Grant Thornton (US)

AI, Data & Technology - AI-ML Architect

Grant Thornton (US)  •  Chicago, IL (Hybrid)  •  1 month ago
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Job Description

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.

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


At Grant Thornton, we believe in making business more personal and building trust into every result – for our clients and you. Here, we go beyond your expectations of a career in professional services by offering a career path with more: more opportunity, more flexibility, and more support. It’s what makes us different, and we think being different makes us better.

In the U.S., Grant Thornton delivers professional services through two specialized entities: Grant Thornton LLP, a licensed, certified public accounting (CPA) firm that provides audit and assurance services ― and Grant Thornton Advisors LLC (not a licensed CPA firm), which exclusively provides non-attest offerings, including tax and advisory services.

In 2025, Grant Thornton formed a multinational, multidisciplinary platform with Grant Thornton Ireland. The platform offers a premier Trans-Atlantic advisory and tax practice, as well as independent American and Irish audit practices. With $2.7 billion in revenues and more than 50 offices spanning the U.S., Ireland and other territories, the platform delivers a singular client experience that includes enhanced solutions and capabilities, backed by powerful technologies and a roster of 12,000 quality-driven professionals enjoying exceptional career-growth opportunities and a distinctive cross-border culture.

Grant Thornton is part of the Grant Thornton International Limited network, which provides access to its member firms in more than 150 global markets.

Grant Thornton (US)

About Grant Thornton (US)

Forget what you think you know about professional services. We go beyond what’s expected and help others do the same.

Grant Thornton is the brand name for Grant Thornton LLP and Grant Thornton Advisors LLC the U.S. member firms of Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the world’s leading independent audit & assurance, tax and advisory firms. That means our network has more than 73,000 professionals in more than 146 countries who are ready to help public and private organizations of all sizes take on today’s challenges. But what sets us apart isn’t just what we do – it’s how we do it. Here, we believe in making business more personal and building trust into every result. We’re collaborators – obsessed with quality and ready for anything – who understand the value of strong relationships. It’s how we challenge the expectations of business and empower our people and clients to do it, too.

One thing we won’t do? Grant Thornton will never request money or any form of payment for services via social media. Please report any concerns at 1-800-810-3503.

Grant Thornton International Limited (GTIL) and the member firms, including Grant Thornton LLP and Grant Thornton Advisors LLC, are not a worldwide partnership. Services are delivered by the member firms. GTIL and its member firms are not agents of, and do not obligate, one another and are not liable for one another’s acts or omissions. Please see www.grantthornton.com for further details.​

Industry
Accounting & Tax
Company Size
10,000+ employees
Headquarters
Chicago, IL
Year Founded
1924
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