The posting
About the Role
Baker Hughes is scaling a dedicated global delivery function for the Cordant suite of digital solutions. The Software Deployment Leader (SDL) is the single point of accountability for a Cordant deployment from contract signature through go-live and value realization. The SDL doesn’t own a department — they own an outcome. For the duration of each engagement, the SDL stands up, leads, and is accountable for a cross-functional delivery team assembled from our pool of consultants, software configuration experts, domain SMEs, data scientists, and forward deployed engineers, who continue to sit in their home functions.
This is a high-visibility, high-trust role for someone who thrives on ambiguity, can build credibility fast with both customer executives and internal functional leaders, and treats a delivery commitment as personal accountability rather than a project plan line item.
SDLs report functionally into the global Cordant Delivery organization and are assigned to engagements based on customer need, technical complexity, and geography — not tied to a single business unit or region long-term.
What You’ll Be Accountable For
1. Engagement Leadership & Team Assembly
- Serve as the named delivery leader for one (or, sequentially/concurrently depending on size, more than one) Cordant deployment from post-win handoff through closeout.
- Partner with functional leaders (consulting, software configuration, data science, forward deployed engineering, domain SMEs) to staff the right team for the engagement’s scope, technical profile, and customer industry — and negotiate for that capacity when it’s contended.
- Lead this matrixed team day-to-day for the life of the engagement, setting direction, removing blockers, and holding the team accountable to commitments — without formal HR authority over its members.
2. Project & Program Management
- Own the delivery plan: scope, schedule, budget, resourcing, and risk register, from kick-off through go-live and transition to steady-state/support.
- Run governance cadence — steering committees, status reporting, milestone reviews — for both the customer and internal leadership.
- Manage scope and change control rigorously; protect the commercial terms of the engagement while keeping the customer relationship healthy.
- Identify and escalate risks and issues early, with options and recommendations — not just problems.
- Track and report engagement financials (cost-to-serve, margin, utilization) in partnership with finance/commercial teams.
3. Customer Relationship Ownership
- Be the customer’s primary point of contact and trusted advisor for the duration of the deployment — the person they call when something’s wrong, and the person who tells them what’s going right.
- Build relationships at the working level and with customer executive sponsors; manage expectations proactively rather than reactively.
- Lead executive steering committee sessions and business reviews; translate technical progress into business outcomes the customer’s leadership cares about.
- Own customer satisfaction and adoption for the deployment, and drive toward measurable value realization, not just technical go-live.
4. Internal Stakeholder Management
- Communicate engagement health, risks, and resourcing needs clearly and on a regular cadence to Cordant Delivery leadership.
- Act as the connective tissue between the customer-facing engagement and the internal functions supplying talent — surfacing capacity conflicts, skill gaps, or quality concerns before they become escalations.
- Represent the voice of delivery into commercial/sales handoff (deal review, SOW scoping) for the next engagement entering the pipeline.
5. Delivery Quality & Continuous Improvement
- Ensure deliverables from configuration, data science, and engineering work streams meet the standard the customer is paying for — SDLs are accountable for outcomes, not just plans.
- Capture lessons learned and contributed to the evolution of Cordant’s deployment methodology, playbooks, and templates so each engagement gets easier to run than the last.
- Support knowledge transfer and training to the customer’s team to enable sustainable adoption post go-live.
What We’re Looking For
- 8–12+ years in roles with direct accountability for delivering complex technology, software, or digital transformation projects for enterprise/industrial customers.
A background in one of these two profiles:
- Top-tier or boutique consulting firm, at the Engagement Manager / Project Leader / Senior Manager level, leading client-facing delivery teams; or
- A comparable Engagement Manager / Implementation Lead / Customer Success delivery role at an industrial software or industrial digital solutions company
- Demonstrated experience leading matrixed or virtual teams without direct line authority — pulling together specialists from different functions and getting them to deliver as one team under deadline pressure.
- Track record of managing enterprise customer relationships at the executive level, including steering committees and difficult conversations (scope, delays, escalations).
- Experience owning a project P&L or commercial scope — change control, budget tracking, margin awareness — not just a schedule.
Strongly Preferred
- Domain exposure to industrial/process industries (oil & gas, power generation, chemicals, manufacturing, or similar heavy/process industries) and/or industrial IoT, asset performance management, or predictive maintenance software.
- Familiarity with enterprise software implementation lifecycles (SaaS or on-prem) — integration, data migration, configuration, UAT, go-live, hyper care.
- PMP, PRINCE2, Agile/Scrum, or equivalent project/program management certification.
- Experience standing up new delivery functions or methodologies from scratch, rather than operating inside an already-mature delivery org.
Education
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Business, Computer Science, or related field required.
- MBA or relevant advanced degree a plus, not a requirement.
Work in a way that works for you We recognize that everyone is different and that the way in which people want to work and deliver at their best is different for everyone too. In this role, we can offer the following flexible working patterns.
Working with us Our people are at the heart of what we do at Baker Hughes. We know we are better when all of our people are developed, engaged and able to bring their whole authentic selves to work. We invest in the health and well-being of our workforce, train and reward talent and develop leaders at all levels to bring out the best in each other.
Working for you Our inventions have revolutionized energy for over a century. But to keep going forward tomorrow, we know we must push the boundaries today. We prioritize rewarding those who embrace change with a package that reflects how much we value their input. Join us, and you can expect:
Contemporary work-life balance policies and wellbeing activities.
Comprehensive private medical care options.
Safety net of life insurance and disability programs.
Tailored financial programs.
The Baker Hughes internal title for this role is: Services Senior Manager - Digital Implementation & Enablement
