Lead AI Engineer, Consulting Principal

Lead AI Engineer, Consulting Principal – Cognizant

We are looking for a Lead AI Engineer who functions as a force multiplier. You are not just an expert in code; you are a credible leader who bridges the gap between traditional enterprise software and the frontier of AI. Your primary mission is to build a self‑sustaining ecosystem of AI talent—teaching your team how to "fish" in the world of AI Engineering and empowering them to pass those skills to the next generation.

• AI Engineering Leadership & Mentorship – lead by doing and pair program with developers.
• Teach to Fish – actively pair with developers to transition them from traditional software roles to high‑performing AI Engineers.
• Scale the Knowledge – establish "mentor‑the‑mentor" programs to disseminate AI Engineering practices across the organization.
• Advanced AI Integration – architect complex prompt engineering pipelines that move beyond simple chat into sophisticated agentic workflows.
• AI‑PDLC Mastery – drive the AI Product Development Lifecycle using spec‑driven development and agent‑as‑code patterns.
• Data Set Engineering – oversee the curation and engineering of high‑quality data sets for model grounding and fine‑tuning.
• Modern Enterprise Architecture – leverage Java Full‑Stack (Spring Framework) to build robust, scalable backends integrating AI models.
• AI Tooling & Frameworks – deploy and manage tools such as Google Vertex AI, Langchain, CrewAI, MCP, and Git Hub Copilot.

Hybrid work requiring regular travel (up to 50%) and presence in Cognizant offices on the US East Coast or Central Time Zones. We support a healthy work‑life balance through wellbeing programs.

• Technical Foundation – 8+ years in Java Full‑Stack development with significant experience in Spring‑based architectures.
• Methodology – Expert in Extreme Programming (XP) and ability to adapt XP practices to AI workflows.
• AI Specialization – Hands‑on experience with agent‑to‑agent communication and context‑aware system design.
• Leadership – Proven track record of leading digital engineering teams and passion for teaching others.

Cognizant will only consider applicants who are legally authorized to work in the United States without company sponsorship.

The annual salary for this position is between $122,400 – $223,500 depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate. This position is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual incentive program.

• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance
• Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off
• 401(k) plan and contributions
• Long‑term/Short‑term Disability
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Applications will be accepted until January 15, 2026.