Principal AI Architect

As an AI Architect within Thoughtworks' Data & AI Service Line, you will be at the forefront of helping our clients design, build, and scale enterprise-grade AI systems. You will operate as a trusted technical leader and advisor - shaping AI strategy, establishing architectural patterns, and delivering impactful solutions that create measurable business value.

This is a hands-on, consulting-first role. You'll partner with client stakeholders across industries, lead multidisciplinary teams, and bring Thoughtworks' hallmark of technical excellence to every engagement - from early discovery through to production.

About Thoughtworks & the Data & AI Service Line

Thoughtworks is a global technology consultancy that integrates strategy, design and engineering to drive digital innovation. Our Data & AI Service Line partners with forward-thinking organizations to harness the power of data and artificial intelligence - building the foundations, capabilities, and solutions needed to compete in an AI-native world.

Our practice spans the full AI lifecycle: from data strategy and modern data platforms to machine learning engineering, generative AI, responsible AI, and MLOps. We work with enterprises across financial services, healthcare, retail, media, and the public sector, delivering outcomes that matter.
What You'll Do
AI Architecture & Solution Design

• Architect scalable, production-ready AI and ML systems, including LLM-powered applications, agentic frameworks, and real-time inference platforms
• Define and deliver end-to-end technical blueprints covering model development, data pipelines, serving infrastructure, monitoring, and governance
• Lead the design of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems, fine-tuning pipelines, and model evaluation frameworks
• Evaluate and recommend AI/ML platforms, cloud-native services (AWS, GCP, Azure), vector databases, and open-source tooling

Client Advisory & Consulting

• Act as a strategic AI advisor to C-suite and senior technical stakeholders, translating business challenges into AI-driven solutions
• Lead architecture discovery workshops, technical due diligence, and capability assessments
• Shape and present compelling technical proposals, RFP responses, and point-of-view documents
• Navigate complex client organisations, managing stakeholder expectations and building lasting trust

Engineering Leadership

• Lead and mentor cross-functional teams of engineers, data scientists, and ML practitioners on client engagements
• Define engineering standards, architectural principles, and best practices for AI systems
• Champion responsible AI practices including fairness, explainability, privacy, and security by design
• Drive hands-on delivery - this is not a purely advisory role; you will write code, review designs, and unblock teams

Practice & Community

• Contribute to Thoughtworks' AI practice development: thought leadership, internal accelerators, reusable frameworks, and IP
• Represent Thoughtworks at conferences, publish articles, and engage with the broader AI community
• Mentor and grow the next generation of AI practitioners within the firm

What You'll Bring
Technical Expertise

• 8+ years of experience in software engineering, data engineering, or ML engineering, with at least 3 years in a senior architecture or technical leadership role
• Deep expertise in designing and deploying ML and AI systems at scale - spanning classical ML, deep learning, and generative AI
• Strong command of LLM ecosystems: prompt engineering, fine-tuning, RLHF, RAG architectures, LangChain, LlamaIndex, or equivalent frameworks
• Proficiency in Python and familiarity with ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, Hugging Face, scikit-learn)
• Solid grounding in data architecture: streaming (Kafka, Spark), lakehouses, feature stores, and vector databases (Pinecone, Weaviate, pgvector)
• Hands-on experience with cloud AI services across AWS (SageMaker, Bedrock), GCP (Vertex AI), or Azure (Azure ML, OpenAI Service)
• Familiarity with MLOps and LLMOps practices: CI/CD for ML, model registries, A/B testing, drift detection, and observability

Consulting & Leadership Skills

• Demonstrated experience operating in a consulting or professional services environment, managing client relationships and delivering on commercial commitments
• Ability to communicate complex AI concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Proven track record of leading delivery teams in agile environments, with experience across the full software development lifecycle
• Comfortable operating with ambiguity - adept at framing problems, structuring workstreams, and driving clarity

Nice to Have

• Experience with autonomous AI agents, multi-agent systems, or AI orchestration frameworks
• Contributions to open-source AI/ML projects or published research
• Domain expertise in one or more verticals: financial services, healthcare, retail, or the public sector
• Familiarity with AI governance frameworks, EU AI Act, or responsible AI toolkits (e.g. IBM AI Fairness 360, Microsoft Responsible AI)

Other things to know

Learning & Development

There is no one-size-fits-all career path at Thoughtworks: however you want to develop your career is entirely up to you. But we also balance autonomy with the strength of our cultivation culture. This means your career is supported by interactive tools, numerous development programs and teammates who want to help you grow. We see value in helping each other be our best and that extends to empowering our employees in their career journeys.

Responsible Use of AI in Recruitment

At Thoughtworks, we use AI tools to support our recruitment team with administrative tasks such as drafting communications, scheduling interviews and writing job descriptions.

Crucially, our AI tools do not screen, assess, rank or make hiring decisions. Every application is reviewed by our team and all selection decisions are made exclusively by our interviewers and hiring managers.

We are committed to fairness and responsible AI. We actively manage our AI systems by testing, monitoring for biased outcomes and implementing mitigation measures. We hold our third-party vendors to these same high standards through a rigorous governance process. For additional information, please see our full Thoughtworks AI Policy for Recruitment.

EEO

Thoughtworks is an equal-opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind and are dedicated to providing a work environment free from discrimination and harassment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, stermination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.


Thoughtworks is also an affirmative action employer of veterans and individuals with disabilities.


For additional information, please see the Thoughtworks, Inc. Equal Employment Opportunity & Affirmative Action Policy Statement.

US - Work Authorization

Applicants for employment in the US must have work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment in the United States.

Accommodations

Thoughtworks is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants with disabilities or sincerely held religious beliefs, practices, or observances, in accordance with applicable law.

If you need a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, participate in interviews, or otherwise engage in the hiring process, you may request an accommodation by completing this form or speaking with your recruiter. Requests may be made at any stage of the application or interview process.

Once a request is received, Thoughtworks will engage in an interactive process with the applicant to determine an appropriate accommodation. Applicants are not required to disclose medical diagnoses or detailed personal information in order to request an accommodation. All accommodation requests will be handled in a timely, confidential, and respectful manner, consistent with applicable legal requirements.

Requesting an accommodation will not negatively affect your consideration for employment. Company prohibits retaliation against any applicant for requesting an accommodation or participating in the accommodation process. Accommodations made during the recruitment process are not a guarantee of future or continued accommodations once hired. If you are hired by Thoughtworks, and require an accommodation to perform the essential functions of your role, you may be asked to engage in our reasonable accommodation process.

Cancellations

As a technology consultancy, the projects we undertake are subject to change based on client needs and agreements. While we strive for consistency, please be aware that project scope or availability may shift, or projects may even be cancelled, during the recruitment and selection process, which is often outside of our direct control. Should the project related to this vacancy be significantly altered or cancelled, all impacted candidates will be promptly and duly informed of the change

About Thoughtworks

Thoughtworks is a dynamic and inclusive community of bright and supportive colleagues who are revolutionizing tech. As a leading technology consultancy, we're pushing boundaries through our purposeful and impactful work. For 30+ years, we've delivered extraordinary impact together with our clients by helping them solve complex business problems with technology as the differentiator. Bring your brilliant expertise and commitment for continuous learning to Thoughtworks. Together, let's be extraordinary.

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Salary

Benefits:

The annual salary range posted is subject to many factors and may vary depending on experience, geographic location, job responsibilities, performance, skills and/or training.

Salary

$197,000-$337,000 USD

See here our AI policy.