernization: Knowledge of strategies and techniques for migrating and modernizing relational and non-relational databases alongside application changes.
• Legacy Systems: Experience working with and understanding the challenges of modernizing monolithic applications, mainframe systems (desirable), or applications built on older technology stacks.
• Strong understanding and practical application of Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban) and modern Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) principles.
• Experience in a pre-sales or consulting role, defining technical requirements and scoping application modernization projects, is highly preferred.
• Results-oriented with a focus on delivering measurable business outcomes through technology.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills.
• Comfortable and credible presenting complex technical concepts to diverse audiences, from engineers to C-level executives.
• Proven ability to architect robust, scalable, and secure technical solutions that directly address business needs.
• Strong leadership qualities with the ability to motivate and guide technical teams.
• Collaborative team player, adept at working with internal teams, clients, and partners.
• Strong customer-centric focus.
• Ability to manage priorities and work effectively under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Prior consulting experience specifically in application development, architecture, or modernization is strongly preferred.

Why AHEAD:

Through our daily work and internal groups like Moving Women AHEAD and RISE AHEAD, we value and benefit from diversity of people, ideas, experience, and everything in between.

We fuel growth by stacking our office with top-notch technologies in a multi-million-dollar lab, by encouraging cross department training and development, sponsoring certifications and credentials for continued learning.

USA Employment Benefits include: 

- Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance 

- 401(k) 

- Paid company holidays 

- Paid time off 

- Paid parental and caregiver leave 

- Plus more! See benefits https://www.aheadbenefits.com/ for additional details. 

The compensation range indicated in this posting reflects the On-Target Earnings (“OTE”) for this role, which includes a base salary and any applicable target bonus amount. This OTE range may vary based on the candidate’s relevant experience, qualifications, and geographic location.