Manager of Application Development

 

This position is responsible for leading Thompson Machinery’s application development function and delivering business solutions that improve efficiency, consistency, and visibility across the organization. Reporting to the Director of IT, the Application Development Manager manages a team of developers who primarily build and support solutions using the Microsoft Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, Dataverse, and related services). This role partners closely with business stakeholders and the Continuous Improvement team to identify process gaps, define requirements, and translate operational needs into secure, scalable applications and automations. Success in this role requires strong leadership, clear communication, and the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse teams across the company.

 

• Application Delivery & Portfolio Execution:
  • Own end-to-end delivery of application enhancements and new solutions, from intake through release and stabilization.
  • Establish clear ownership of scope, priorities, timelines, and outcomes; communicate tradeoffs and constraints proactively.
  • Ensure solutions meet functional needs, quality standards, and usability expectations through appropriate testing, validation, and user acceptance.
• Power Platform Leadership (Power Apps Focus):
  • Lead development and support of Power Platform solutions, with primary emphasis on Power Apps and Dataverse-based application patterns.
  • Define and enforce development standards (environment strategy, security roles, data modeling, naming conventions, solution packaging, and documentation).
  • Promote reusable components and consistent patterns to improve delivery speed, maintainability, and user experience.
  • Provide technical guidance on Power Platform architecture, including data architecture (Dataverse and/or connected data sources) and integration patterns with external systems via APIs and connectors.
• People Leadership & Team Development:
  • Lead, coach, and develop application developers; provide role clarity, workload balancing, and growth plans.
  • Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, quality, and continuous improvement.
  • Ensure adequate skill coverage and cross-training to reduce single points of failure and support business continuity.
• Business Partnership & Requirements Consulting:
  • Consult with business stakeholders to understand current-state workflows, identify process gaps, and define measurable outcomes.
  • Translate business needs into clear, actionable requirements and user stories; ensure alignment on scope, acceptance criteria, and change impacts.
  • Partner with cross-functional teams (operations, finance, parts, service, rental, and other departments) to ensure solutions fit real-world processes and drive adoption.
• Continuous Improvement Partnership:
  • Work closely with the Continuous Improvement team to translate improvement opportunities and future-state processes into software solutions.
  • Support pilot-to-scale delivery by rapidly iterating solutions, validating outcomes, and standardizing successful implementations.
• Governance, Security & Operational Support:
  • Ensure applications align with Thompson’s security requirements, data access controls, and change management practices.
  • Maintain appropriate documentation (solution designs, configuration records, runbooks, and support procedures) to enable supportability and continuity.
  • Coordinate with infrastructure, data, security, and support teams to resolve production issues and deliver enhancements with minimal business disruption