Senior Software Engineer - QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey

McKinsey; Northern (KY); On-site; USD 176,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits package

Job summary

McKinsey & Company seeks a technical leader to own architecture, set the direction, and deliver scalable, production-grade AI-enabled software. You will mentor engineers, define standards, and collaborate with clients, designers, PMs, and industry experts to create lasting business value across industries.

You will work hands-on across full stack, shape frameworks, cloud design, and AI safety practices, building robust foundations and reusable tooling while driving engineering excellence in a

Qualifications

• Undergraduate or master’s degree; or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of experience developing full-stack applications.
• Design complex, secure APIs — REST and GraphQL — with scalable patterns.
• Proficiency across two cloud providers with IaC and CI/CD pipelines.
• Advanced proficiency in AI-assisted engineering and agent orchestration.
• Security-first mindset with OAuth/OIDC authentication and secure coding.
• Experience leading cross-functional engineering teams.
• Excellent written and verbal English communication.

Responsibilities

• Own architectural decisions and set technical direction for the workstream.
• Ensure the team delivers scalable, production-ready solutions.
• Mentor client and internal engineers to grow their craft.
• Collaborate with designers, product managers, and industry experts.
• Partner with clients from technical teams to leadership to drive value.
• Contribute to building AI-enabled systems and robust foundations.

Skills

Full-stack development

REST APIs

GraphQL

Cloud platforms

IaC/CI-CD pipelines

AI-assisted engineering

Security and compliance

Team leadership

English communication

Education

Undergraduate or Master’s degree

Tools

Cloud IaC tooling

CI/CD tooling

Job description

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.

YOUR IMPACT

You will bring deep technical expertise and engineering leadership to some of the most complex and high-impact challenges facing clients across industries. You will own architectural decisions, set the technical direction for your workstream, and ensure the team delivers scalable, production-ready solutions that create lasting value. You will work hands-on across the full stack, designing robust systems and making technical judgments — on architecture, framework selection, cloud design, and the thoughtful application of AI — that shape what your team builds and how they build it. You will mentor both client and internal teams, helping engineers at all levels grow their craft and adopt the engineering practices that make great software possible. Your technical leadership will be felt not just in the code you write, but in the standards, you set and the people you develop along the way. Your work will help solve some of the most complex and high-impact challenges facing clients across industries. Collaborating across QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey and QuantumBlack Labs teams, you will help develop innovative software capabilities and scalable enterprise solutions. You will help build robust technical foundations for production-ready, AI-enabled systems. Your contributions will directly support the firm’s ability to accelerate AI adoption, solve complex business problems at scale, and enable clients to achieve meaningful, lasting impact. Working in cross-functional teams, you'll collaborate closely with designers, product managers, and industry experts to deliver software solutions. By partnering with clients from technical teams to C-level executives, you'll help solve complex problems that drive tangible business value and continue to grow your skills as a client-facing technologist. Your work offers a unique opportunity to grow at the forefront of AI and software engineering. You'll develop expertise at the intersection of technology and business by tackling diverse challenges in the evolving AI landscape. Working alongside multidisciplinary teams, you'll gain a holistic understanding of how software engineering enables advanced AI while collaborating with some of the leading technologists and AI experts in the industry.

#LI-MP

YOUR 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 for your drive, determination, and curiosity, 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 anywhere else. 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. The real magic happens when you take the input from others to heart and embrace the fast-paced learning experience, owning your journey.
• 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, all while upholding our unwavering commitment to ethics and integrity. We not only encourage diverse perspectives, but they are critical in driving us toward the best possible outcomes.
• Global community:With colleagues across 65+ countries and over 100 different nationalities, our firm’s diversity fuels creativity and helps us come up with the best solutions for our clients. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from exceptional colleagues with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
• 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.

YOUR QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS

• Undergraduate or master’s degree; or equivalent experience
• 5+ years of experience developing full-stack applications, writing code that is readable, testable, maintainable, and scalable
• Demonstrated ability to design complex, secure APIs — including REST and GraphQL — with a focus on scalability and maintainability, implementing advanced features such as rate limiting, caching, and API gateways, grounded in expert knowledge of software design patterns including microservices and distributed architectures
• Proficiency across two cloud providers with the ability to build complex IaC and CI/CD pipelines from scratch, implement zero downtime deployment strategies, and apply cloud-native architecture concepts to ensure scalability, reliability, and elasticity
• Advanced proficiency in AI-assisted engineering, orchestrating specialized agents across parallel workstreams, building reusable agent tooling, and exercising sound technical judgment on AI safety and application boundaries
• Experience architecting AI systems and ensuring engineering quality, utilizing robust LLM evaluation frameworks, guardrails, and validation methodologies to deliver reliable, production-grade AI applications
• A security-first mindset, able to advocate for standards and compliance, implement authentication flows such as OAuth and OIDC, proactively identify and mitigate security issues during development, and mentor others in secure development practices; ensures quality through comprehensive testing strategies and performance optimization
• Experience leading collaborative, cross-functional engineering teams and fostering a strong engineering culture
• Exceptional time management to meet your responsibilities in a complex and largely autonomous work environment
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written, in English and local office language(s), with the ability to adjust your style to suit different perspectives and seniority levels

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 US jurisdictions require McKinsey & Company to include a reasonable estimate of the salary for this role.To help you understand what you can expect, the salary range for new joiners in this role in United States, including all office locations where the job may be performed, is $175,500 - $180,000 USD gross per year. This reflects our best estimate of the lowest to highest[salary/hourly wages] for this role at the time of this posting, ensuring you have a clear picture right from the start, though it's importantto remember that actual salaries may vary. Factors like your office location, your unique blend of experience and skills, start date and our currentorganizational needs all play a part in determining the final figure. Certain roles are also eligible for bonuses, subject to McKinsey's discretionand based on factors such as individual and/or organizational performance.

Additionally, 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.