Platforms Principal AI Engineer Director at AlixPartners

<p>At AlixPartners, we solve the most complex and critical challenges by moving quickly from analysis to action when it really matters; creating value that has a lasting impact on companies, their people, and the communities they serve. We hold ourselves accountable by providing space for authenticity, growth, and equity for everyone.</p> <p>AlixPartners has embraced a hybrid work model to provide flexibility and support work-life integration. Travel is part of this position, but frequency may vary based on client, team, and individual circumstances. Relocation assistance is not available for this position.</p> <p><strong>About the Role</strong></p> <p>The Principal AI Engineer sits at the intersection of software engineering, data science, platform architecture, and AI governance. You will be the technical owner of how AI/ML engineering is designed, built, governed, and shipped across a portfolio of products serving all of AlixPartners’ domains.</p> <p>This is a hands-on engineering and technical leadership position. You will move fluidly between writing production code, architecting multi-tenant AI services, building internal developer tooling, leading security and governance design, and mentoring engineering teams. Your success is measured by team-level outcomes — scalable patterns that outlast your direct involvement.</p> <p><strong>What You'll Do</strong></p> <p><strong>AI Productization &amp; Platform Engineering</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p><strong>Design and own the firm's AI productization &amp; governance playbook, </strong>covering service patterns, security/compliance standards, model evaluation rubrics, and production-readiness criteria.</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Build and maintain reusable internal tooling, </strong>including AI service scaffolding, evaluation and monitoring tooling, and data infrastructure — designed for team adoption without ongoing hand-holding.</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Establish AI agent governance policies </strong>covering agent permissions, code execution controls, access to internal systems, and human-in-the-loop enforcement.</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Partner with Security, Legal, and Compliance </strong>to define SOC2/ISO-aligned AI controls, vendor DPA requirements, and prompt data classification policies.</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Establish standardized deployment patterns </strong>using containerization, infrastructure-as-code, and CI/CD pipeline templates reusable across teams.</p> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Developer Experience &amp; Engineering Excellence</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p><strong>Champion AI-assisted development practices across the engineering org, </strong>including LLM-integrated development workflows, test-driven development patterns, and reusable tooling standards that scale across teams.</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Codify modern software development standards </strong>(CI/CD, DevOps, testing, delivery quality) referenced by multiple teams as a baseline for new or re-platformed products.</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Mentor engineers and tech leads </strong>with observable improvement in delivery consistency, design quality, and production readiness rigor.</p> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Cross-Functional Leadership &amp; Stakeholder Influence</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p><strong>Serve as the go-to technical authority </strong>on AI/ML, platform architecture, and engineering practices — regularly consulted by senior stakeholders at the design and strategy stages.</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Bridge technical and non-technical stakeholders, </strong>translating complex architectural decisions, AI risk topics, and platform tradeoffs into clear, actionable guidance.</p> </li> </ul> <p><strong>What You'll Need</strong></p> <p><strong>Required</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p>15+ years in software engineering, data science, or a closely related technical field.</p> </li> <li> <p>Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.</p> </li> <li> <p>Deep expertise in AI/ML frameworks and the Python ecosystem, with hands-on experience deploying models to public cloud infrastructure.</p> </li> <li> <p>Demonstrated experience designing and operating multi-tenant AI services and LLM integrations in production.</p> </li> <li> <p>Proven track record leading microservices architecture — decomposing monoliths, defining service contracts, and operationalizing CI/CD for distributed systems.</p> </li> <li> <p>Strong hands-on command of containerization (Docker), infrastructure-as-code (Terraform), and modern DevOps practices.</p> </li> <li> <p>Substantive experience with AI/LLM security — including prompt injection, data boundary enforcement, model supply chain risk, and AI-specific threat modeling.</p> </li> <li> <p>Strong problem-solving skills, especially in building governance frameworks, evaluation rubrics, and reusable platform patterns at scale.</p> </li> <li> <p>Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; ability to translate complex technical topics to diverse audiences, including executive stakeholders.</p> </li> <li> <p>Experience with Agile methodologies and cross-functional product team collaboration.</p> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Preferred / Additional Qualifications</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p>Experience applying AI/ML in business consulting, advisory, or professional services contexts.</p> </li> <li> <p>Familiarity with AI service interface and gateway design patterns, including emerging AI integration protocols.</p> </li> <li> <p>Contributions to open-source AI/ML projects, publications, or active involvement in technical communities.</p> </li> <li> <p>Advanced certifications in AI, deep learning, cloud architecture, or security (e.g., AWS/GCP/Azure ML, CISSP).</p> </li> <li> <p>Experience defining AI compliance controls for SOC2, ISO 27001, or TISAX frameworks.</p> </li> <li> <p>Demonstrated enthusiasm for developer education — writing internal guides, running workshops, or building internal tooling communities.</p> </li> <li>Proficiency in additional languages is a plus (Go, Typescript)</li> </ul> <p></p> <ul> <li> <p>Demonstrated ability and enthusiasm to mentor and uplift junior team members or peers</p> </li> <li> <p>Willingness to work outside of normal business hours, and in particular as unique projects/needs arise.</p> </li> <li> <p>Ability to work full time in an office and remote environment; physically able to sit/stand at a computer and work in front of a computer screen for significant portions of the workday</p> </li> <li>Must become familiar with, and promote and abide by, our Core Values as defined by the AlixPartners’&nbsp;<a href="https://www.alixpartners.com/media/17527/2021_alixpartners-codeofconduct_web.pdf">Code of Conduct&nbsp;</a>and foster an inclusive environment with people at all levels of an organization</li> </ul> <p></p> <p>The firm offers a comprehensive benefits program including health, vision, dental, disability, 401K, tuition reimbursement, identity theft protection, and mental wellness support. Employees will also receive a generous paid leave policy. &nbsp;</p> <p>The salary range for this role takes into account a number of factors and is between $170,000/year - $400,000/year with eligibility for an annual discretionary bonus.</p> <p><em>AlixPartners</em><em> is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, among other things, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, status as a <a href="https://www.alixpartners.com/media/19216/applicant-veteran-document-for-careers-page-2021_oct_06.pdf" target="_blank">protected veteran</a>, or disability. AlixPartners is a proud Gold award-winning Veteran Friendly Employer.</em></p> <p><em>This job will remain posted until July 31, 2026</em></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p>