Senior Defense AI Leader: Agentic ML & Secure Systems

McKinsey & Company; Dallas (TX); On-site; USD 243,000 - 249,000; Full time

Job summary

McKinsey & Company seeks a senior leader to shape and deliver agentic AI and ML solutions for defense clients across public and private sectors. You will help refine defense-facing AI assets, deploy them securely, and lead engagements spanning sensitive environments and large, complex programs.

You will guide cross-functional teams, manage security-clearance requirements, and build scalable AI foundations to enable repeatable delivery across programs with government and industry partners.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience applying data science, advanced analytics, and AI to drive measurable mission or business impact in client-facing or senior stakeholder settings.
• Experience designing and scaling modern AI solutions, including agentic AI systems, production-grade machine learning, and ontologies.
• Strong leadership of multidisciplinary engineering and analytics teams across classified and unclassified environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead AI implementation engagements, define aspirations, set technical direction, and ensure delivery across topics like manufacturing, readiness, and talent.
• Architect and lead teams to deliver agentic AI/ML systems from use-case shaping to secure deployment in lab-to-field environments.
• Span AI techniques from traditional ML to generative AI and ensure defense-grade security, resilience, and oversight.

Skills

Defense sector experience

Leadership

Data science

AI/ML

Communication skills

Travel willingness

Job description

McKinsey & Company seeks a senior leader to shape and deliver agentic AI and ML solutions for defense clients across public and private sectors. You will help refine defense-facing AI assets, deploy them securely, and lead engagements spanning sensitive environments and large, complex programs.

You will guide cross-functional teams, manage security-clearance requirements, and build scalable AI foundations to enable repeatable delivery across programs with government and industry partners.