Principal Consultant - AI Engineering

Job Description

Principal Consultant – AI Engineering

Experience: 10–15 years

Location: Kochi / Hybrid

Role Summary

This role requires a strong mix of technical depth, solution architecture, client requirement understanding, and end-to-end project delivery ownership. The consultant will work closely with clients, product teams, and engineering teams to ensure business requirements are translated into scalable, high-quality solutions.

This is a hands-on, high-ownership technical and delivery role.

Exposure to AI / Generative AI projects is a strong plus.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Architecture & Solution Design

• Own end-to-end solution architecture for client engagements.
• Convert business and functional requirements into:
• Technical architecture
• System workflows
• Integration design
• Data and AI pipelines (where applicable)
• Define scalable, secure, and maintainable solution approaches.
• Review technical designs and guide implementation teams.
• Support architectural decisions across backend, frontend, integrations, and data layers.

End-to-End Project Delivery

• Own complete delivery responsibility for assigned projects.
• Work closely with engineering teams to ensure:
• Timely delivery
• Quality standards
• Performance and scalability
• Track milestones, dependencies, risks, and mitigation plans.
• Support UAT, production deployment, and post-go-live stabilization.

Client Requirement & Management

• Work directly with clients to understand business problems and technical expectations.
• Conduct requirement discussions and solution workshops.
• Act as the technical interface between client and engineering teams.
• Provide technical walkthroughs, demos, and clarifications.
• Ensure alignment between client expectations and delivered solutions.

Product Thinking & Requirement Ownership

• Apply product mindset while delivering client solutions.
• Convert requirements into:
• User stories
• Acceptance criteria
• Technical tasks
• Collaborate with internal product and platform teams to leverage Gapblue accelerators and reusable components.
• Support backlog grooming and sprint planning.

Agile Execution

• Work within Agile / Scrum delivery models.
• Participate in sprint planning, reviews, and retrospectives.
• Help remove technical and requirement-level blockers.
• Ensure engineering teams have clarity on priorities and scope.

Required Skills & Experience

Core Experience

• 10–15 years of experience in software engineering and solution delivery.
• Strong experience as a Technical Architect / Solution Architect / Senior Technical Manager.
• Proven experience in end-to-end project delivery to enterprise clients.
• Prior experience playing a Product Owner–like or Solution Manager role.
• Strong client-facing experience.

Technical Competencies

• Strong understanding of system architecture and design patterns.
• Experience with:
• Backend systems and API design
• Frontend and backend integration
• Workflow-based and data-driven systems
• Ability to review code and guide teams technically.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

Agile & Delivery Skills

• Solid experience working in Agile projects.
• Ability to manage scope, timelines, and delivery dependencies.
• Experience working with multi-module or complex enterprise systems.

Good to Have

• Experience working on AI / Generative AI / Data / Analytics projects.
• Exposure to LLM-based solutions, AI agents, or intelligent automation.
• Cloud exposure (AWS / Azure / GCP).
• Experience building reusable frameworks or enterprise platforms.

Personal Attributes

• Strong ownership and accountability.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Ability to handle ambiguity and evolving requirements.
• Structured thinker with strong execution mindset.
• Comfortable working in fast-paced, client-driven environments.