Consulting Principal AI Architect

Cognizant

Confirmed live yesterday High trust
Hybrid

Quick summary

Work type
Hybrid
Location
Charlotte, NC
Salary
$165,000–$219,750 / yr
Posted
14 days ago
Freshness
Confirmed live yesterday

Market check

Salary context

Competitive pay

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $204k
This role $192k
$130k $278k
below market most similar roles pay here above market

This role pays less than 64% of similar roles. Most pay $173,200–$235,750 — the blue band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $192k versus about $204k for comparable roles.

Based on 240 similar postings.

Employer

About Cognizant

Cognizant is a multinational IT services and consulting company offering digital transformation, technology, and business process services. It serves clients across financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, and other industries worldwide.

Cognizant currently has 330 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $100,000–$135,000 across 211 roles with salary data.

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At a glance

TL;DR · Consulting Principal AI Architect

JOB TITLE: Consulting Principal - AI Architect As a Consulting Principal - AI Architect within the AI & Data Consulting team, you will design and deliver advanced AI solutions focused on LLM-based systems, context engineering, and agentic workflows. You will architect enterprise-grade LLM solutions, including context architectures, memory models, and prompt engineering strategies while designing and optimizing RAG pipelines with retrieval, embeddings, and re-ranking. Your daily work involves leading the development of agentic workflows, integrating APIs, and connecting AI solutions with enterprise platforms like ERP and CRM systems. You must possess expertise in Python-based production systems, vector databases, and frameworks such as LangChain or LlamaIndex. You will ensure security, data integrity, and cost optimization while mentoring teams to deliver scalable, reliable, and high-impact AI applications across diverse enterprise environments.

What you'll do

  • Architect and implement enterprise-grade LLM solutions including context architectures, memory models, and prompt engineering strategies.
  • Design and optimize RAG pipelines with measurable evaluation frameworks for quality and performance.
  • Lead the development of agentic workflows and AI-powered applications with integrated APIs and security guardrails.
  • Connect AI solutions with enterprise platforms like ERP, CRM, and data platforms while ensuring data integrity.
  • Mentor engineering teams and guide solution designs to ensure scalability, reliability, and cost optimization.
  • Deliver high-impact client outcomes by aligning AI solutions with specific business requirements.

What we're looking for

  • 10+ years of experience in software engineering, AI/ML, or consulting with strong expertise in Python-based production systems.
  • Proven hands-on experience with RAG architectures, vector databases, and LLM frameworks like LangChain or LlamaIndex.
  • Strong expertise in prompt engineering, context design, and structured output patterns, including mitigation of prompt injection risks.
  • Experience designing and deploying agentic systems and AI integrations across enterprise environments.
  • Demonstrated leadership in consulting or client-facing roles to drive delivery, mentor teams, and align AI solutions to business outcomes.
  • Experience integrating AI solutions with enterprise platforms, identity systems (SSO/IAM), and secure data environments (preferred).
  • Familiarity with evaluation and observability tools, such as RAG evaluation frameworks and monitoring pipelines (preferred).
  • Knowledge of enterprise SDLC practices, including CI/CD, governance, and production support (preferred).

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