AI Advisory Principal

Scale AI; New York, San Francisco (NY, CA); On-site; USD 230,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Scale AI seeks an AI Advisory Principal who leads the advisory phase end-to-end, owning client relationships from pre-sales through the final readout. You will coordinate Solutions Engineers, Designers, Tech Leads, and DSGs, shaping engagement direction and ensuring successful outcomes.

You will shape opportunities with Account Executives, develop the vertical point of view, and drive the Advisory motion while coaching a Consultant on engagements. A hands-on, travel-ready leader is required.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in senior consulting or principal roles at top firms.
• Proven ability to shape engagements, scope work, and pitch services.
• Experience advising on AI strategy and identifying use cases.
• Ability to work with Solutions Engineers and technical leads.
• Strong client workshop design and facilitation skills.
• Executive-level communication and storytelling skills.
• Willingness to travel 30–60% across accounts.

Responsibilities

• Lead engagements end-to-end and own client relationships.
• Coordinate and direct cross-functional teams during engagements.
• Sell Advisory in your vertical and qualify opportunities.
• Develop the vertical point of view and share industry insights.
• Grow the Advisory playbook from field experiences.
• Coach and develop the Consultant on engagements.

Skills

End-to-end engagements

Client relationship ownership

Workshops facilitation

Pre-sales advisory

Solution coordination

AI strategy

Executive storytelling

Travel readiness

Job description

Overview

Scale AI's Advisory practice shapes and scopes AI initiatives for enterprise clients, initiating the advisory phase before delivery to land larger contracts and accelerate execution. The Advisory phase answers the question: What should we build, and where do we start? By 2027, Advisory is Scale’s default first engagement with new enterprise clients.

As an AI Advisory Principal, you lead Scale's Advisory work in your vertical, end-to-end. In pre-sales, you shape and qualify opportunities with Account Executives and sell the Advisory phase. In delivery, you are the Directly Responsible Individual on engagements, owning client relationships, guiding discovery and scoping, and ensuring a successful outcome. You also help build the vertical point of view and contribute to the evolution of the Advisory motion. This is a hands-on role: you do the advisory work, not just manage it.

What You'll Own

You own the engagement and the vertical — from the first pre-sales conversation through the final readout.

• Lead engagements end-to-end. You are the Directly Responsible Individual on engagements — owning the client relationship, running workshops, leading the final readout, shaping direction, and being accountable for the outcome (use-case selection, SOW quality, delivery). You coordinate and direct Solutions Engineers, Designers, Tech Leads, and DSGs on the engagement without direct management responsibility.
• Sell Advisory in your vertical. You build the approach, lead the Advisory portion of key pre-sales meetings, bring industry roadmap examples, qualify opportunities with Account Executives, and represent Scale and Advisory at industry events.
• Build the vertical point of view. You develop the vertical’s AI-shaped problems, best practices, technology and learnings, and buyer-peer and competitor intelligence to establish Advisory credibility in the field.
• Grow the playbook from the field. You surface what works across engagements, document patterns and reusable approaches, and collaborate with DSGs to update the Advisory approach based on feedback.
• Manage your Consultant. You coach and develop the Consultant on engagements, provide input on hiring, and own their professional development.

Qualifications

Ideally, you’d have

• Senior manager or principal equivalent experience at a Tier 1 firm (McKinsey, Bain, BCG ideally); 7+ years of work experience. AI strategy or transformation experience strongly preferred.
• Scoping, proposal, and pitching experience — comfortable shaping and selling an engagement, not just delivering it.
• The judgment to advise clients on where AI creates value — identifying and shaping AI-shaped use cases for their business.
• The technical credibility to speak to AI builds credibility and to work closely with Solutions Engineers on feasibility.
• A classic consulting toolkit (strategy, operating-model, governance, change management, and exec-ready storytelling) to assist clients in developing an AI strategy.
• Experience designing and facilitating client workshops.
• A natural relationship-builder who establishes trusted-advisor credibility early, with the judgment to own outcomes independently.
• Strategic but hands-on: the ability to think at a client’s AI agenda level and still engage in day-to-day engagement work.
• Willingness to travel 30-60 percent, including potential international trips depending on the account.

Nice to Have

• Deep expertise in at least one enterprise vertical (e.g., Consumer, Financial & Professional Services, Healthcare & Life Sciences) to be credible with senior stakeholders.
• 0-to-1 experience developing or deploying GenAI applications in an enterprise setting.

Equal Opportunity

Scale AI is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability status, or any other protected characteristic. We provide reasonable accommodations in the application process and for employees as required by law.