Senior Defense AI Leader — Agentic ML & Security

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

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

Mental health support

Telemedicine

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Parental leave

Retirement contributions

Paid time off

Job summary

McKinsey & Company is seeking a senior leader to shape and deliver agentic AI and ML solutions for defense clients across public and private sectors. You will work with client service teams to guide AI strategy, build secure systems, and lead efforts across classified and unclassified environments.

You will oversee multiple engagements, mentor defense practitioners, and partner with government and industry leaders to realize measurable value from AI and data assets.

Qualifications

• Active SECRET clearance required; Top Secret with SCI eligibility preferred.
• 7+ years applying data science, analytics, and AI to drive impact in client settings.
• Experience designing and scaling modern AI solutions, including agentic AI and production-grade ML.
• Leadership of multidisciplinary teams across cleared and distributed environments.
• Willingness to travel 40–80% across client sites and facilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead AI implementation engagements: define aspirations, set direction, ensure delivery across priority topics (manufacturing, readiness, resource allocation).
• Architect and lead teams to deliver agentic AI systems from use case shaping to secure deployment and adoption.
• Span AI techniques from traditional ML to generative AI and multi-agent systems with defense-grade security and oversight.
• Drive problem solving and vision setting for complex mission needs; lead technical design workshops with government and industry partners.
• Build scalable, secure AI foundations (data architecture, MLOps, governance, security) for classified and unclassified programs.

Skills

Defense industry experience

AI/ML leadership

Security clearance

Cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure)

Leadership of multidisciplinary teams

Python

SQL

Tools

AWS

GCP

Azure

Job description

McKinsey & Company is seeking a senior leader to shape and deliver agentic AI and ML solutions for defense clients across public and private sectors. You will work with client service teams to guide AI strategy, build secure systems, and lead efforts across classified and unclassified environments.

You will oversee multiple engagements, mentor defense practitioners, and partner with government and industry leaders to realize measurable value from AI and data assets.