Applied AI Engineer/Architect (Chicago)

Are you ready to make an impact?Applied AI Engineer/Architect West Monroe is seeking an Applied AI Engineer/Architect to lead the design and delivery of enterprise AI solutions that solve complex business challenges. This role serves as the technical AI leader across client engagements and West Monroe assets, defining AI architectures, guiding implementation teams, and helping clients make informed decisions about when to leverage large language models (LLMs), deterministic automation, platform-native AI capabilities, or traditional software engineering approaches. As a Senior Architect, you will provide deep technical expertise, contribute to business development efforts, and help advance West Monroe's AI capabilities through reusable assets, thought leadership, and mentorship.What You Will DoClient DeliveryLead the architecture and delivery of enterprise AI solutions, including model selection, retrieval strategies, workflow orchestration, evaluation frameworks, observability, guardrails, and human oversight.Design and implement AI-enabled applications using LLMs, agents, retrieval augmented generation (RAG), tool integrations, and secure production deployment patterns.Define semantic models, ontologies, business objects, metadata strategies, permissions, and data contracts that enable reliable AI reasoning and enterprise workflows.Advise clients on AI strategy, technical feasibility, data readiness, model selection, governance, responsible AI practices, and implementation roadmaps.Partner with application, data, and cloud engineering teams to integrate AI capabilities into production systems, APIs, data platforms, security architectures, and operational workflows.Establish AI evaluation methodologies using benchmark datasets, regression testing, red-team scenarios, quality metrics, and release criteria to ensure reliable and measurable outcomes.Leverage AI tools to accelerate analysis, synthesize complex information, and support data-driven recommendations for clients, exercising sound judgment in evaluating outputs.Apply AI technologies (e.g., generative AI, automation tools, data models) to enhance insights, improve delivery efficiency, and elevate the quality of client outcomes.Business DevelopmentServe as a trusted technical advisor during pursuits, helping shape AI strategy, solution architecture, and delivery approaches for complex client opportunities.Support proposals, client presentations, and executive discussions by articulating AI capabilities, tradeoffs, risks, and business value.Build credibility in the marketplace through deep expertise in enterprise AI architecture and emerging technologies.Practice DevelopmentDevelop reusable AI frameworks, accelerators, evaluation methodologies, and reference architectures that strengthen West Monroe's AI offerings.Mentor engineers and architects while sharing technical expertise across project teams.Stay current on frontier AI models, enterprise agent architectures, hyperscaler AI platforms, governance expectations, and secure deployment practices.Contribute to thought leadership, internal capability building, and innovation initiatives that expand West Monroe's Applied AI practice.What You Will Bring7+ years of experience in software engineering, data engineering, machine learning, applied AI, or technical architecture, including recent hands-on AI engineering experience.Proven experience building production AI solutions using LLMs, AI agents, RAG, prompt engineering, AI evaluation frameworks, observability, MLOps, or machine learning platforms.Strong Python development skills and proficiency in at least one additional enterprise technology stack such as TypeScript, Java, C#, or modern data engineering frameworks.Experience with one or more leading AI ecosystems, including Azure OpenAI, AWS Bedrock, Google Vertex AI, Databricks, Snowflake, Microsoft Fabric, or comparable platforms.Strong understanding of cloud architecture, APIs, identity and access management, security, data engineering, application integration, and production deployment practices.Knowledge of semantic modeling, ontology design, knowledge representation, data governance, and enterprise AI architecture.Ability to communicate AI concepts, technical tradeoffs, and implementation risks effectively to executive stakeholders, business leaders, architects, and engineering teams.Experience integrating AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) into day-to-day workflows to enhance productivity and insight generation, coupled with strong critical thinking to assess accuracy, mitigate bias, and ensure high-quality outputs.Ability to travel 25 to 50%.A commitment to inclusion and diversity, and openness to new ideas and perspectives.Ability to work permanently in the United States without sponsorship.Based on pay transparency guidelines, the salary range for this role can vary based on your proximity to one of our West Monroe offices (see table below). Information on our competitive total rewards package, including our bonus structure and benefits is here. Individual salaries are determined by evaluating a variety of factors including geography, experience, skills, education, and internal equity.Employees (and their families) are covered by medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance. Employees are able to enroll in our company’s 401k plan, purchase shares from our employee stock ownership program and be eligible to receive annual bonuses. Employees will also receive unlimited flexible time off and ten paid holidays throughout the calendar year. Eligibility for ten weeks of paid parental leave will also be available upon hire date. Seattle or Washington, D.C.$236,300—$277,700 USDLos Angeles$247,500—$291,000 USDNew York City or San Francisco$258,800—$304,200 USDA location not listed above$225,000—$264,500 USDOther consultancies talk at you.At West Monroe, we work with you.We’re a global business and technology consulting firm passionate about creating measurable value for our clients, delivering real-world solutions.The combination of business and technology is not new, but how we bring them together is unique. We’re fluent in both. We know that technology alone is not the answer, but how we apply it is. We rely on data to constantly adapt and solve new challenges. Actions that work today with outcomes that generate value for years to come.At West Monroe, we zero in on the heart of the opportunity, getting to results faster and preparing people for what’s next.You’ll feel the difference in how we work. We show up personally. We’re right there in the room with you, co-creating through the challenges. With West Monroe, collaboration isn’t a lofty promise, but a daily action. We work together with you to turn vision into clear action with lasting impact.West Monroe is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer  We believe in treating each employee and applicant for employment fairly and with dignity. We base our employment decisions on merit, experience, and potential, without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, religion, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic prohibited by federal, state or local law. To learn more about diversity, equity and inclusion at West Monroe, visit . If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in our recruiting process, please inquire by sending an email to View email address on apply.placed-app.com review our current policy regarding use of generative artificial intelligence during the application process.If you are based in California, we encourage you to read West Monroe’s Notice at Collection for California residents, provided pursuant to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and linked here.