Senior Defense AI Strategy & Delivery Leader

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

Job summary

McKinsey & Company in the United States seeks a senior leader to shape and deliver agentic AI and ML solutions for defense clients across public and private sectors. You will guide technical direction, mentor teams, and ensure secure, mission-focused delivery.

You’ll work with client service teams, government program offices, and industry partners to scale production-grade AI while upholding defense-grade standards for security, resilience, and oversight. Travel 40-80% is expected.

Qualifications

• 7+ years applying data science, AI, and analytics to defense or government contexts.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams in cleared environments.
• Strong communication with government program offices and industry partners.

Responsibilities

• Define technical direction and ensure delivery of AI programs for defense clients.
• Architect and lead teams to deliver agentic AI systems for classified and unclassified contexts.
• Lead engagements across manufacturing, readiness, acquisition, and talent topics.
• Collaborate with government offices and industry partners to align goals.
• Develop scalable, secure AI foundations and governance across programs.

Skills

Defense domain

Leadership

Client engagement

Security clearance knowledge

Cloud computing

Tools

AWS

Google Cloud

Microsoft Azure

LLM tooling

Job description

McKinsey & Company in the United States seeks a senior leader to shape and deliver agentic AI and ML solutions for defense clients across public and private sectors. You will guide technical direction, mentor teams, and ensure secure, mission-focused delivery.

You’ll work with client service teams, government program offices, and industry partners to scale production-grade AI while upholding defense-grade standards for security, resilience, and oversight. Travel 40-80% is expected.