AI Solutions Engineer

IPM Integrated Project Management Company; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

IPM is seeking an AI Solutions Engineer to join our Knowledge and Process Management team. You will translate AI capabilities into practical, scalable tools across data pipelines, security, and operational patterns, partnering with AI leads to prototype and deploy production-grade solutions aligned with enterprise standards.

You will collaborate with stakeholders across operations, IT, and practice areas, shaping AI strategy, conducting pilots, and delivering client-facing deployments while

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, data science, or a related field.
• 3+ years in software development, data science, or AI/ML roles.
• Experience with production AI architectures, retrieval patterns, and evaluation infrastructure.
• Familiarity with MCP and agent tooling ecosystem.
• DevOps for AI: infrastructure-as-code, CI/CD, observability, incident response, versioning.
• Security for AI: prompt injection mitigation and data protection.
• Data engineering for AI: ingestion pipelines, embeddings, vector stores, data quality, handling regulated data.
• Comfort with AI-assisted development tools (Claude Code, Cursor).
• Strong Azure-focused cloud engineering; AWS/GCP experience welcome.
• Experience evaluating emerging technologies and translating needs to scalable solutions.
• Proven ability to lead initiatives and collaborate across functions.
• Strong problem-solving and communication skills; independent yet collaborative.
• PM/consulting experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Identify and prioritize AI-enabled opportunities across internal ops and client engagements.
• Engage stakeholders to understand workflows, pain points, and value drivers.
• Design, develop, test, and deploy AI-enabled solutions for internal operations.
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines and IaC; manage dev, staging, production.
• Implement authentication and data access controls (Entra ID, RBAC, tenancy).
• Maintain internal knowledge bases for retrieval-grounded systems.
• Handle sensitive data in AI workflows (PII, regulated data).
• Improve knowledge capture and reuse across client engagements and internal ops.
• Drive consistency and scalability of IPM processes via AI.
• Support adoption through training, governance, and enablement.
• Design and deliver AI-enabled solutions in client engagements; define scope and handoffs.
• Evaluate new AI tools and pilot their adoption; lead technology pilots.
• Develop resources and playbooks for effective use of AI tools.
• Deliver training for internal teams and client stakeholders.

Skills

Software development

Data science

AI/ML

AI architecture

MCP (Model Context Protocol)

DevOps for AI

AI security

Data engineering

AI tooling (Claude Code, Cursor)

Azure cloud

AWS/GCP equivalent

Emerging tech evaluation

Stakeholder collaboration

Project leadership

Problem solving

Independent work

Project management / consulting

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, data science, or related field

Tools

Azure

Entra ID

Claude Code

Cursor

CI/CD tooling

Job description

For more than three decades, premier organizations have trusted IPM to lead the successful execution of their strategic portfolios and critically important initiatives. Headquartered in Chicago with offices in Boston, Parsippany, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, IPM has led more than 5,000 projects for over 500 clients. Our clients range from Fortune 100 companies to start-ups.

We are a certified "Great Place to Work" company and have been named to the Great Place to Work list of "Best Workplaces in Consulting and Professional Services."

Job Description

The AI Solutions Engineer is a critical member of the Knowledge and Process Management team at IPM, serving in a hands-on engineering role that spans both strategy and implementation. This role bridges technology and operations, translating emerging AI capabilities into practical tools and scalable solutions that enhance both internal effectiveness and client delivery. By accelerating productivity and strengthening consulting offerings, the AI Solutions Engineer plays a key role in establishing a competitive advantage by building and deploying AI capabilities across data pipelines, security, evaluation frameworks, and operational patterns. Core areas of responsibility include production hardening, platform development, security implementation, data foundations, and operational enablement.

In close partnership with IPM's AI Development Leads, the AI Solutions Engineer will identify high-impact opportunities for AI adoption, rapidly prototype solutions, and drive them through to production. Solutions are expected to meet enterprise standards for security, observability, and integration with IPM's M365 and Azure environments, while also being robust and scalable enough to support long-term use across the firm.

