Director, Application Lifecycle Management

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A career at Equinix means being at the center of shaping what comes next and amplifying customer value through innovation and impact. You’ll work across teams, influence key decisions, and help shape the path forward. You’ll find belonging, purpose, and a team that welcomes you—because when you feel valued, you’re empowered to do your best work.

Job Summary 

This role sits at the center of enterprise application portfolio optimization, helping the business make clearer decisions about which applications to invest in, consolidate, modernize, or retire. 

As Director of Application Lifecycle Management, you will guide an enterprise-wide effort to simplify and govern the application landscape, reducing complexity while protecting critical business capabilities. 

You will lead the strategy, governance, and execution of application portfolio rationalization, helping the business reduce cost, redundancy, and risk while protecting critical operations. Partnering with business functions, technology, Enterprise Architecture, security, procurement, and finance, you will translate portfolio data into clear recommendations, investment priorities, and an actionable multi-year roadmap. 

Responsibilities 

• Lead the enterprise application portfolio strategy and rationalization roadmap. 

• Build and maintain a trusted application inventory that captures ownership, cost, usage, dependencies, technical health, risk, and lifecycle status. 

• Apply a consistent decision framework to determine whether applications should be retained, optimized, consolidated, migrated, or retired. 

• Develop business cases, total cost of ownership models, and ROI assessments to support portfolio decisions and investment priorities. 

• Lead portfolio governance by providing steering committee and executive updates, tracking decisions and milestones, managing program budget and financial performance, and escalating risks, trade-offs, and issues that require leadership attention. 

• Oversee execution across the full portfolio lifecycle, including application migrations, data transitions, business readiness, change adoption, user transition planning, and vendor contract exits. 

• Operate the application intake governance process by assessing proposed purchases against existing internal capabilities, strategic fit, architecture alignment, total cost, and the risk of unnecessary duplication. 

• Define responsibilities and provide guidance to application owners and the Enterprise Architecture community throughout the portfolio lifecycle. 

• Drive retirement plans in partnership with application and infrastructure owners. 

• Translate complex portfolio data into clear recommendations and trade-offs, building alignment across business and technology stakeholders on a portfolio roadmap for leadership. 

Qualifications 

• Extensive experience in IT strategy, application portfolio management, enterprise architecture, technology transformation, or consulting, with a track record of leading complex enterprise initiatives. 

• Proven experience leading enterprise application rationalization, cost optimization, M&A integration, modernization, or a comparable technology transformation program. 

• Strong understanding of application lifecycle management, enterprise architecture, dependency mapping, technical debt, and technology risk. 

• Experience developing business cases, total cost of ownership models, ROI assessments, and benefits-tracking approaches. 

• Strong program leadership across complex, multi-year, cross-functional initiatives. 

• Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority, align stakeholders, and move complex decisions forward in a global, matrixed organization. 

• Excellent analytical, executive communication, and change leadership skills, with sound judgment in making portfolio recommendations when data is incomplete or trade-offs are complex. 

What Success Looks Like 

• Reduced application redundancy, licensing and support costs, technical debt, and portfolio risk. 

• A trusted application portfolio with clear ownership, decision history, and lifecycle status. 

• Successful execution of portfolio decisions without disruption to critical business capabilities. 

• Repeatable portfolio governance embedded in ongoing operations. 

• Stakeholder trust strengthened through transparent, evidence-based portfolio decisions. 

The targeted pay range for this position in the following location is / locations are:

United States - Denver Office DEO : 155,000 - 233,000 USD / Annual

United States - Dallas Infomart Office DAI : 155,000 - 233,000 USD / Annual

Canada - Toronto Office TRO : 166,000 - 248,000 CAD / Annual

Our pay ranges reflect the minimum and maximum target for new hire pay for the full-time position determined by role, level, and location.The pay range shown is based on our compensation structure in place at the time of posting and may be updated periodically based on business needs. Individual pay is based on additional factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education and/or training.

The targeted pay range listed reflects the base pay only and does not include bonus, equity, or benefits. Employees are eligible for bonus, and equity may be offered depending on the position.

Equinix Benefits

As an employee, you become important to Equinix’s success. We ensure all your benefits are in line with our core values: competitive, inclusive, sustainable, connected and efficient. We keep them competitive within the current marketplace to ensure we’re providing you with the best package possible. So, wherever you are in your career and life, you’ll be able to enhance your experience and bring your whole self to work.

Employee Assistance Program: An Employee Assistance program is available to all employees.

US Benefits: - Insurance: You may enroll in health, life, disability and voluntary plans that are designed for you and your eligible family members. - Retirement: You and Equinix may contribute to a retirement plan to help you plan for your financial future. - Paid Time Off (PTO) and Paid Holidays: You will receive an accrued amount of PTO each pay period along with various paid holidays for you to rest and recharge. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific plan or program terms. Canada Core Benefits: - Insurance: You may enroll in healthcare coverage that is designed to complement the provincial healthcare system, along with life, disability and optional benefit plans that are designed for you and your eligible family members. - Retirement: You may also enroll in Equinix-sponsored retirement or savings plans: Defined Contribution Pension Plan (DCPP), Group Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and Tax-Free Savings Plan (TSFA). - Vacation and Paid Holidays: Equinix offers both vacation and personal time, along with various paid holidays for you to rest and recharge. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits. Benefits are subject to specific plan or program terms, and to change at Equinix discretion.

Equinix is committed to ensuring that our employment process is open to all individuals, including those with a disability.  If you are a qualified candidate and need assistance or an accommodation, please let us know by completing this form.

Equinix is an Equal Employment Opportunity and, in the U.S., an Affirmative Action employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to unlawful consideration of race, color, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, place of birth, citizenship, sex, pregnancy / childbirth or related medical conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or domestic partnership status, age, veteran or military status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, political / organizational affiliation, status as a victim or family member of a victim of crime or abuse, or any other status protected by applicable law. 

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This posting is for a backfill position, meaning it is to fill an existing vacancy within our organization.