VP of IT Applications and Architecture

VP of IT Applications and Architecture

Role Summary

Horizons is hiring a Leader, Custom Applications, Website, AI & Enterprise Architecture

to own the end‑to‑end technology delivery and reliability stack for the enterprise. This leader is accountable for application lifecycle management (run + change), release coordination, integration, QA, and the platform foundation (hosting, SRE/observability, monitoring), while also leading Enterprise Architecture to ensure technology choices are scalable, secure, and cost‑effective.

This role sits at the center of execution-translating business priorities into delivered capability, maintaining stable operations, and creating a pragmatic architecture discipline that enables speed without chaos.

What You'll Own (Core Responsibilities)

1. Application Delivery & Lifecycle (Run + Change)

• Own delivery and operations for Horizons' custom application portfolio (and application‑layer accountability for key vendor‑supported applications, where scoped).
• Establish predictable delivery from intake through sizing, prioritization, build, test, release, and operations.
• Drive operational excellence across incident, problem, and change management with clear service ownership and continuous improvement.
• Build a "no surprises" operating model with defined service owners, SLAs/SLOs, and visible backlog and capacity management.

1. Website Development & Optimization (Digital Experience)

• Own website and platform engineering for performance, reliability, conversion, and content velocity, partnering with Marketing/Growth as needed.
• Implement a measurement‑driven optimization loop, including SEO/SEM technical hygiene, performance monitoring, A/B testing enablement, and page speed/Core Web Vitals.
• Ensure secure and compliant web delivery through disciplined patching, vulnerability management, WAF/CDN patterns, and release controls.

1. Integration (APIs, Middleware, Partnership with Data Teams)

• Own integration strategy and delivery across APIs, middleware, eventing, and system‑to‑system reliability.
• Standardize integration patterns and tooling to reduce brittle point integrations and improve observability (shared logging and traceability for critical flows).
• Establish clear ownership boundaries with Data Platform and Data Engineering, including integration versus pipelines, source of truth, lineage, and stewardship.

1. AI Strategy and Execution

• Define and execute the AI strategy for the Applications + Integration + Platform domain: where we will use AI, where we won't, and how we'll scale value responsibly.
• Stand up an "AI delivery factory" for rapid experimentation and productionization: with standard patterns for building and shipping: data access, model selection (build/buy), prompt and workflow design, testing, release, and monitoring.
• Deliver high-impact AI use cases in partnership with business leaders (examples): agent assist for service desk, automated ticket triage, knowledge retrieval (RAG) for field/service ops, document ingestion, forecasting support, QA automation, and developer productivity.
• Establish AI architecture standards and guardrails:
  • Approved platforms/tools, integration patterns, and reference architectures (RAG, agentic workflows, embeddings, model gateways).
  • Clear boundaries with Data/Analytics for data sourcing, stewardship, lineage, and MLOps responsibilities.

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1. Enterprise Architecture (Pragmatic Governance)

• Establish architecture guardrails that enable speed, including reference architectures, standards, and lightweight decision records.
• Lead solution reviews for major initiatives to ensure scalability, security alignment, supportability, and cost discipline.
• Drive technology portfolio rationalization across applications, integration approaches, and hosting patterns to reduce accidental complexity.

1. Vendor Management & Financial Discipline (Domain Scope)

• Manage key vendors and system integrators supporting applications, hosting, monitoring, and integration with clear outcome, SLA, and commercial accountability.
• Own budget inputs for the domain, including run/change spend, unit economics where possible, and cost‑to‑serve improvements.
• Reduce waste through rationalization, right‑sizing, license hygiene, and active contract and performance management.

1. Team Leadership & Operating Cadence

• Build and lead high‑performing teams with clear roles, career paths, and strong managerial routines.
• Run a consistent execution cadence, including weekly delivery and reliability reviews, monthly portfolio health reviews, and quarterly strategy and roadmap refreshes.
• Foster a culture of ownership, transparency, and measurable outcomes.

Key Interfaces (How You'll Partner)

• CIO: Priority alignment, portfolio tradeoffs, and executive communication
• CISO / Security Architecture: Secure‑by‑design patterns and coordinated risk remediation
• Architecture & Data Teams: Shared standards; clear data versus integration ownership; lineage for critical flows
• Service Desk / Field Support: Incident routing, escalation, and end‑user experience alignment
• Finance: Domain budget ownership, vendor negotiations, and savings and benefits tracking
• Business Leaders (Operations, Field, Marketing, Sales): Outcome delivery, roadmap alignment, and adoption/change management

Qualifications

• 10-15+ years leading technology delivery and operations across applications and platforms (or equivalent scope).
• Proven ownership of application delivery with real operational accountability.
• Strong experience with release management, QA discipline, and integration architecture (APIs, middleware, eventing).
• Demonstrated SRE and observability mindset, including SLOs, incident/problem/change management, and reliability engineering.
• Track record of pragmatic enterprise architecture that accelerates delivery through standards and guardrails.
• Strong vendor leadership with experience managing SLAs, outcomes, and commercial performance.

Preferred Experience / Differentiators

• Experience in distributed, multi‑location services environments where uptime and field enablement are mission‑critical.
• Experience integrating platforms such as ServiceTitan or comparable field‑service ecosystems.
• Hands‑on familiarity with cloud hosting, modern integration platforms, and automation practices.

Leadership Behaviors We Expect

• Outcome ownership: Focuses on impact, not activity.
• Truth‑telling: Escalates early, communicates tradeoffs clearly, and avoids "green until it's red."
• Operator mindset: Balances speed with stability and designs for supportability.
• Team builder: Develops leaders, clarifies accountability, and creates repeatable systems.

Reporting & Scope

• Reports to: Chief Information Officer (CIO)