Head of Technical Delivery

About Us

Welcome to RTS Labs. We are a premier AI, Data, and Software consulting firm partnering with high-growth startups and enterprise brands to build tech that moves the needle. We operate with a fast-paced, startup-style energy where fresh thinking is rewarded, bureaucracy is non-existent, and complex engineering puzzles are solved every day.

We don't just talk about having a great culture, we have the hardware to prove it. RTS Labs was officially named a Great Place to Work 2026, took home the Innovator Award (the "New Ideas" specialty award) at the Top Workplaces ceremony, and ranks proudly among the Top Workplaces in Virginia. If you want to build cutting-edge data architecture alongside an award-winning team, you’ve found your home.

The Role:

We are seeking a deeply technical, high-impact Head of Technical Delivery to lead, scale, and inject strong operational discipline into our delivery organization. This role is fully accountable for the overall health, quality, and profitability of execution across all client engagements. Crucially, you will ensure we successfully realize revenue from sold work by partnering closely with Sales to seamlessly align our technical pipeline, capacity, and execution.

This is not a passive, non-technical management role. We need a leader who has spent years in the trenches writing code, architecting systems, and navigating IT consulting environments. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Own Technical Delivery Health:  Accountable for project outcomes, client satisfaction, and margins across all engagements, ensuring sold work translates directly into high-quality technical execution and revenue recognition.
• Inject Technical Oversight into PM & Pod Layers:  Lead and develop the PM Lead and Pod Leaders, enforcing clear technical ownership, execution standards, and accountability so PMs act as true drivers of successful project outcomes, not just task coordinators.
• Bridge Pre-Sales and Engineering:  Partner with Sales and the Technical Council during pre-sales to provide input on engineering estimation, deal shaping, and resourcing strategies, ensuring seamless transitions to delivery.
• Optimize Staffing & Forecasting: Own resource allocation across engagements, utilizing data and AI-assisted insights to perfectly match engineering capabilities with project needs while actively managing utilization and bench.
• Drive Lightweight Operational Excellence: Define and reinforce streamlined, effective delivery processes that reduce manual friction and leverage AI tools for tracking and knowledge sharing—focusing on root causes rather than adding bureaucratic processes for its own sake.
• Lead Critical Technical Interventions:  Take direct ownership of high-risk engagements or delivery escalations, stepping into complex client environments to stabilize engineering architecture, rebuild confidence, and solve structural bottlenecks.

Required Skills & Experience:

• 10+ years of experience in delivery leadership roles within software engineering consultancies or IT services organizations.
• Proven Engineering Roots: Must have previous hands-on coding experience as a Software or Data Engineer, with the ability to comfortably review architectures and challenge technical assumptions.
• IT Consulting Foundation: Extensive background working within an IT consulting model, demonstrating a deep understanding of utilization, margins, scopes of work (SOWs), and project delivery lifecycles.
• Scale Experience ($20M–$50M): Proven track record of successfully helping scale a delivery organization through rapid growth milestones.
• Executive Presence & Alignment: Experience managing a manager-of-managers structure while partnering closely with executive stakeholders (CEO, CRO, enterprise clients) to align pipeline with delivery capacity.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Executive-level experience delivering software solutions to Fortune 500 clients 
• Active interest and experience in deploying AI-assisted tools to optimize project tracking, resource forecasting, and operational efficiency.
• Deep familiarity with modern data, AI, and cloud software engineering ecosystem stacks.

Who Thrives at RTS Labs?

RTS Labs is built for people who want real ownership, not layers of permission. We're a delivery-first AI, data, and software engineering consultancy. We ship production systems, not slide decks. We don't reward theater, over-process, or long meetings that avoid the actual work. We care about solving hard problems, communicating clearly, and earning trust through execution.

You'll thrive here if:

• You see a problem and move. You don't wait for the perfect ticket or mandate. You clarify what matters, make progress, and pull in the right people when you need them.
• You're comfortable with ambiguity. Client environments are messy. Requirements shift. You know how to operate without every detail handed to you.
• You communicate early. You surface blockers before they become surprises. You explain tradeoffs in plain language and keep people informed without creating noise.
• You own outcomes, not tasks. You think about whether the work solves the real problem and moves the client closer to production, not just whether it's done.
• You adapt quickly. Priorities shift. Timelines compress. You adjust without drama and help the team stay focused.
• You bring a point of view. You challenge assumptions respectfully, with evidence and clear reasoning, not ego.
• You think ahead. You spot risks early so leadership can make better calls before problems get expensive.
• You care about craft. Code, architecture, delivery, client conversations, whatever the work is, you take pride in doing it well.

This isn't the right place if:

• You need heavy structure, constant direction, or a slow approval chain before taking action.
• You prefer theoretical architectures over practical, shippable solutions.
• You feel uncomfortable talking directly with clients or working through changing business requirements.

It is the right place if:

• You want autonomy, trust, smart teammates, and the responsibility that comes with building systems clients actually use.

Compensation & Benefits:

• Expected Base Salary: $180,000 to $220,000 / year 
• Our Workplace & Compensation Philosophy: RTS Labs operates on a flexible, hybrid-remote model. Team members living within 30 miles of our Glen Allen/Richmond, VA office sync up on a hybrid schedule, while those living further out are entirely remote. To ensure total pay equity across our team, all of our salary ranges are benchmarked strictly to the Richmond market standard and are not adjusted downward or upward based on a candidate's specific location or local cost of living.
• Final Determination: Your starting pay is determined by your years of experience, interview performance, and core technical capabilities. Instead of using past resume titles, we map your skills directly to our 1–10 leveling framework based on your execution during our assessments. We are completely transparent: if you track a level above or below the role you applied for, we will tell you early to align expectations. This ensures all new hires are paid equitably in line with what current team members with similar experience earn here. 

Perks & Benefits:

• Continuous Learning: $1,000 towards  professional development time per year to spend on certifications, courses, or tech conferences of your choice.
• 401k Match: We provide a 4% company match after six months to invest in your future.
• Flexible PTO: Take the time you need to recharge, we trust our team.
• Paid Winter Break: We shut down the company every year between December 25th and January 2nd so everyone can fully unplug and spend time with family.
• Family-First Culture: High autonomy, low ego, and zero micromanagement.

RTS Labs is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and diverse environment where all people are honored, respected, and celebrated.

To see the energy of the team receiving one of these honors, you can watch the RTS Labs Top Workplaces Ceremony Specialty Award Video to see how the team values fresh thinking and collaboration.