Director of Technology

This position is on site in Jessup, MD 5 days a week. The Director of Technology is the single accountable owner of technology at Alliance Material Handling. This role sets and maintains a multi-year technology roadmap covering software, security, data and the skills required to run it, leads the evaluation and implementation of our next ERP platform, builds the data and integration layer that everything else depends on, and brings artificial intelligence and automation into our operations as a working capability rather than a series of demonstrations. The role also owns the project discipline by which all of it gets delivered. This is a build role. Alliance runs fourteen systems with limited integration, a core ERP that offers no project accounting, and a $210M Warehouse Solutions business that manages job costing, WIP and milestone billing in Excel. We have improved in most of these areas over the last several years, but almost always through brute force, meaning more people, rather than technology. The first requirement for this role is not deep technical expertise. It is the ability to run complex, cross-functional projects to completion and to map and redesign the processes underneath them. We are looking for a program leader who is technically fluent, not a technologist who also manages projects. What You’ll Do Technology Strategy & RoadmapOwn and maintain a multi-year technology roadmap covering software, data, staffing and skills, aligned to where the business is going rather than where it has beenConsolidate technology ownership that today is shared across several executives, and serve as the single point of accountability for technology decisions and outcomes, including networking and securityBring recommendations to the leadership team with costs, risks, payback and a phased plan, and be accountable for delivering what you recommendMaintain a prioritized, quantified backlog of technology investments and revisit it as the business changesERP Evaluation & ImplementationRun an evidence-based evaluation across candidate platforms, scored against documented business requirements and customer demandsOwn the relationship with the current ERP vendor, including support obligations, end-of-life exposure, licensing and renewal pricingLead implementation once a platform is selected, including scope, sequencing, budget, data migration, testing, training and cutoverInherit and build on a completed third-party assessment and an open recommendation rather than starting from a blank pageAI & AutomationBuild and maintain a prioritized, quantified AI and automation use-case backlog tied to specific processes and dollarsTake a small number of use cases into production and prove value in hours and dollars rather than demonstrationsEstablish guardrails for data security, accuracy and human review before any use case reaches productionReport results honestly, including the use cases that do not work and should be stoppedData, Integration & ReportingRetire Excel as the reporting layer for job costing, WIP, milestone billing and other core processesEstablish a single source of truth for operational and financial reporting across both the dealership and Warehouse Solutions businessesReduce the share of finance and operations time spent assembling data rather than analyzing itVendor & Partner ManagementSelect, scope and manage software vendors, implementation partners and development partners and own the relationship with our existing 3rd party help desk, network and security vendor and ensure effective support across the organization for a competitive costHold partners to delivery against written acceptance standards and dates, renegotiate scope where needed, and end relationships that are not workingDirect outside advisors rather than being directed by themReview and negotiate technology agreements, renewals and pricing in partnership with FinanceCustomer-Driven RequirementsOwn the systems response to customer reporting requirements, including standardized weekly progress reporting, daily reporting when a phase slips, material readiness confirmation by component, and consistent units of measure across the life of a projectWork directly with Warehouse Solutions leadership to translate customer requirements into system and process requirementsDeliver a working answer on the required timeline, including an interim manual answer where the system answer is not yet readyTeam, Knowledge & Key-Person RiskLead existing and future IT team, including existing and future roles as neededIdentify critical functions that depend on a single individual and retire those dependencies through documentation, cross-training and system changeBuild and maintain documentation standards so that knowledge does not live in one person’s headPartner with department leaders to build technical fluency across the businessProject Execution StandardsEstablish and enforce a simple project standard: a named decision that changes, a measured baseline before we start, one named owner, a date with a gate where the answer can be no, and a named person who runs it once it is liveApply that standard to every technology initiative in the company, including work led by other departmentsReport status, risks and gate decisions to the leadership team on a regular cadenceClose out projects with measured before-and-after results What You Need Minimum of 7 years leading technology programs in an operating business such as distribution, construction, field service, manufacturing or logisticsDemonstrated delivery of at least one significant ERP evaluation, selection or implementation, ideally in a project-based or job-costing environmentBachelor’s degree in a business, engineering, information systems or related field, or equivalent combination of education and experienceProven ability to run complex, cross-functional projects to completion, with measured results you can describe in detailGenuine process mapping and redesign capability, including the ability to sit with a coordinator, document how work actually happens, and design something better that people will useStrong data and analytics fluency, including an understanding of what good data architecture looks like and when you are being sold something that is notVendor and partner management experience, including holding a partner accountable, renegotiating a scope and recommending that we walk awayStrong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain a technology trade-off to an executive team in business terms and a process change to a technician or coordinator in technical termsExperience in a multi-site business with field operations is preferred, as is exposure to Microsoft Dynamics 365, NAV, Business Central, NetSuite or other equipment dealer management systemsPractical AI or automation experience deployed to production rather than piloted is preferredAbility to travel periodically to branch and customer locations domesticallyAbility to sit and work at a computer for extended periods while performing essential job duties What We Offer Employee Ownership (ESOP) - build long-term wealth as an owner401(k) with company matchMultiple healthcare options including company paid plan (medical, dental, vision)Paid time off + holidaysCompany-paid short-term, long-term disability & life insurance About Us Become our next millionaire. Alliance Material Handling is a 100% employee-owned company where every team member shares in the success they help create. We believe in rewarding hard work with real financial opportunity and long-term career growth.