New

Principal Consultant

AHEAD
vision insurance, paid time off, 401(k)
United States, Illinois, Chicago
401 North Michigan Avenue (Show on map)
May 01, 2026
AHEAD builds platforms for digital business. By weaving together advances in cloud infrastructure, automation and analytics, and software delivery, we help enterprises deliver on the promise of digital transformation. At AHEAD, we prioritize creating a culture of belonging, where all perspectives and voices are represented, valued, respected, and heard. We create spaces to empower everyone to speak up, make change, and drive the culture at AHEAD. We are an equal opportunity employer, and do not discriminate based on an individual's race, national origin, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, marital status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law, whether actual or perceived. We embrace all candidates that will contribute to the diversification and enrichment of ideas and perspectives at AHEAD. Principal Consultant We are looking for a Principal Consultant to join our Consulting team. The Principal Consultant is responsible for representing and leading the delivery of strategic consulting service offerings. The AHEAD Consulting team is driven by industry-leading experts who have developed a consultative framework unique to AHEAD. It provides a vendor neutral consultative view to clients looking to transform their IT environments using next-generation technologies. The Principal Consultant leads customer-facing projects. Principal Consultants lead all aspects of the development of project deliverables including solutions, architectural analysis, financial analysis and organizational impacts. The Principal Consultant effectively and accurately scopes customer facing projects and identifies and positions follow-on work at customers and with stakeholders. The Principal Consultant can individually solve problems of higher complexity and assist and guide more junior resources through their problem resolutions. The position requires a team player that seeks to supplement their skills through the use of project experience, self-study, and ongoing training. Excellent written and verbal communication skills are also required. Roles and Responsibilities Represent service offerings during the sales cycle, including project scoping, proposal development, and presenting proposals to clients Ensure that customer expectations are appropriately set and managed Facilitate strategy, roadmap, design, and planning workshops Lead technical project teams in the delivery of consulting service offerings Drive and manage the objectives, requirements gathering, project tasks/milestone, project status, dependencies, and timelines, to ensure engagements are delivered successfully and on time while meeting the business objectives Final editing and sign off on project deliverables Presentation of deliverables to client executive management Technology thought leader and evangelist Maintain a broad knowledge and understanding of the current and anticipated future state of the IT infrastructure marketplace including IT infrastructure trends, technologies, and standards Assist with the maintenance and development of solution offerings Develop and promote relationships with customers and present technical solutions to C-Level executives Approximate time allocation of principal consultants: 40%-50% - Coordinating and developing client deliverables 20%-30% - Writing and presenting statements of work and proposals (Pre-Sales) 10%-15% - Facilitating client workshops leading guided discovery and presentations 10%-15% - Developing new service offerings and enhancing existing offerings Qualifications 15+ years of experience in related areas including 5+ years of experience in developing and implementing infrastructure solutions for large companies Demonstrated track record with architecting enterprise system architectures Data Center transformations, designs and consolidations, virtualization (Server, Storage, Desktop) Hybrid cloud architectures and solutions - including cloud platform technologies such as vRA/OpenStack/UCS vCD, vRO, Puppet/Chef and chargeback Architecting and solutioning of Amazon, Azure, Rackspace Cloud, and other public cloud technologies Experience with providing cost models (TCO/ROI) for financial alternative analysis Proven experience as a key technical resource leading development of solutions in client environments Experience as a Director or above position in an IT leadership role in industry and/or significant consulting experience Strong communication skills (both written and verbal) Demonstrated ability to influence and consult (providing options with pros, cons and risks) around all key technical decisions during project delivery Proven experience in technical consulting roles Strong interpersonal skills, customer centric attitude, ability to deal with cultural diversity Proven team player and team builder The compensation range indicated in this posting reflects the On-Target Earnings ("OTE") for this role, which includes a base salary and any applicable target bonus amount. This OTE range may vary based on the candidate's relevant experience, qualifications, and geographic location. Why AHEAD: Through our daily work and internal groups like Moving Women AHEAD and RISE AHEAD, we value and benefit from diversity of people, ideas, experience, and everything in between. We fuel growth by stacking our office with top-notch technologies in a multi-million-dollar lab, by encouraging cross department training and development, sponsoring certifications and credentials for continued learning. USA Employment Benefits include: - Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance - 401(k) - Paid company holidays - Paid time off - Paid parental and caregiver leave - Plus more! See benefits https://www.aheadbenefits.com/ for additional details. Use of AI: We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, assessing responses, or to capture recordings and create transcriptions or summaries during interviews. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please refer to the Candidate Privacy Notice or contact us at privacy@ahead.com. You may opt-out of the review or analysis of your application and resume by AI tools by using the General Application. Please include the role you wish to apply for in the Additional Information field. You may also choose to opt-out of recording and transcription at any time, including after joining an interview. Candidates will not be penalized for choosing to opt-out.