Practice Lead

Duck Creek Practice Leader

Role Summary

The Duck Creek Practice Leader is responsible for defining, designing, and governing end‑to‑end solution architecture for Duck Creek Policy, Billing, Claims, Rating, and Data implementations. This role bridges business requirements and technology solutions, ensuring scalable, secure, and high‑performance insurance platforms aligned with enterprise architecture standards and insurer business objectives.

The Practice Leader works closely with business stakeholders, product owners, delivery teams and Duck Creek to ensure successful design, implementation, and ongoing optimization of Duck Creek–based solutions.

Key Responsibilities

Solution Architecture & Design

• Lead end‑to‑end solution architecture for Duck Creek implementations (Policy, Billing, Claims, Rating, Data Insights).
• Translate business requirements into scalable, reusable, and compliant Duck Creek solution designs.
• Define system interaction models, integration patterns, data flows, and deployment architectures.
• Ensure alignment with enterprise architecture standards, cloud strategy, and security policies.
• Design multi‑LOB and multi‑jurisdiction insurance solutions leveraging Duck Creek product configurability.
• Understanding of local requirements of different geographies – North America, ANZ, India and Europe

Duck Creek Product Configuration & Integration

• Provide architectural guidance on Duck Creek product configuration, extensions, and custom development.
• Design and govern integrations with:
• Digital portals (Customer, Broker, Partner)
• Core and non‑core systems (CRM, Finance, Reinsurance, DWH, Document Management)
• Third‑party services (payment providers, rating engines, IDV, fraud, GIS)
• Define API strategies, event‑driven integration patterns, and data synchronization mechanisms.
• Ensure appropriate use of Duck Creek low‑code/no‑code capabilities and extension frameworks.

Cloud, DevOps & Non‑Functional Design

• Define cloud‑native architectures (Duck Creek OnDemand, Active Delivery, Azure) including:
• Scalability
• Availability
• Performance
• Disaster recovery
• Architect CI/CD pipelines, environment strategies, and release management approaches.
• Define and enforce non‑functional requirements (NFRs): performance, security, resilience, and compliance.
• Support security architecture including authentication, authorization, and data protection.

Governance & Delivery Support

• Act as the design authority for Duck Creek solutions across programs and releases.
• Review and approve solution designs, data models, integration designs, and technical specifications.
• Provide ongoing support to delivery teams during build, testing, and deployment phases.
• Identify technical risks early and define mitigation strategies.
• Support estimations, roadmaps, and phased implementation strategies.

Stakeholder & Leadership Engagement

• Collaborate with business leaders, enterprise architects, delivery managers, and vendors.
• Facilitate architecture workshops, design reviews, and solution walkthroughs.
• Provide thought leadership on Duck Creek best practices, patterns, and roadmap alignment.
• Mentor technical leads and developers on Duck Creek architecture and design patterns.

Required Skills & Experience

Duck Creek Expertise

• Strong hands‑on experience with:
• Duck Creek Policy
• Duck Creek Billing
• Duck Creek Claims
• Duck Creek Rating
• Solid understanding of Duck Creek product architecture, data model, and configuration frameworks.
• Experience with Duck Creek upgrades, multi‑state/multi‑country implementations, and LOB expansions.

Technical Skills

• Integration technologies: REST APIs, SOAP, messaging/event‑driven architecture.
• Cloud platforms: Azure; familiarity with Duck Creek OnDemand must.
• Database and data concepts: relational data models, reporting, analytics integration.
• DevOps & CI/CD concepts; experience with automation tools is desirable.
• Strong understanding of SOA, microservices, and modern application architecture principles.

Insurance Domain Knowledge

• Extensive knowledge of P&C insurance processes across Policy Lifecycle, Billing, and Claims.
• Familiarity with regulatory, compliance, and data privacy considerations.
• Experience with rating, underwriting, endorsements, renewals, and claims processing workflows.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• 12+ years of IT experience with 8+ years in Duck Creek implementations.
• Duck Creek Certifications (Policy, Billing, Claims, or Architecture) preferred.
• Experience working with insurers, MGAs, or system integrators.

Desirable Attributes

• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities.
• Proven leadership in complex, multi‑team delivery environments.
• Ability to balance strategic architecture with pragmatic delivery constraints.
• Experience working in Agile / SAFe delivery models.

Success Measures

• Successful delivery of scalable and compliant Duck Creek solutions.
• Reduced customization through effective use of Duck Creek configurability.
• High system performance, stability, and business adoption.
• Strong alignment between business goals, technology design, and long‑term platform roadmap.