The VP, Enterprise Applications & Engineering Platforms provides senior leadership across ACR Technology Services’ application and engineering functions, including Application Development, API & Integration Delivery, ERP & EDI Systems, Microsoft Application Development, and Automation, AI & Data Integration. Reporting directly to the CIO, this critical leadership role is accountable for establishing the functional strategy, delivery standards, operating practices, and platform roadmaps required to translate approved business and technology priorities into reliable execution.
The VP leads a multi-layered organization of directors, managers, architects, senior engineers, and delivery partners. This leader maintains active oversight of major initiatives, resource capacity, technical decisions, delivery risks, engineering quality, and partner performance. Success requires a leader who can set direction while remaining closely connected to execution. The VP must have sufficient technical depth to evaluate solution approaches, challenge estimates and delivery plans, assess engineering quality, remove execution barriers, and intervene when initiatives are at risk. This leader is accountable for the quality and effectiveness of delivery across internal teams and external partners, including technical design, development practices, testing, documentation, knowledge transfer, production readiness, and measurable business outcomes.
We are looking for a candidate who can work hybrid in our Exton, PA location.
How you will make the impact:
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Lead execution across the application and engineering portfolio, including Application Development, API & Integration Delivery, ERP & EDI Systems, Microsoft Application Development, and Automation, AI & Data Integration.
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Translate approved business and technology priorities into actionable plans, clear ownership, realistic resource commitments, and measurable outcomes.
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Lead directors, managers, architects, senior engineers, and delivery partners while strengthening engineering excellence, delivery discipline, cross-functional alignment, and organizational accountability.
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Maintain active oversight of major initiatives through delivery reviews, architecture checkpoints, capacity planning, dependency management, risk resolution, and operational-readiness assessments.
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Intervene in high-risk or underperforming initiatives to clarify accountability, establish recovery plans, remove barriers, and restore delivery momentum.
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Own and evolve the architecture of enterprise applications and integration platforms, ensuring solutions are scalable, secure, supportable, and aligned with established architecture, security, and data standards.
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Oversee custom ERP development and EDI integration delivery across platforms such as S2K, SAP, Infor, or comparable systems, ensuring solutions support supply chain, finance, order management, commercial, and operational requirements.
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Evaluate and introduce emerging technologies, including AI, automation, and next-generation integration capabilities, in alignment with ACR’s technology strategy, governance standards, and approved business priorities.
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Establish clear delivery controls and accountability across scope, schedule, quality, technical integrity, testing, release management, documentation, knowledge transfer, production readiness, and business outcomes.
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Oversee vendor relationships, external partner delivery, and resource planning, ensuring cost efficiency, delivery quality, transparency, and performance accountability.
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Partner with Infrastructure, Security, Data, QA, Program Management, and business operations teams to reduce delivery risk and ensure solutions are operationally ready and supportable.
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Manage application and engineering budgets, capital requirements, and investment recommendations in partnership with the CIO and Finance, ensuring decisions are supported by clear business value and aligned with the broader technology portfolio.
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Balance platform modernization and longer-term planning with immediate execution needs, ensuring strategic objectives translate into reliable and measurable delivery.
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Develop and retain application and engineering leaders through coaching, expanded ownership, succession planning within the function, and intentional talent development.
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Perform other duties as assigned.
What you will need to be successful:
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Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, Business, or a related field required, or equivalent relevant experience.
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15 or more years of progressive IT leadership experience, with a strong foundation in software engineering, application development, enterprise applications, systems integration, or solution architecture.
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Five or more years in a senior leadership role with direct management of multiple teams, managers, technical leaders, and engineering domains.
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Experience leading custom development on ERP platforms such as S2K, SAP, Infor, or comparable systems.
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Experience with EDI integration, enterprise system customization, API development, data integration, ETL, SSIS, pipelines, automation technologies, and AI-enabled solutions.
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Demonstrated experience leading application and engineering strategy, portfolio execution, and roadmap planning across multiple concurrent platforms.
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Proven experience managing complex delivery portfolios, resource capacity, cross-platform dependencies, technical risks, partner performance, and recovery of underperforming initiatives.
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Experience overseeing delivery through a combination of internal teams, external partners, and specialized technology vendors.
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Experience in manufacturing, distribution, supply chain, or similarly complex operational environments strongly preferred.
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Proven ability to lead through influence across functional and senior leadership teams, with a track record of building trust, resolving conflict, and driving accountability.
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Financial acumen to partner with the CIO and Finance on application and engineering budgets, capital planning, resource allocation, vendor investments, and portfolio prioritization.
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Strong vendor and partner management experience, including contract oversight, delivery governance, resource planning, quality management, and performance accountability.
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Senior-level verbal and written communication skills, including executive reporting, delivery updates, risk communication, decision facilitation, and cross-functional alignment.
Other major competencies:
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Strategic and operational leadership. Sets direction for the application and engineering portfolio while remaining close enough to execution to identify risks, challenge delivery plans, remove barriers, and hold leaders accountable for results.
Engineering credibility. Brings the technical depth necessary to engage effectively with engineers, architects, and delivery partners; evaluate solution options; challenge assumptions; and make sound decisions without losing focus on broader delivery outcomes.
Delivery discipline. Establishes clear ownership, realistic commitments, measurable outcomes, and consistent delivery practices across teams, platforms, and external partners.
Partner accountability. Creates clear expectations, governance mechanisms, quality controls, and performance measures that ensure external partners deliver against ACR’s business, technical, security, and operational requirements.
Organizational leadership. Builds and develops high-performing teams, strengthens leadership capability, drives accountability at all levels, and creates a culture of ownership and continuous improvement.
Business partnership. Frames application and engineering decisions in terms of business value and partners effectively with operational and functional leaders to drive outcomes, not just outputs.
Problem solving. Identifies delivery and technical risks early, works through ambiguity, makes informed decisions, and restores momentum when initiatives are not meeting expectations.
