Principal AI Infrastructure Architect (All Genders)

3200 Accenture GmbH Company; Kronberg im Taunus; Hybrid; EUR 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employer-funded pension scheme

Employee Share Purchase Programme

Flexible working models

Working from home

Job summary

Accenture PLC is seeking a Principal AI Infrastructure Architect in Germany to lead compute infrastructure for large-scale AI/ML systems. You will set technical vision, oversee complex architecture decisions across compute, storage, and model serving, and prototype reference implementations to drive business value.

You will mentor architects, evaluate emerging technologies, and ensure cost-efficient, scalable production environments across hyperscaler platforms.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering.
• Strong AI/ML infrastructure knowledge.
• Proficiency in Python, Java, or C++.
• Experience with hyperscaler cloud platforms.
• Experience leading AI projects and teams.
• German and English at least B2.

Responsibilities

• Set the overarching technical vision for compute infra for AI/ML at scale.
• Make authoritative decisions across compute, networking, storage, and orchestration.
• Architect and prototype large-scale compute and training systems.
• Define reference architectures and implement foundational tooling.
• Lead architecture assessments and design reviews with hands-on validation.
• Shape AI infra roadmap aligning with long-term business goals.
• Pilot emerging technologies and test them in real conditions.

Skills

Senior authority

AI infra

Hyperscaler cloud

Python/Java/C++

German B2

Project management

Cross-functional

Troubleshooting

Cost optimization

Architecture leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Apache Airflow

Kubeflow

Terraform

Kubernetes

Job description

Role Overview

#LI-CEE As a Principal AI Infrastructure Architect, you are the firm's most senior technical authority on compute infrastructure for large-scale AI and machine learning systems, bringing extensive experience as a lead and senior architect along with command over a broad landscape of technological options and the latest innovations that can be introduced into a solution. You have a proven track record of successfully designing and deploying large-scale infrastructure on which significant AI/ML solutions operate in production and demonstrably deliver business value — not just systems that perform, but systems that move the needle for the organizations they serve. You weigh and rationalize multiple viable architectures across compute, networking, storage, orchestration, and model serving, making authoritative decisions tailored to each client's situation, standards, and strategic objectives, and you set the technical direction that senior and lead architects build upon. As a recognized expert across at least one hyperscaler cloud — and conversant across several — you bring deep, current knowledge of AI/ML services, accelerators, interconnects, and cost levers, and you continuously scan the horizon to identify promising emerging technologies and judge where and when they belong in a real solution. You are well known to our infrastructure partners and partnering organizations, maintaining strong relationships that give the firm early access, influence, and insight, and you represent the practice's technical credibility in those forums. Beyond architecture, you shape strategy and roadmaps, establish standards and reference architectures, mentor and elevate the architect community, and are ultimately accountable for ensuring the firm delivers AI/ML infrastructure that meets business SLAs, controls cost, scales to frontier workloads, and creates lasting business value. At Accenture, you shape the environment in which you thrive – with ways of working that suit you. You stay flexible and become part of a team full of unique individuals who make a difference together.

