Principal AI Engineer - Midtown, NY

About the RoleThe Principal AI Engineer sits at the intersection of software engineering, data science, platform architecture, and AI governance. You will be the technical owner of how AI/ML engineering is designed, built, governed, and shipped across a portfolio of products serving all of AlixPartners domains.
This is a hands-on engineering and technical leadership position. You will move fluidly between writing production code, architecting multi-tenant AI services, building internal developer tooling, leading security and governance design, and mentoring engineering teams. Your success is measured by team-level outcomes - scalable patterns that outlastyour direct involvement.
Location: New York (Hybrid - Midtown)Work Arrangements: Open to 1099, C2C or W2Duration: 12 month contract - high likelihood of extension based on performanceTravel: None
What You'll DoAI Productization & Platform Engineering• Design and own the firm's AI productization & governance playbook, covering service patterns, security/compliance standards, model evaluation rubrics, and production-readiness criteria.• Build and maintain reusable internal tooling, including AI service scaffolding, evaluation and monitoring tooling, and data infrastructure - designed for team adoption without ongoing hand-holding.• Establish AI agent governance policies covering agent permissions, code execution controls, access to internal systems, and human-in-the-loop enforcement.• Partner with Security, Legal, and Compliance to define SOC2/ISO-aligned AI controls, vendor DPA requirements, and prompt data classification policies.• Establish standardized deployment patterns using containerization, infrastructure-as-code, and CI/CD pipeline templates reusable across teams.
Developer Experience & Engineering Excellence• Champion AI-assisted development practices across the engineering org, including LLM-integrated development workflows, test-driven development patterns, and reusable tooling standards that scale across teams.• Codify modern software development standards (CI/CD, DevOps, testing, delivery quality) referenced by multiple teams as a baseline for new or re- platformed products.• Mentor engineers and tech leads with observable improvement in delivery consistency, design quality, and production readiness rigor.
Cross-Functional Leadership & Stakeholder Influence• Serve as the go-to technical authority on AI/ML, platform architecture, and engineering practices - regularly consulted by senior stakeholders at the design and strategy stages.• Bridge technical and non-technical stakeholders, translating complex architectural decisions, AI risk topics, and platform tradeoffs into clear, actionable guidance.
What You'll Need• 12+ years in software engineering, data science, or a closely related technical field.• Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field preferred.• Deep expertise in AI/ML frameworks and the Python ecosystem, with hands-on experience deploying models to public cloud infrastructure.• Demonstrated experience designing and operating multi-tenant AI services and LLM integrations in production.• Proven track record leading microservices architecture - decomposing monoliths, defining service contracts, and operationalizing CI/CD for distributed systems.• Strong hands-on command of containerization (Docker), infrastructure-as-code (Terraform), and modern DevOps practices.• Substantive experience with AI/LLM security - including prompt injection, data boundary enforcement, model supply chain risk, and AI-specific threat modeling.• Strong problem-solving skills, especially in building governance frameworks, evaluation rubrics, and reusable platform patterns at scale.• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; ability to translate complex technical topics to diverse audiences, including executive stakeholders.• Experience with Agile methodologies and cross-functional product team collaboration.
Preferred / Additional Qualifications• Experience applying AI/ML in business consulting, advisory, or professional services contexts.• Familiarity with AI service interface and gateway design patterns, including emerging AI integration protocols.• Contributions to open-source AI/ML projects, publications, or active involvement in technical communities.• Advanced certifications in AI, deep learning, cloud architecture, or security (e.g., AWS/GCP/Azure ML, CISSP).• Experience defining AI compliance controls for SOC2, ISO 27001, or TISAX frameworks.• Demonstrated enthusiasm for developer education - writing internal guides, running workshops, or building internal tooling communities.• Proficiency in additional languages is a plus (Go, Typescript)• Demonstrated ability and enthusiasm to mentor and uplift junior team members or peers• Willingness to work outside of normal business hours, and in particular as unique projects/needs arise.