Machine Learning & AI Engineer – Managing Consultant

International Business Machines Corporation; Houston (TX); Remote; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

IBM Consulting seeks a Managing Consultant ML/AI Engineer to own an ML/AI workstream from ambiguous business needs to concrete design and delivery. You will defend technical choices, ensure quality, and guide junior engineers while working directly with business stakeholders to translate requirements into actionable AI solutions.

You will design AI-accelerated workflows, ensure maintainability, and communicate results with clear insights and recommendations across the organization.

Qualifications

• Strong software engineering: maintainable, well-architected solutions; enforces testing/validation.
• End-to-end ML/AI delivery from ambiguous need to deployed solution; includes method selection and validation.
• Judgment under ambiguity: frames problems, weighs trade-offs, makes decisions.
• Detail & execution: plans and sequences a workstream; manages risks for on-time delivery.
• Modern AI tooling: use of LLM/agentic tools to accelerate work.

Responsibilities

• Own a workstream: translate ambiguous business need into a concrete technical approach; defend implementation.
• Design for maintainability: define tests and validation to ensure long-term correctness.
• Design AI-accelerated workflows: set up repeatable AI/LLM workflows within the workstream.
• Mentor: guide 1-2 junior engineers; review their work and raise quality.
• Engage stakeholders: gather requirements and report progress.
• Interpret data and communicate results: present ML outcomes with actionable insights.

Skills

Software engineering

ML/AI delivery

Ambiguity management

Leadership

Stakeholder communication

Python

Git

Tools

Python

Git

Job description

Introduction

A career in IBM Consulting is built on long-term client relationships and close collaboration worldwide. You'll work with leading companies across industries, helping them shape their hybrid cloud and AI journeys. With support from our strategic partners, robust IBM technology, and Red Hat, you'll have the tools to drive meaningful change and accelerate client impact. At IBM Consulting, curiosity fuels success. You'll be encouraged to challenge the norm, explore new ideas, and create innovative solutions that deliver real results. Our culture of growth and empathy focuses on your long-term career development while valuing your unique skills and experiences.

Your role and responsibilities

As a Managing Consultant ML/AI Engineer, you own a workstream end-to-end: taking an ambiguous ask, shaping it into a concrete design and plan, and delivering it with minimal guidance. You are responsible for the quality and correctness of everything in your workstream, and you begin to lift the engineers around you.

Your primary responsibilities will include:

• Own a workstream: translate an ambiguous business need into a concrete technical approach, choose ML / AI methods and architecture, and defend technical implementation based on performance and trade-offs.

• Design for maintainability: make design decisions that hold up over time; define the tests, validation, and checks that keep your workstream correct as it evolves and guarantee quality.

• Design AI-accelerated workflows: decide where modern AI/LLM tooling fits (and where it doesn't) in your workstream, and set up those workflows for repeatable results.

• Mentor: guide 1-2 junior engineers — review their work, unblock them, raise their bar.

• Engage stakeholders: work directly with business/domain stakeholders to gather requirements and report progress.

• Interpret Data and Communicate Results: Clearly and effectively communicate the results of Machine Learning initiatives to stakeholders, providing actionable insights and recommendations.

This job can be performed from anywhere in the US.

Required technical and professional expertise

• Strong software engineering: designs maintainable, well-architected solutions; sets and enforces testing/validation for own scope; fluent with version control workflows and reviews.

• End-to-end ML/AI delivery: has independently taken ML/AI work from ambiguous problem to delivered solution, including method & algorithm selection and performance/validation.

• Judgment under ambiguity: frames problems, weighs trade-offs, and makes appropriate decisions.

• Detail & execution: plans and sequences a workstream; manages its risks and dependencies to on-time delivery.

• Modern AI tooling: effective, deliberate use of LLM/agentic tools to accelerate a team's work.

• Emerging leadership: experience mentoring or reviewing others' work.

• Communication & bridging business and technology: engages business/domain stakeholders directly; turns their requirements into a technical approach and explains trade-offs back in terms they understand.

IBM is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, caste, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, veteran status, or other characteristics. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.