AI Architect Senior Consulting Manager

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technical Architect - Insurance & RetirementAbout Cognizant ConsultingCognizant Consulting is more than Cognizant's consulting practice-we're a global community of 5,000+ experts dedicated to helping clients reimagine their business. Blending our deep industry and technology advisory capability, we create innovative business solutions for Fortune 500 clients. And now, we're looking for our next colleague who'll join us in shaping the future of business. Could it be you?About the roleAs an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technical Architect - Insurance & Retirement, you will make an impact by designing and guiding the delivery of secure, scalable AI-powered applications that solve complex business problems for insurance and retirement clients. You will be a valued member of the Insurance & Retirement Consulting team and work collaboratively with product leaders, data and engineering teams, enterprise architects, and client stakeholders to move AI solutions from concept to production.In this role, you will:Lead end-to-end AI solution architecture for custom applications-creating solution blueprints, reference architectures, and detailed designs that connect models, data pipelines, application layers, and integrations.Define AI platform and model strategy by selecting appropriate approaches (machine learning, generative AI, large language models), orchestration patterns, inference strategies, and lifecycle management that meet enterprise standards.Architect data and integration patterns for AI use cases, including ingestion, feature engineering, training pipelines, and real-time/batch inference-integrated with core systems through APIs and event-driven approaches.Ensure enterprise alignment across cloud, security, and compliance by partnering with infrastructure and security teams to meet non-functional requirements (scalability, resiliency, privacy, cost efficiency).Provide senior technical leadership through delivery-advising stakeholders, guiding engineering teams, reviewing designs, and resolving complex architectural challenges to ensure successful production rollout.Work modelWe believe hybrid work is the way forward as we strive to provide flexibility wherever possible. Based on this role's business requirements, this is a position requires 2-3 days a week in a client office in Newark, NJ. Regardless of your working arrangement, we are here to support a healthy work-life balance though our various wellbeing programs.The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting. This may change based on the project you're engaged in, as well as business and client requirements. Rest assured; we will always be clear about role expectations.What you must have to be considered8+ years in software engineering and/or architecture, with strong experience designing cloud-native applications (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform), microservices, APIs, and modern DevOps practices.Hands-on experience designing and implementing AI solutions, including machine learning and generative AI/large language model solutions, with practical model orchestration patterns.Experience designing machine learning operations (MLOps) approaches for model training, evaluation, deployment, monitoring, and continuous improvement in production environments.Strong data architecture knowledge (data lakes/warehouses, streaming, feature stores, vector databases) and ability to design robust data flows for AI use cases.Proven consulting skills: ability to translate ambiguous business needs into clear technical architectures, influence senior stakeholders, and communicate trade-offs to technical and non-technical audiences.These will help you succeedExperience delivering solutions in life insurance and/or retirement (industry value chain, data considerations, and regulatory constraints).Exposure to emerging enterprise AI patterns such as agentic AI, AI copilots, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or a related field.Strong familiarity with enterprise security, privacy, and governance expectations for AI solutions.Track record of building reusable accelerators, best practices, and reference architectures that improve delivery speed and quality.We're excited to meet people who share our mission and can make an impact in a variety of ways. Don't hesitate to apply, even if you only meet the minimum requirements listed. Think about your transferable experiences and unique skills that make you stand out as someone who can bring new and exciting things to this role.Compensation - This section is mandatory for specific states where this is law mandated* $134,500 - $158,500* This position is eligible for Cognizant's discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant's applicable plansBenefitsMedical, dental, vision and life insurance401(k) plan and contributionsEmployee stock purchase planEmployee assistance program10 paid holidays plus PTOPaid parental leave and fertility assistanceLearning and development certifications and programsPost closing dateApplications will be accepted until March 31, 2026.