Principal AI & Data Consultant

Zühlke Group; Wien; Hybrid; EUR 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Profit sharing

Flexible working hours

Work from home option

Global community & development

Job summary

Zühlke Group in Austria seeks a Principal Data & AI Consultant to ensure our Data & AI projects deliver impact across development, pre-sales and ongoing relationships. You will guide high‑level strategy and governance for client initiatives, aligning business needs with technical delivery.

You will lead interdisciplinary teams, shape engagements, foster collaboration with CxOs to engineers, and contribute to our global thought leadership while driving long-term client value.

Qualifications

• University degree in business or STEM from a leading institution.
• 8+ years hybrid consulting and data & AI-related work experience.
• Strong target-group oriented communication, project management and workshop leadership.
• Experience in verticals like banking, insurance, life science or manufacturing.
• Fluency in German and English; assertive, proactive and customer‑centric.

Responsibilities

• Structure complex engagements and steer project delivery.
• Ensure quality of deliverables and manage customer expectations.
• Foster collaboration between data scientists, data engineers, architects and business stakeholders.
• Support consultants and business developers across the sales pipeline.
• Represent the practice as an ambassador and thought leader.

Skills

Data & AI strategy

Governance

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Education

University degree in business or STEM

Tools

Data platforms

AI governance

Job description

Founded in Switzerland in 1968, Zühlke is owned by its partners and located across Europe and Asia. We are a global transformation partner, with engineering and innovation in our DNA. We’re trusted to help clients envision and build their businesses for the future – to run smarter today while adapting for tomorrow’s markets, customers, and communities. Our multidisciplinary teams specialise in tech strategy and business innovation, digital solutions and applications, and device and systems engineering. We excel in complex, regulated spaces including health and finance, connecting strategy, tech implementation, and operational services to help clients become more effective, resilient businesses.

If you share our values and want to do the best work, for the right reasons, we can offer you the chance to do it on a global scale and play a real role in shaping our exciting journey.

The Role

As a Principal Data & AI Consultant, your #1 priority is to ensure our Data & AI projects generate the expected impact – from offering development to pre-sales and sales to delivery and ongoing relationship management as trusted advisor.

How you’ll make impact

You help clients achieve their data & AI ambitions on a variety of projects, including:

Data/ AI Strategy & transformation: i.e., identifying value adding use cases, assessing client maturity and executing transformation roadmaps.

Organizational AI impact: establish capabilities to actively steer AI adoption and business impact.

Development of bespoke AI solutions: i.e., leading use case discovery, managing product backlogs, supervising delivery teams and ensuring user acceptance

Development of data / AI platforms: i.e., defining service and operating models, overseeing delivery of data products

You structure complex consulting engagements, steer project delivery, ensure quality of our deliverables and manage customer expectations and satisfaction.

You facilitate collaboration between interdisciplinary stakeholders, bridging the gap between delivery teams (i.e., Data scientists, Data engineers, Architects or Software Developers) and business stakeholders at every level of seniority, from CxOs to junior staff.

You contribute to Zühlke’s growth by supporting consultants and business developers across the sales pipeline, from early positioning meetings to the development of concrete consulting proposals.

You are active both internally and externally as an ambassador and thought leader for our discipline, publishing impactful content and speaking at professional events.

You develop reusable assets to improve the team’s effectiveness, including packaged consulting offerings, templates or demonstrators.

What’s important to us

University degree from a leading institution in business or STEM

8+ years hybrid consulting and Data & AI-related work experience

Strong consulting foundations: effective target-group oriented communication, project management, running workshops, selling consulting work, pragmatism, output-focused work, etc.

Work or consulting experience in one or more verticals (esp. banking, insurance, life science, manufacturing), deep knowledge of the value chain, challenges, key trends, particularly related to Data & AI

Expertise in data and/or AI strategy, governance, and management with a deep understanding of how to effectively structure and oversee data & AI initiatives

Expertise with Data & AI implementation projects, from idea to production

Demonstrated ability to inspire, build and lead interdisciplinary teams

Excellent written and verbal communication skills in German and English

You are assertive, eloquent, proactive and enthusiastic

You are highly customer-centric and can think and communicate across disciplines and levels of seniority

You are results-oriented and able to win over stakeholders and decisionmakers

What we offer

A role with meaningful impact on processes, stability, and long-term platform quality.

A context where progress comes through steady, incremental improvements rather than rapid technical transformation.

The opportunity to shape operational practices and work autonomously in an environment that values persistence and thoughtful change management.

Work life blend: we offer a safe & healthy workplace, with flexible working hours and the possibility to work from home

Profit share scheme: In addition to your annual salary, you may receive a profit share defined by the company’s success in the previous year

Global and Diverse Zühlke community: witness how colleagues from all our 16 offices across the globe come together to create a unique, positive and inclusive work culture, learning from one another at annual team camps, and celebrating year-end parties and other local festivities.

Committed to development: we are committed to the growth of our people and are investing in your development. We’re empowering you to build the skills you need to make a positive impact, both personally and for our clients, today and in the future.

To dive deeper into local benefits of working in Zühlke follow the link

We welcome people from all backgrounds, regardless of their gender, personality, national origin, race, religion, colour, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, disability or veteran status.