We’re not only embracing the future at Perficient—we’re building it. As a global AI-first consultancy, we empower our people to lead with innovation, curiosity, and compassion. Our teams are helping the world’s most admired brands harness the power of generative AI to reimagine customer experiences, streamline operations, and drive meaningful transformation. At the heart of this is our people who play a vital role in shaping a collaborative culture that challenges convention and celebrates growth.
Sarah McDowell, a Director in our Salesforce Business Unit (BU), recently shared her journey into the technology industry, passion for solving complex problems, and how she’s helping shape the future of AI-powered experiences. Continue reading to learn how Sarah’s unconventional path, people-first mindset, and love for technology are making a difference at Perficient.
When did you join Perficient and what is your role? Describe a typical day in the life.
I’ve been with Perficient since 2020 and joined right as the pandemic shifted everything to remote work. I’ve loved every minute of the past five years. I’m a Director working with one of our larger accounts in the Salesforce BU. I’ve grown through several roles—starting as a Business Analyst, then Lead Business Analyst, Senior Solutions Architect, and now Director. Over the years, I’ve helped solve our clients’ problems through architecture design, workshops, calls, and troubleshooting. I work across four to five scrum teams with different product owners, spending much of my day designing for future development.
My favorite part is connecting with and empowering people. I helped build a more global team by onboarding new members from Latin America onto the account. A program manager and I flew to Colombia to launch a boot camp, forming strong relationships that continue to this day. I’ve also mentored a few team members on their own paths. The way we connect and build each other up is my favorite thing.
Why did you choose Perficient?
My story isn’t your typical ‘I got into software’ story. I thought I was destined for social work because I love people, building connections, and helping others solve problems. Fascinated by psychology, I worked at a crisis line after college where I learned to de-escalate situations and support people from all walks of life. That led to working with children and spending a few years working with Child Protective Services in Texas.
While rewarding, the work was emotionally taxing, especially once I started a family. I still wanted to solve problems and work with people, so I transitioned into the technology industry. During my time at an oil and gas company, I discovered they were using antiquated processes. I completely digitized the entire process and built a software tracking process for people to check documents in and out.
I dove into Salesforce, completed trailheads, and earned my first Marketing Cloud certification. That led to my first role as a Salesforce Marketing Cloud Admin at a healthcare company, where I spent a couple of years before finding Perficient. I immediately fell in love with Perficient’s culture, the people, and how we collaborate with clients to solve problems.
What are your proudest accomplishments, personally and professionally? Any milestone moments at Perficient?
Personally, I’m most proud of my family. I’m a mother of two boys who are 14 and 10 years old. My husband and I work hard to create a harmonious, united home built on love and compassion. He’s been incredibly supportive of my career change, always championing my growth and accomplishments.
Professionally, I’m proud of becoming the person I’ve always aspired to be. I still have my first Marketing Cloud certification on the wall. It symbolizes that transformation. I earned my first certification as a Marketing Cloud Email Specialist, where I learned how to build emails, journeys, queries, and automations—like the reminder emails you receive when you leave something in your online cart.
Then I earned the Einstein Prediction Builder certification, which is where AI comes in. You can program AI to predict things like, ‘What’s the likelihood Sarah will buy red shoes next quarter?’ If the likelihood is high, it will put her in a marketing journey. Tools like Prediction Builder and Einstein Analytics are targeting personalized emails for each person.
What I’m most excited about in the future is how AI can change the way we’re doing everything. The way we shop, the way we look at things, the way we do our work every day, how we build our stories, and how we create our emails. It’s a mindset shift that is exciting to be a part of.
Read More: Embrace Career Growth Through Perficient’s Growth for Everyone Initiative
How is your team using AI at Perficient?
Our Salesforce BU is looking at new AI tools, and our clients want to incorporate them into their marketing campaigns. It’s important to understand how AI works and think about the essential building blocks needed to get started. We’re finding that many clients want to use AI, but they can’t yet because their data or systems aren’t set up to support it. The first step is understanding their systems and preparing them for AI. If you implement tools without the prep work, it’s like shoving an engine on a go-kart—it’s not going anywhere. But if we get them ready, they can fully leverage the AI everyone’s excited about.
One of the projects I’m working on is a pilot with personalized marketing to set up the foundation for using AI tools. There are subtle ways that you can use AI when you’re building out an email or writing user stories. We’ve created a standardized template for all the business analysts, so everyone has a consistent experience. That’s what excites me about my daily work.
Read More: Learn How Perficient is Building an AI-First Enterprise
What challenges do you see with AI that we’ll need to navigate?
The biggest challenge is that every client is a little different in how we support them with AI and what tools will work. They may not be ready to ingest AI and might need help preparing their systems. A lot of people are excited about AI, but not many know how to implement it or set themselves up for success. That’s going to be the biggest hurdle in the next few years—helping clients get to a point where they can fully use AI in the best capacity to be successful. We’re seeing a lot of companies that implement AI too quickly. They don’t have things set up correctly, they fail, and then they don’t want to use the tools again.
Read More: Understand How Perficient Is Revolutionizing Engagement with Salesforce AI
How do you make a difference?
Getting involved in your local community can be a great way to give back. From a sociology standpoint, you have circles of impact with your family, community, and work. Then these circles expand from there. I’m most proud of the impact I’ve had on my family. They’re good and honest people. My kids are swimmers. I’m very passionate about swimming, and I am a part of the local community swim boards.
I also mentored high school students through the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp. These kids are amazing and very smart. It’s so fun because they bring in high school kids that are interested in AI and technology. They give them use cases, and they build prototypes. They show off their prototypes, and then, as mentors, we get to vote on which one we thought would have the biggest impact. It’s amazing to see what their ideas are and help guide them.
Read More: Perficient Partners with the Mark Cuban Foundation to Host AI Bootcamps
What advice would you give to someone starting their career at Perficient?
Speak up. If you want something, say it. I had a manager who asked where I wanted to be in five years and helped me build a plan to get there. I said I wanted to be a solutions architect, and she guided me every step of the way. It was my journey—she was just there to support it.
For someone new, the sky’s the limit. Talk about what you want and ask for help. Connecting with others and celebrating accomplishments together makes the work more enjoyable. I love seeing the shoutouts and people championing each other. It’s fun to read and makes me feel empowered. It builds the energy to come to work knowing that there are people out there working just as hard as I am, and they’re doing great things.
Read More: Learn About Perficient’s Award-Winning Culture
What are you passionate about outside of work?
I love archery—not hunting, just target practice. I also love supporting my kids. One is in theater and gymnastics and recently joined Descendants: The Musical. The other is in marching band and placed in the top ten at Nationals last year, playing the French horn and the Mellophone.
I try to have work-life balance, so I can be there for my kids and family. When I travel, I make sure I’m home on weekends for their performances and competitions. My husband is supportive—he even learned how to do eyeliner for my son in theater because I was away for a couple days. We’re all learning together.
It’s no secret our success is because of our people. No matter the technology or time zone, our colleagues are committed to delivering innovative, end-to-end digital solutions for the world’s biggest brands, and we bring a collaborative spirit to every interaction. We’re always seeking the best and brightest to work with us. Join our team and experience a culture that challenges, champions, and celebrates our people.
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