AI Practice Lead (Minnesota)

Excel Nearshore is a U.S.-based nearshore IT staffing and managed services company with engineering talent in San José, Costa Rica. We serve U.S. enterprise clients on platforms including Oracle, Salesforce, and custom applications. We are building our AI Practice and have recently been accepted into both the Claude Partner Network (Anthropic) and the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program. This is a new, high-visibility role that will own our AI enablement strategy from the inside out: Internally, this role will drive our AI Growth strategy, organize training and certification, building repeatable AI accelerators with our clients, and eventually help us take AI solutions to market. Externally, this role will drive strategic client conversations around AI trends and enabling technologies, helping organizations understand, adopt, and scale AI solutions. As an AI Practice Leader, AI based growth will be part of the total compensation plan. You’ll report to our Chief Growth and Solutions Officer. What You'll Do Lead Our AI Training & Certification Program Coordinate enrollment of employees in the Anthropic Academy CPN learning path as the first milestone toward Claude Partner status Track certification progress across the team; confirm completion and unlock the Claude Certified Architect Foundations (CCAF) exam Assess current AI tool usage across all employees and develop a practical, company-wide AI adoption plan Build a training roadmap that is technology-agnostic — covering Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Gemini, and other tools depending on client environments Build Repeatable AI Accelerators Partner with our Managed Services team to build practical AI accelerators that support clients delivery. Document deliverables so they can be replicated across other Oracle, Salesforce, and service desk clientsHelp develop a 2-week AI incubator offering — a structured, low-commitment engagement we can offer enterprise clients to surface AI opportunities Organize & Enable Internal Operations Establish a structured shared drive (Google Drive / SharePoint) for our AI initiative and company-wide documentation • Build and maintain an employee skills grid — mapping certifications, AI tool proficiency, and technical specialties across our engineersAudit and activate our Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program benefits, including license consolidation opportunities Develop AI usage and data governance policies appropriate for client-facing engagements Drive the Initiative ForwardOwn a weekly AI strategy meeting with leadership — reporting progress, surfacing blockers, and keeping momentum Identify the resource requirements (developer type, time, tooling) needed to execute each AI initiativeSupport client-facing engagements — joining sales conversations and eventually leading AI discovery sessions with prospects What We're Looking For Required 10+ years of experience in technical delivery, e.g., cloud, data analytics, software development, etc. 3+ years of AI solutions architecture, or AI/technology consulting.Hands-on familiarity with AI tools — Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Gemini, or similar — in a professional contextStrong communicator who can work fluently with developers, managers, and executive clientsCommercial mindset: understands that AI should expand capabilities and billable value, not reduce headcountHighly organized and self-directed; able to create structure from ambiguityExperience coordinating cross-functional initiatives without direct authorityUnderstands and communicate the importance of data security in AI models Preferred Exposure to enterprise platforms such as Oracle, Salesforce, or ITSM toolingExperience building AI accelerators, tools, or proof-of-concept workflowsBackground in nearshore, staffing, or professional services environmentsCertification in any AI platform (Anthropic Academy, Microsoft AI, Google Cloud AI) is a plus This Is NOT the Right Role If You... Want to be heads-down coding all day — this role coordinates and enables developer work, not solely executes it Prefer a narrow, well-defined scope — this role requires comfort with broad, evolving responsibilitiesAre uncomfortable talking to clients or leadershipWhat We Offer A high-visibility role with direct access to the CEO and senior leadership The opportunity to build an AI practice from scratch at a company with 20 years of enterprise delivery credibilityAccess to Anthropic Academy, Claude Partner Network resources, and Microsoft AI partner benefitsA clear path to client-facing engagements and long-term growth as our AI practice scalesCompetitive compensation commensurate with experience