Grant Thornton

AI, Data & Technology - AI-ML Director

Grant Thornton$170K — $274K *
Information Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in data science, computer science, or related discipline.
  • 5+ years of hands-on experience in AI/ML development (Manager level).
  • 7+ years leading teams of AI/ML architects and developers (Director level).
  • Experience delivering production AI/ML solutions in an enterprise setting.
  • Strong grounding in cloud architecture (AWS/Azure/GCP) and distributed systems.
  • Familiarity with MLOps practices including model lifecycle and deployment automation.
  • Ability to communicate effectively with senior stakeholders and establish client relationships.

Responsibilities

  • Lead discovery workshops to refine business objectives and success criteria for AI/ML projects.
  • Translate business requirements into comprehensive AI architectures including security and governance considerations.
  • Define and articulate tradeoffs across various domains like accuracy and cost to stakeholders.
  • Design and oversee data/model lifecycles and necessary MLOps foundations.
  • Establish integration patterns with enterprise systems to ensure operational support.
  • Collaborate with security and risk teams to embed necessary controls into designs.
  • Produce and review critical delivery artifacts such as architecture diagrams and implementation roadmaps.
  • Mentor team members while developing reusable assets to enhance delivery quality.

Benefits

  • Personalized and comprehensive benefits packages to support diverse identities and aspirations.
  • Eligibility for medical, dental, and vision insurance for full-time employees.
  • Inclusion in the firm's employee assistance program.
  • Annual discretionary bonuses based on individual and firm performance.
  • Generous paid sick leave provisions for employees.
Full Job Description
Job Description

As an AI-ML Architect you will translate business objectives into end-to-end AI architectures across ML/AI, application integration, data and governance-defining target-state designs, reference patterns, and implementation roadmaps; guiding technology choices across cloud and modern stacks; and partnering with security, risk, and delivery leaders to ensure solutions are operable, compliant, and measurable. The ideal candidate brings the right blend of hands-on AI engineering credibility and consulting leadership-strong communication with executives and technical teams, experience designing AI solutions that integrate with enterprise systems, and a pragmatic approach to tradeoffs across accuracy, cost, latency, reliability, and risk-along with the ability to mentor teams and shape repeatable assets and accelerators. We are actively recruiting for: Manager level (5+ years) for architects, and Director level (7+ years) for senior architects who can set technical standards, drive quality and reliability, and help shape reusable patterns and accelerators. This role is specifically a strategic investment to grow our AI capabilities and advisory services.

If you want your work to matter, this is the moment: we are not building "another AI consulting practice"-we are rewriting the playbook for how clients deliver on the promise of AI. We're building a practice where teams love the pace, the craft, and the real-world impact.

Day-to-day responsibilities:
  • Lead discovery workshops to clarify business objectives, constraints, and measurable success criteria for AI/ML initiatives
  • Translate requirements into end-to-end target-state architectures across data, ML/AI, application integration, security, and governance
  • Define pragmatic tradeoffs across accuracy, latency, cost, reliability, privacy, and risk-and communicate decisions to exec and engineering audiences
  • Design the data + model lifecycle (pipelines, training/finetuning, serving, monitoring, drift detection, retraining) and the required MLOps/LLMOps foundations
  • Establish integration patterns with enterprise systems (APIs/events/workflows, IAM, observability) so solutions are operable and supportable in production
  • Partner with security, privacy, and risk teams to embed controls (access, auditability, data handling, responsible AI) into solution designs
  • Produce core delivery artifacts (architecture diagrams, reference patterns, implementation roadmap, runbooks) and drive architecture reviews
  • Mentor teams and build reusable assets/accelerators (reference architectures, templates, evaluation scorecards) to scale repeatable delivery quality

You have the following technical skills and qualifications:
  • Bachelor's degree preferably in data science or computer science or related discipline
  • For managers, minimum five years of hands-on developer experience in machine learning and artificial intelligence stacks
  • For Directors, at least two years of experience leading teams of AI/ML architects and developers
  • Demonstrated experience designing and delivering production AI/ML solutions in an enterprise environment
  • Strong grounding in cloud architecture (AWS/Azure/GCP), distributed systems, and modern data platforms
  • Experience with MLOps practices (model lifecycle, monitoring, governance, deployment automation)
  • Experience partnering with security/risk to implement privacy, access controls, auditability, and responsible AI practices
  • Ability to lead senior client stakeholders through decisions under ambiguity
  • Experience to develop long-standing relationships with clients
  • Experience leading AI/ML delivery programs
  • Experience with AI patterns (RAG, agentic, etc.)
  • Preferred: experience with regulated environments (SOX, HIPAA, PCI, model risk management)
  • Experience leading proposal solutioning / estimates / technical writing for pursuits
  • Experience mentoring junior or senior colleagues in AI/ML architectures
  • Experience guiding clients on build vs. buy decisions of AI/ML powered use cases
  • Flexible, adaptable and an eager self-starter
  • English: Fluent spoken and written communications skills
  • Prior consulting industry experience or prior experience in an internal consulting role
  • Consistent with the firm's hybrid work model, this position will require in-person attendance at least two days a week either at a Grant Thornton office or at a client site
  • Readiness to travel up to 60%
  • Must be currently eligible to work in the United States, position is not eligible for employer sponsorship
  • Consistent with the firm's hybrid work model, this position will require in-person attendance at least two days per week, either at a Grant Thornton office or client site

    #Hybrid

    #LI-LG1

    The base salary range for this position is between $170,568 and $274,554. Placement within the pay range is at Grant Thornton's discretion, and it is based on multiple factors, including but not limited to, job -related knowledge/skills, experience, business needs, progression within the role, geographic location, and internal equity. At Grant Thornton, compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate.


Benefits:

We understand that your needs, responsibilities and experiences are different, and we think that's a good thing. That's why we support you with personalized and comprehensive benefits that recognize and empower all the identities, roles and aspirations that make you, well, you. For an overview of our benefit offerings, please visit: https://www.grantthornton.com/careers/rewards-and-benefits

  • Benefits for internship positions: Grant Thornton interns are eligible to participate in the firm's medical, dental and vision insurance programs and the firm's employee assistance program. Interns also receive a minimum of 72 hours of paid sick leave, and are paid for firm holidays that fall within their internship period.
  • Benefits for seasonal employee positions: Grant Thornton seasonal employees are eligible to participate in the firm's medical, dental and vision insurance programs and the firm's employee assistance program. Seasonal employees may also be eligible to participate in the firm's 401(k) savings plan and employee retirement plan in accordance with applicable plan terms and eligibility requirements. Seasonal employees receive a minimum of 72 hours of paid sick leave.


Grant Thornton employees may be eligible for a discretionary, annual bonus based on individual and firm performance, subject to the terms, conditions and eligibility criteria of the applicable bonus plan or program. Interns and seasonal employees are not eligible for bonus compensation.

About Grant Thornton

Grant Thornton LLP is the American member firm of Grant Thornton International, the seventh largest accounting network in the world by combined fee income. Grant Thornton LLP is the sixth largest U.S. accounting and advisory organization. The firm operates 59 offices across the US with approximately 8,500 employees, 550 partners, and produces annual revenue in excess of US$1.9 billion. During the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine, The Times reported that Grant Thornton is in line to earn millions of pounds for acting as trustees in a bankruptcy case on behalf of the Russian state-owned DIA, who bypassed sanction regimes to obtain funds and assets from abroad in order to fund the war in Ukraine.
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