Federal Acquisition Subject Matter Expert

About the role

Appian is seeking a Federal Acquisition Subject Matter Expert to serve as the strategic bridge between the complex world of U.S. Federal procurement and Appian’s Government Acquisition Management suite. This role will act as the voice of the acquisition workforce, guiding product strategy, requirements, and innovation in a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary functional owner for Appian’s Government Acquisition Management suite, identifying opportunities to evolve product capabilities to better serve Federal and Department of War acquisition professionals.
• Partner with Product Managers and Engineers to translate FAR/DFARS regulations and Federal Civilian and DOW acquisition workflows into clear, high-impact software requirements.
• Influence the product roadmap by identifying emerging trends, regulatory changes, and modernization opportunities within federal procurement.
• Provide expert-level perspective during design reviews, workflow validation, and acceptance testing to ensure solutions meet the standards required for mission-critical federal contracts.
• Represent Appian as a thought leader in the acquisition community through webinars, podcasts, speaking engagements, and industry events such as NCMA and ACT-IAC.
• Collaborate with Sales and Marketing teams to demonstrate the practical, real-world value of Appian’s platform to senior government, military, and civilian leadership.
• Serve as a trusted internal advisor on acquisition policy, contracting workflows, user pain points, and opportunities to apply modern technology and AI to federal acquisition and contract management.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of federal contracting experience, including 7+ years serving as a Contracting Officer within the Department of War.
• Recent DoD 1102 experience with a strong understanding of mission-first procurement environments and the pressure of operating with a warrant.
• Expert-level mastery of FAR and DFARS, including experience with DoD-unique procurement requirements.
• Proven ability to translate complex acquisition rules, policies, and workflows into practical guidance for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience serving in a thought leadership capacity, including delivering presentations, writing articles, participating in panels, or speaking at industry events.
• Strong executive presence and ability to communicate with Product, Engineering, Sales, senior military leaders, civilian executives, and acquisition professionals.
• High technical curiosity and comfort learning how software platforms transform complex data and workflows into actionable procurement intelligence.
• Understanding of how AI can be applied to federal acquisition, procurement modernization, or contract management.
• Bachelor’s Degree required.
• DoD Contracting Professional Certification required, or previous DAWIA Level II/III certification with recent relevant experience.
• Familiarity with software development lifecycles or Agile methodologies is a plus.

Benefits

• Base Salary Range: $150,000 USD - $275,000 USD
• Discretionary bonus may be awarded in recognition of individual and company performance.
• Generous benefits offerings that include a 401(k) plan with company match, flexible time off, paid parental leave, medical, dental, and vision plans, life insurance, disability insurance, wellness programs, flexible spending accounts, health savings account contributions, an employee referral bonus program, and learning and development resources.
• Equity awards may be eligible for certain positions.