Your Daily Work

• Set the overarching technical vision and strategy for compute infrastructure supporting large-scale AI/ML systems, establishing the direction that senior and lead architects build upon.
• Own the most complex, high-stakes architecture decisions across compute, networking, storage, orchestration, and model serving, rationalizing multiple viable options and making authoritative choices aligned to client situations, standards, and strategic objectives.
• Architect and hands‑on prototype large‑scale, cost‑optimized compute and distributed training systems — building reference implementations, proofs‑of‑concept, and benchmarks to validate designs before they scale.
• Define reference architectures, standards, and architectural patterns that scale across engagements, and personally implement the foundational tooling, infrastructure‑as‑code, and automation that anchor them.
• Lead enterprise‑scale architecture assessments and design reviews, getting hands‑on in the environment to validate findings, profile real workloads, and demonstrate optimization opportunities.
• Shape and steward the AI infrastructure roadmap and technology strategy, planning capacity, scaling, and technology evolution in step with long‑term business goals.
• Identify, evaluate, and hands‑on pilot promising emerging technologies and innovations, building and testing them in real conditions to judge where and when they belong in a solution.
• Drive hands‑on performance and cost optimization of the computational stack, profiling GPU/compute utilization, tuning distributed training and model‑serving workloads, and engineering improvements to meet SLAs while controlling cost.
• Serve as the principal authority across hyperscaler cloud platforms, with current, hands‑on expertise in AI/ML services, accelerators, interconnects, and cost levers, and breadth across multiple providers.
• Lead deep, hands‑on troubleshooting and root‑cause analysis of the most complex issues across the stack — hardware, networking, software, and models — resolving the problems others cannot and codifying the fixes.
• Cultivate and lead relationships with infrastructure partners and partnering organizations, securing early access, influence, and insight, and representing the practice's technical credibility in those forums.
• Provide executive‑and client‑level technical advisory, translating complex infrastructure trade‑offs into clear, defensible recommendations tied to business outcomes.
• Define monitoring, observability, and reliability strategy across InfraOps and MLOps, and implement the instrumentation, SLAs, SLOs, and cost/performance governance for production AI/ML systems.
• Ensure enterprise integration, security, compliance, and regulatory alignment of AI/ML infrastructure across the firm's solutions.
• Mentor, elevate, and grow the architect community, developing senior and lead architects through hands‑on pairing, design collaboration, and code/architecture reviews.
• Champion cost‑efficiency and value realization, ensuring infrastructure not only performs and scales but demonstrably moves the needle for the organizations it serves.

Who You Are

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, related Engineering field Considerable experience coding, building, monitoring, troubleshooting applications of AI/ML models; selecting, designing and infrastructure for deploying and running them on premise or on public cloud.
• Strong understanding of AI and machine learning as a subject.
• Strong understanding of computing infrastructure a subject, preferred knowledge of AI infrastructure.
• Strong proficiency in programming languages such as Python, Java, or C++.
• Experience with data pipeline and workflow management tools (e.g., Apache Airflow, Kubeflow).
• Strong problem‑solving skills and ability to work in a fast‑paced environment.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• Significant experience in AI/ML infrastructure engineering or related roles on a hyperscaler platform for deploying large scale solutions.
• Proven experience in leading and managing AI projects and teams.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Demonstrated experience in evaluating and selecting AI technologies and frameworks.
• Ability to work with cross‑functional teams and drive project alignment.
• German and English on minimum B2 level are a must.

Benefits

• Employer-funded pension scheme
• Employee Share Purchase Programme (ESPP) with preferential conditions
• Flexible working models, including working from home

The Accenture Culture

The Accenture Culture: Here, YOU are the catalyst for change. Your unique combination of skills, personality, and aspirations sets you apart. When distinct talents, strengths, and perspectives merge, the result is nothing short of extraordinary: ideas that propel the world forward. This is why we champion diversity and personal development at Accenture. Create a working environment where you truly thrive; with responsibilities that resonate deeply; with a workload that is perfectly aligned with your capabilities; and methods that are tailored to your objectives. How you wish to connect, further your development, and personally evolve rests in your hands. This is your career. We are mere facilitators, helping you shape it exactly as you envision.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 791,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. Our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com Erklärung zur Chancengleichheit am Arbeitsplatz Wir sind der Meinung, dass niemand aufgrund seiner Andersartigkeit diskriminiert werden sollte. Alle Einstellungsentscheidungen werden unabhängig von Alter, Rasse, Glaubensbekenntnis, Hautfarbe, Religion, Geschlecht, nationaler Herkunft, Abstammung, Behinderung, Veteranenstatus, sexueller Orientierung, Geschlechtsidentität oder -ausdruck, genetischen Informationen, Familienstand, Staatsbürgerschaft oder anderen gesetzlich geschützten Kriterien getroffen. Unsere große Vielfalt macht uns innovativer, wettbewerbsfähiger und kreativer und hilft uns, unsere Kunden und unsere Gemeinschaften besser zu betreuen. Bring your incredible skills and join our global team of innovators. We come together from different backgrounds across the world and work with the latest technologies to create value and growth for our clients. With us, you’ll continue to learn and grow so you can advance in your career. Your personal dreams and ambitions are just as important to us; that’s why we offer support any way we can—when you thrive, we all thrive. Explore your next step at Accenture Belong. Grow. Thrive. Join agreat place to work for reinventors who drive meaningful change for our clients, communities, and the world. Wo rld. Explore your next step at Accenture