Senior Forward Deployed Engineer - QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey

McKinsey & Company; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 175,500 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits package

Continuous learning and apprenticeship

Global community

Voice that matters

Job summary

McKinsey & Company is seeking a Platform Engineer to deploy and scale advanced AI platforms. The role involves working on cloud infrastructures like AWS and Azure, and requires strong engineering fundamentals, particularly in Python and Kubernetes.

As part of QuantumBlack, you'll collaborate with diverse teams and contribute to the development of AI-driven workflows. This position is located in Washington D.C. and offers a competitive salary along with world-class benefits.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of hands-on experience as a Software or Platform Engineer.
• Experience designing, deploying, and managing cloud-based systems.
• Familiarity with AI platform concepts is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Deploy and configure production-grade systems across cloud infrastructures.
• Troubleshoot issues to ensure platforms are production-ready.
• Guide adoption through practical best practices.

Skills

Proficiency in Python

Kubernetes expertise

Cloud platform deployment experience

CI/CD pipelines

Strong problem-solving skills

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in computer science or related field

Tools

Docker

Terraform

Prometheus

Grafana

Job description

Overview

Do you want to do work that matters, alongside supportive leaders who will help you grow faster than you ever thought possible? Are you a creative problem-solver who is energized by challenges? You’ve come to the right place.

You’ll deploy and scale a next-generation AI platform designed to connect strategy to execution through advanced analytics, machine learning, and agentic systems.

You will sit at the intersection of software engineering and infrastructure, bringing advanced AI capabilities into real-world environments and ensuring they work at scale. You’ll play a key role in how these systems are deployed, adopted, and operated, enabling organizations to translate complex AI strategies into practical, high-impact solutions.

You’ll own the platform delivery lifecycle, bridging product engineering and client environments. Responsibilities include deploying and configuring production-grade systems across cloud and hybrid infrastructures (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP), validating performance and stability, and ensuring structured handovers for long-term success. Work often involves containerized and distributed systems, including Kubernetes-based environments, where reliability and operational stability are critical. You’ll troubleshoot issues end-to-end and ensure platforms are fully production-ready, while also contributing to deployment tooling, automation, and product feedback loops to improve platform reliability and delivery.

The impact of your work is tangible. You’ll enable clients to run AI-driven workflows and manage intelligent systems within their existing technology ecosystems. Working closely with technical stakeholders, you’ll ensure environment readiness, resolve deployment challenges, and guide adoption through practical best practices. Your experience from the field will also contribute to feedback loops between deployments and product development, supporting the continuous evolution of QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey technology.

Based in one of our North America offices, you’ll work closely with engineers, product teams, and technical experts across the QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey global community. Beyond platform deployments, you’ll collaborate with data scientists, machine learning engineers, designers, and technologists on interdisciplinary initiatives, contributing to a broader ecosystem of AI innovation. Together, we’ll help operationalize advanced AI systems across industries, driving successful delivery, validation, and adoption in client environments. You’ll also contribute to team knowledge-sharing—documenting patterns, refining delivery practices, and supporting colleagues across engagements.

At QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey, you’ll thrive in an unparalleled environment for growth. You’ll develop a sought-after perspective by connecting technology and business value, work across industries, and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to unlock the transformative potential of AI, while advancing as a technologist and leader.

Growth

Driving lasting impact and building long-term capabilities with our clients is not easy work. You are the kind of person who thrives in a high-performance/high-reward culture - doing hard things, picking yourself up when you stumble, and having the resilience to try another way forward.

In return, we’ll provide the resources, mentorship, and opportunities you need to become a stronger leader faster than you ever thought possible. Your colleagues at all levels will invest deeply in your development, just as much as they invest in delivering exceptional results for clients. Every day, you’ll receive apprenticeship, coaching, and exposure that will accelerate your growth in ways you won’t find elsewhere.

When you join us, you will have:

• Continuous learning: Our learning and apprenticeship culture, backed by structured programs, is all about helping you grow while creating an environment where feedback is clear, actionable, and focused on your development.
• A voice that matters: From day one, we value your ideas and contributions. You’ll make a tangible impact by offering innovative ideas and practical solutions, while upholding our unwavering commitment to ethics and integrity.
• Global community: With colleagues across 65+ countries and over 100 different nationalities, our firm’s diversity fuels creativity and helps us develop the best solutions for our clients.
• World-class benefits: On top of a competitive salary (based on your location, experience, and skills), we provide a comprehensive benefits package to enable holistic well-being for you and your family.

Qualifications and Skills

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in computer science, machine learning, applied statistics, mathematics, engineering, artificial intelligence, or a related field.
• 4+ years of hands-on experience as a Software or Platform Engineer, with exposure to enterprise platform deployments.
• Strong engineering fundamentals with proficiency in Python and familiarity with modern full-stack development (e.g., React, Next.js, or equivalent).
• Experience designing, deploying, and managing cloud-based systems (AWS, Azure, or GCP), including containerization (Docker) and orchestration frameworks, with hands-on experience operating and troubleshooting production systems.
• Deep expertise in Kubernetes cluster architecture, installation, configuration, and lifecycle management at production scale.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and Infrastructure as Code (e.g., GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Terraform, Ansible, Helm).
• Strong understanding of data architectures and platform design, including relational and graph databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, Neo4j), data pipelines, and system integration patterns across structured and unconstrained data.
• Familiarity with AI platform concepts, including model integration patterns, agentic workflows, and how AI-driven applications interact with underlying data and infrastructure is a plus.
• Strong problem-solving skills with a structured approach to debugging and resolving issues in complex, non-standard environments.
• Experience with DevSecOps and infrastructure security practices (e.g., IAM/SSO, RBAC, secrets management, encryption) is a plus.
• Experience with deployment standards, runbook development, and automation frameworks is a strong advantage.
• Familiarity with observability, monitoring, and compliance tooling (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, ELK) and experience working in secure or regulated environments is a plus.
• Willingness to travel.
• Ability to communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders in client-facing settings, including delivering walkthroughs, documentation, and training.

Additional Requirements

Please review the additional requirements regarding essential job functions of McKinsey colleagues.

EEO and Salary Information

FOR U.S. APPLICANTS: McKinsey & Company is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Certain U.S. jurisdictions require McKinsey & Company to include a reasonable estimate of the salary for this role. For new joiners for this role in the United States, including all office locations where the job may be performed, a reasonable estimated range is $175,500 - $180,000 USD to help you understand what you can expect. This reflects our best estimate of the lowest to highest salary for this role at the time of this posting, though the final figure may vary. Factors such as your office location, your unique blend of experience and skills, start date and our current organizational needs all play a part in determining the final figure. Certain roles are also eligible for bonuses, subject to McKinsey's discretion and based on factors such as individual and/or organizational performance.

In addition, we provide a comprehensive benefits package that reflects our commitment to the wellness of our colleagues and their families. This includes medical, mental health, dental and vision coverage, telemedicine services, life, accident and disability insurance, parental leave and family planning benefits, caregiving resources, a generous retirement contributions program, financial guidance, and paid time off.

FOR NON-U.S. APPLICANTS: McKinsey & Company is an Equal Opportunity employer. For additional details regarding our global EEO policy and diversity initiatives, please visit our McKinsey Careers and Diversity & Inclusion sites.