Senior Director, AI Platforms (Minneapolis)

JOB SUMMARY

The Sr Director, AI Platforms is the senior technical leader accountable for building and operating Trace3's AI Platforms practice within the Infrastructure & Operations Business Unit of the Office of the CTO. This role combines deep, hands‑on expertise in full‑stack AI factory design with leadership of a high‑performing technical presales team. The Sr Director owns the architecture and deal‑shaping of multi‑million dollar AI infrastructure opportunities spanning GPU compute, high‑performance networking, scale‑out storage, and the surrounding software stack, and is directly accountable for the operation of Trace3's AI Labs.

As a senior practice leader and field‑CxO‑caliber advisor, this individual engages directly with client executives, OEM leadership, and Trace3 field account teams to architect production AI factories built on platforms from NVIDIA, Cisco, Dell Technologies, Super Micro, Lenovo, HPE, and the adjacent ecosystem. The ideal candidate brings proven implementation experience at scale (multi‑rack, GPU‑dense deployments with InfiniBand or Spectrum‑X fabrics, parallel file systems, and production‑grade cooling and power design), combined with the commercial acumen to drive meaningful product and services growth for Trace3.

SUMMARY OF ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

• Build, hire, coach, and retain a team of presales solutions architects covering AI infrastructure and HPC, orchestration and observability, and AI‑specific cybersecurity.
• Own team capacity planning, deal support coverage, and utilization targets against pipeline volume and velocity.
• Establish role definitions, technical career paths, certification roadmaps, and performance standards aligned with broader OCTO presales norms.
• Partner with Data & Analytics, Security Solutions, Digital, and Innovation teams to present a single technical front to customers on AI opportunities.

AI FACTORY SOLUTION ARCHITECTURE

• Serve as the primary technical architect for Trace3's largest and most complex AI infrastructure opportunities, including greenfield AI factory builds, training and inference cluster designs, and edge AI deployments.
• Architect end‑to‑end designs covering GPU compute, CPU head nodes, scale‑out and parallel storage, east‑west and north‑south networking, power, cooling, and facility integration.
• Define reference architectures, bill‑of‑materials templates, and repeatable deal patterns that accelerate presales velocity and improve design quality.
• Lead architectural validation, risk assessment, and commercial shaping for strategic pursuits.

AI LABS OWNERSHIP & OPERATION

• Own the technical roadmap, funding case, and day‑to‑day operation of Trace3's AI Labs environments.
• Define benchmarking methodologies, customer demo experiences, proof‑of‑concept frameworks, and vendor integration projects run through the Labs.
• Curate a rotating hardware estate across priority OEM platforms including NVIDIA DGX and HGX, Cisco AI infrastructure, Dell PowerEdge XE, Super Micro, Lenovo ThinkSystem, and HPE ProLiant Compute DL and Cray.
• Partner with marketing, field enablement, and OEM alliance teams to monetize Labs access through customer workshops, executive briefings, and OEM co‑sell motions.

OEM AND ECOSYSTEM LEADERSHIP

• Serve as the senior Trace3 technical point of contact for NVIDIA (including NVIDIA AI Enterprise, NCP, and Partner Program activities), Cisco, Dell Technologies, Super Micro, Lenovo, and HPE.
• Align Trace3's AI Platforms portfolio with OEM roadmaps, partner programs, and incentive structures.
• Engage vendor engineering, product management, and field alliance teams to influence product direction and secure early access for priority customers.
• Build strategic relationships with adjacent vendors in storage (VAST, WEKA, DDN, Pure, NetApp), networking fabrics, orchestration (Run:ai, Anyscale, Kubernetes ecosystem), observability, and AI security.

TECHNICAL PRESALES EXCELLENCE

• Lead complex technical discovery sessions, solutioning workshops, and executive briefings for strategic accounts across regions and verticals.
• Own deep technical validation, sizing, and configuration across AI training, fine‑tuning, inference, and RAG workloads.
• Review and approve major proposals and statements of work for technical soundness, deliverability, and commercial risk.
• Represent Trace3 at OEM events, industry conferences, and customer advisory boards.

INNOVATION & THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

• Shape Trace3's public point of view on AI factory design, AI readiness, and infrastructure modernization through whitepapers, reference designs, podcasts, and speaking engagements.
• Track AI infrastructure trends including emerging accelerators, disaggregated memory, liquid and rear‑door cooling, rack‑scale designs, and sovereign AI.
• Contribute to Trace3's broader AI Strategy and services planning by advising on infrastructure implications of services, managed services, and consulting motions.

CROSS‑FUNCTIONAL PARTNERSHIP

• Partner with Services Delivery to ensure every presales design transitions cleanly into deployable, supportable engagements.
• Partner with Sales Leadership to align presales coverage to priority accounts and opportunities.
• Represent AI Platforms in the Apollo Value Creation Plan AI Strategy workstream, contributing to cross‑workstream alignment across commercial, services, and digital consulting motions.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field; advanced degree preferred.
• 12+ years of progressive experience in enterprise infrastructure, with at least 5+ years hands‑on designing and implementing AI, ML, or HPC environments at production scale.
• Demonstrated delivery experience on multi‑rack, GPU‑dense factory deployments using at least two of the following platform families: NVIDIA DGX or HGX, Cisco AI infrastructure, Dell PowerEdge XE, Super Micro, Lenovo ThinkSystem, HPE ProLiant Compute DL or Cray.
• Deep technical fluency across GPU compute, high‑performance networking (InfiniBand, RoCE, NVIDIA Spectrum‑X), parallel and scale‑out file systems (VAST, WEKA, DDN, Pure, NetApp ONTAP AI), and AI‑optimized cooling and power design.
• Working command of the orchestration and operations stack including Kubernetes, Slurm, Run:ai, NVIDIA Base Command, Mission Control, and mainstream observability and MLOps tooling.
• Familiarity with AI‑specific security considerations including model protection, data governance, inference security, and alignment with emerging regulatory frameworks.
• 5+ years of people leadership experience with direct accountability for building and growing technical presales or architecture teams.
• Executive presence with proven ability to engage CxO‑level stakeholders at customers and OEM partners.
• Strong track record in a VAR, OEM, hyperscaler, or large enterprise setting with multi‑million dollar annual opportunity ownership.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to simplify complex AI infrastructure concepts for non‑technical audiences.
• Willingness to travel up to 50% to various locations around the United States as business needs require; valid driver’s license required.

Actual salary will be based on a variety of factors, including location, experience, skill set, performance, licensure and certification, and business needs. The range for this position in other geographic locations may differ. Certain positions may also be eligible for variable incentive compensation, such as bonuses or commissions, that is not included in the base salary.

THE PERKS

• Comprehensive medical, dental and vision plans for you and your dependents
• 401(k) Retirement Plan with Employer Match, 529 College Savings Plan, Health Savings Account, Life Insurance, and Long‑Term Disability
• Competitive Compensation
• Training and development programs
• Major offices stocked with snacks and beverages
• Collaborative and cool culture
• Work‑life balance and generous paid time off