AI, Data & Technology - AI-ML Architect

Grant Thornton • Chicago, IL

6h • Hybrid

About The Position

Grant Thornton US is building a market-leading AI practice focused on practical, secure, and scalable outcomes for our clients, and we are hiring AI/ML Solution Architects to lead discovery phase through production delivery. Hiring in most major US cities.

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.

Requirements

• 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.)
• 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

Nice To Haves

• 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

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

Benefits

• Whether it’s your work location, weekly schedule or unlimited flex time off, we empower you with the options to work in the way that best serves your clients and your life.
• Here, you are supported to prioritize your overall well-being through work-life integration options that work best for you and those in your household.
• 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. See how at  www.gt.com/careers
• When it comes to inclusion, we are committed to doing more than checking boxes. Explore all the ways we’re taking action for diversity, equity & inclusion at  www.gt.com/careers
• 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.
• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level