The position requires close collaboration with stakeholders across Operations, Corporate functions, IT, and Practice Areas to identify high-value use cases and deliver solutions aligned with business priorities. In addition, the role supports adoption through training, knowledge sharing, and governance. Responsibilities include AI strategy and opportunity identification, AI solution development, AI enablement and service development, AI solution delivery, and emerging technology governance. The balance between internal initiatives and client‑facing work will evolve over time, based on business priorities, client needs, and the maturity of IPM's AI capabilities.

Primary Responsibilities and Duties:

• Identify and prioritize opportunities for AI-enabled solutions across internal operations and client engagements.
• Engage stakeholders (internal and external) to understand workflows, pain points, and value drivers.
• Design, develop, test, and deploy AI-enabled solutions that support internal operations.
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure-as-code; manage dev, staging, and production environments.
• Implement authentication, authorization, and data access controls (Entra ID, role-based access, tenant isolation where applicable).
• Curate and maintain internal knowledge bases for retrieval‑grounded systems.
• Handle sensitive data appropriately in AI workflows (PII, client‑confidential, regulated data).
• Enhance knowledge capture, accessibility, and reuse across client engagements and internal operations.
• Drive consistency and scalability of core IPM processes through AI.
• Support the evolution of IPM’s consulting practices through the application of AI and emerging technologies.
• As a part of client engagements, design and deliver AI-enabled solutions and tools, partner with engagement leads to define technical scope, integration constraints, and handoff expectations, and translate IPM's internal production patterns to client‑side deployments.
• Evaluate new AI tools and capabilities for potential application within IPM by leading pilots and implementation of new technologies.
• Implement AI-specific security controls and support ongoing maintenance monitoring and continuous improvement of deployed internal solutions.
• Develop resources, playbooks, and guidance to support effective and consistent use of AI tools.
• Deliver training and enablement for both internal teams and client stakeholders.
• Promote practical adoption through hands-on support, working sessions, and knowledge sharing.
• Support client‑facing training, workshops, and enablement activities as part of AI‑enabled engagements.

Desired Skill and Experience

The successful candidate for this position should demonstrate the following skills and experiences:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, data science, or a related field.
• 3+ years of experience in software development, data science, or AI/ML roles.
• Exposure to production AI application architecture: retrieval patterns (RAG, agentic retrieval), agent orchestration, prompt and context engineering at the systems level, evaluation infrastructure.
• Familiarity with MCP (Model Context Protocol) and the broader agent tooling ecosystem
• DevOps for AI applications: infrastructure-as-code, CI/CD, observability, incident response, model, and prompt versioning
• Security for AI applications: prompt injection mitigation, agent tool abuse, data exfiltration through model context, output integrity
• Data engineering for AI: document ingestion pipelines, embedding strategy, vector store operations, data quality, sensitive data handling.
• Comfort using AI‑assisted development tools (Claude Code, Cursor, or equivalent) as part of your own workflow.
• Strong cloud platform engineering, Azure preferred (Container Apps, Functions, App Service, Key Vault, App Insights, Entra ID). AWS or GCP equivalent experience considered.
• Experience evaluating emerging technologies and applying them to business use cases.
• Demonstrated ability to translate business needs into scalable technical solutions.
• Experience working with stakeholders across functions to define and deliver high‑impact solutions.
• Experience leading projects or initiatives from concept through implementation.
• Strong problem‑solving, communication, and facilitation skills.
• Ability to work independently while influencing cross‑functional stakeholders.
• Experience in project management, consulting, or operations environments preferred.

WHY IPM

• Engaging culture: IPM has a caring, nurturing culture with a transparent communication approach and culture-building and team-building events, both regional and company-wide.
• Professional development: This role is intentionally designed as a development opportunity. IPM invests heavily in training, mentorship, and experiential learning to help employees build long‑term careers. You are IPM's future - we only promote from within.
• Collaborative work environment: You will work alongside experienced consultants, managers, and IPM's Centers of Excellence, gaining access to proven tools, methodologies, and best practices.
• Comprehensive compensation and benefits program: