AI Manager / Senior Project Lead (m/f/x)

appliedAI Initiative

ÜBER UNS The appliedAI Initiative elevates Europe’s industry to become shapers in the age of AI, creating a future that we desire to live in. Through our ecosystem of strong partners, comprehensive programs, services and solutions we advance companies holistically on their AI journey. With our uniquely diverse, interdisciplinary, and driven team, we build on deep technical expertise while specializing on applicability of the solutions. We share a mindset of collaboration and openness with our ecosystem of leading companies and tech players. Our common goal is to strengthen the European landscape, jointly creating unique knowledge for applying trustworthy AI. We believe that AI Agents will be the dominant topic for AI in the near future and that appliedAI with its partner ecosystem will impact how this technology is being used in industry and beyond in Europe. DEINE AUFGABEN We are looking for a Senior AI Consultant (m/f/x) ready to take full ownership of strategic AI engagements with our partner companies — from DAX corporations to leading “Mittelstand” companies. At this level, you become the day-to-day face of delivery for the client and the go-to owner for a focus topic internally. You guide organizations through defining and scaling their AI strategies, developing high-value (agentic) AI use case portfolios, and building the operating models to bring AI into action. You work closely with our (Technical) AI Strategists, AI Engineers, and adjacent teams such as Enablement & Change and Trustworthy AI, while co-owning the development of unique assets in the Strategy & Transformation space.  Your tasks will include: * Own delivery end-to-end: Take full responsibility for project outcomes across all workstreams — scoping, planning, staffing, execution, and risk. Orchestrate multi-workstream engagements, ensure cross-functional alignment, and create clarity for the team in ambiguous situations * Shape AI strategies for our partners: Drive the development and implementation of AI strategies, establish effective AI operating models, and compile high-value (Agentic) AI use case portfolios for DAX and “Mittelstand” clients * Be the trusted partner to senior stakeholders: Manage the full stakeholder landscape, align conflicting agendas, anticipate political dynamics, command attention in C-level meetings, and deliver difficult messages diplomatically — building relationships where you are seen as a partner, not a vendor * Lead and develop high-performing teams: Lead cross-functional project teams (AI Strategists, AI Engineers, and others), assign responsibilities, coach team members, and create teachable moments * Grow accounts and shape proposals: Identify expansion opportunities during delivery (scope adds, next phase), contribute to proposals with meaningful ownership (scope, approach, plan, delivery model, risks), and supply credible sizing, staffing, and timeline options while protecting margin through disciplined scope management * Build depth and become a recognized specialist: Develop a recognized specialization in a topic or industry, design custom approaches for novel client situations, and become the internal go-to owner for your focus area * Co-own and scale our offering: Co-own topics within the Strategy & Transformation team, further develop top-notch assets that allow scaling our offering, and actively share patterns and lessons learned through case shares and reusable assets * Stay at the frontier of AI: Stay up to date with strategic AI questions, state-of-the-art research, and emerging AI capabilities (e.g., AI agents) — translating them into concrete value for our clients DEIN PROFIL * An outstanding academic record in a business- or tech-related subject. * Minimum 6 years of professional experience in Strategy Consulting and/or Management Consulting — with a proventrack recordof owning complex projects end-to-end at the level of senior client stakeholders * Hands-on experience applying AI within companies, combining strategic project management with strong technical expertise and a passion for AI * Business development mindset and strong awareness of stakeholder dynamics — contribute meaningfully to proposals, anticipate political dynamics, and build trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders * Excellent communication and presentation skills — translate complex AI topics into business impact for any audience (C-Level, Domain Experts, Operational Teams) and stay composed in fast-paced, ambiguous environments * A team player who develops others, coaches team members, and contributes actively to recruiting, knowledge management, and community-of-practice activities * Fluent English and German skills are required DEINE VORTEILE * A highly qualified and motivated team of ~90 people is on a journey to change the rapidly evolving European AI Landscape * Experience the best of both worlds with our hybrid work model: You can choose to work from our vibrant offices - either at the IPAI in Heilbronn or the House of Communication in Munich - while also enjoying the flexibility to work remotely a few days each week * Opportunity to shape a variety of projects and the development of new, original content based on the latest developments in AI and its adoption in businesses * An atmosphere that encourages to think and experiment in new ways with software, hardware, and processes * A highly visible initiative that helps you build a large and high-level network of start-ups, partners, and tech companies * No fixed budget for growth – you decide how you want to develop, whether through training, certifications, conferences, or new challenges * Sports membership with Wellpass to access thousands of sports facilities all over Germany (and beyond), as well as online courses * JobRad: Lease a bike for a cheaper rate via JobRad and we cover the bike insurance on top  * Sabbatical option: You can take a sabbatical of up to 3 months after min. 3 years of employment - because sometimes 30 vacation days are not enough to explore the beauty of this world * PME Familienservice: A 24/7 support for a successful work & life in any life situation. Benefit from free support in areas like life coaching, child care and many other options * Mobility budget: Every month we contribute to your individual mobility usage with public transport or shared mobility offers within the app Moovster * Workation: Work from anywhere in the EU/EWR area for up to 3 months per year - combining working at a nice place and spending your leisure time in the evening like vacation KONTAKT Lucas Fernandes - Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist appliedAI Initiative GmbH, August-Everding-Str. 25, 81671 München

appliedAI Initiative

ÜBER UNS The appliedAI Initiative elevates Europe’s industry to become shapers in the age of AI, creating a future that we desire to live in. Through our ecosystem of strong partners, comprehensive programs, services and solutions we advance companies holistically on their AI journey. With our uniquely diverse, interdisciplinary, and driven team, we build on deep technical expertise while specializing on applicability of the solutions. We share a mindset of collaboration and openness with our ecosystem of leading companies and tech players. Our common goal is to strengthen the European landscape, jointly creating unique knowledge for applying trustworthy AI. We believe that AI Agents will be the dominant topic for AI in the near future and that appliedAI with its partner ecosystem will impact how this technology is being used in industry and beyond in Europe. DEINE AUFGABEN As an AI Engineer in the Professional Services organization, you will apply AI in real-world settings and take solutions from proof of concept to production rollout across our customers’ organizations. This is an engineering role with a clear focus on software engineering: scalable services, robust APIs, reliable pipelines, and operational excellence—beyond notebooks and prototypes. Your tasks will include: * Design, build, and operate production-grade AI features and services end to end. * Implement clean, testable software integrating ML/LLM components (APIs, microservices, event-driven systems). * Develop reliable data/feature pipelines; enforce data quality, lineage, and reproducibility. * Productionize models with strong evaluation, safety, and observability practices. * Optimize for reliability, latency, throughput, and cost; instrument metrics, logs, and tracing. * Collaborate closely with AI strategists and program managers to deliver measurable impact for customers. * Contribute to pre-sales by providing technical input for scoping, effort estimates, and solution options. * Guide partner teams from PoC to scalable, maintainable solutions deployed in production. * Explicit focus: robust, end-to-end enterprise solutions. DEIN PROFIL * STEM degree (preferably Computer Science or Engineering). * 2–5+ years in a comparable engineering role. * Strong experience in Python; solid grasp of software design and professional engineering workflows (Git, testing, code review, CI/CD). * Experience delivering machine learning projects in production or near-production settings. * Foundational knowledge in statistics and machine learning; experience with ML/LLM integration a plus. * Understanding of cloud-native development (Docker, Kubernetes), APIs/microservices, and data stores. * You thrive in high-performing teams and have the drive to learn, improve, and contribute to appliedAI. * Excellent technical, analytical, and problem-solving skills; clear communication with customers and teammates. * Fluent English, ideally fluent German. DEINE VORTEILE * A highly qualified and motivated team of ~90 people is on a journey to change the rapidly evolving European AI Landscape * Experience the best of both worlds with our hybrid work model: You can choose to work from our vibrant offices - either at the IPAI in Heilbronn or the House of Communication in Munich - while also enjoying the flexibility to work remotely a few days each week * Opportunity to shape a variety of projects and the development of new, original content based on the latest developments in AI and its adoption in businesses * An atmosphere that encourages to think and experiment in new ways with software, hardware, and processes * A highly visible initiative that helps you build a large and high-level network of start-ups, partners, and tech companies * No fixed budget for growth – you decide how you want to develop, whether through training, certifications, conferences, or new challenges * Sports membership with Wellpass to access thousands of sports facilities all over Germany (and beyond), as well as online courses * JobRad: Lease a bike for a cheaper rate via JobRad and we cover the bike insurance on top  * Sabbatical option: You can take a sabbatical of up to 3 months after min. 3 years of employment - because sometimes 30 vacation days are not enough to explore the beauty of this world * PME Familienservice: A 24/7 support for a successful work & life in any life situation. Benefit from free support in areas like life coaching, child care and many other options * Mobility budget: Every month we contribute to your individual mobility usage with public transport or shared mobility offers within the app Moovster * Workation: Work from anywhere in the EU/EWR area for up to 3 months per year - combining working at a nice place and spending your leisure time in the evening like vacation KONTAKT Lucas Fernandes - Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist appliedAI Initiative GmbH, August-Everding-Str. 25, 81671 München

appliedAI Initiative

ÜBER UNS The appliedAI Initiative elevates Europe’s industry to become shapers in the age of AI, creating a future that we desire to live in. Through our ecosystem of strong partners, comprehensive programs, services and solutions we advance companies holistically on their AI journey. With our uniquely diverse, interdisciplinary, and driven team, we build on deep technical expertise while specializing on applicability of the solutions. We share a mindset of collaboration and openness with our ecosystem of leading companies and tech players. Our common goal is to strengthen the European landscape, jointly creating unique knowledge for applying trustworthy AI. We believe that AI Agents will be the dominant topic for AI in the near future and that appliedAI with its partner ecosystem will impact how this technology is being used in industry and beyond in Europe. DEINE AUFGABEN You build the systems other engineers learn from. At appliedAI, we help Europe’s leading companies turn ambitious AI and digitalization strategies into production-grade software - and you take end-to-end ownership of that delivery for our most complex client engagements, while setting the engineering standard that elevates the entire Engineering team. Whether your depth comes from AI/ML systems, large-scale digitalization programs, or solution architecture for complex enterprise environments, you thrive on turning ambiguity into scalable, well-governed systems. Your tasks will include: * Architecting and implementing production-grade software and AI solutions for enterprise clients - spanning classical ML, GenAI applications, validated RAG, and agentic systems, alongside the broader digital and software architecture around them - with attention to security, scalability, hybrid/cloud deployments, and operational maturity * Defining and championing engineering excellence across the team: code quality, design reviews, evaluation harnesses, observability, security, and MLOps standards * Leading technical delivery from target architecture through production hardening and client handover, working closely with engagement leads on scope and value * Building reusable engineering accelerators - templates, libraries, and evaluation frameworks - that multiply the impact of the wider Engineering team * Mentoring mid-level and senior engineers, facilitating technical guilds, and driving a culture of shared knowledge and continuous improvement DEIN PROFIL * 10+ years of software engineering experience, including a strong track record at principal or lead level - as an AI/ML engineer, software architect, digitalization lead, or solution architect - with meaningful exposure to AI/ML systems in production or a demonstrated ability to grow quickly into that depth * Deep engineering foundation across distributed systems, APIs, data pipelines, cloud-native architecture (Azure, AWS, or GCP), containers, CI/CD, and MLOps * Strong command of Python and solid exposure to the modern AI stack - LangChain/LangGraph, vector stores, evaluation frameworks, or platforms such as Azure AI Foundry - or a proven ability to master this stack rapidly given your engineering depth * A demonstrable track record leading complex, end-to-end technical delivery in client-facing settings, at enterprise scale * Pragmatic and code-first in your approach; opinionated about quality, evaluation, security, and operational maturity * Fluent in both English and German DEINE VORTEILE * A highly qualified and motivated team of ~90 people is on a journey to change the rapidly evolving European AI Landscape * Experience the best of both worlds with our hybrid work model: You can choose to work from our vibrant offices - either at the IPAI in Heilbronn or the House of Communication in Munich - while also enjoying the flexibility to work remotely a few days each week * Opportunity to shape a variety of projects and the development of new, original content based on the latest developments in AI and its adoption in businesses * An atmosphere that encourages to think and experiment in new ways with software, hardware, and processes * A highly visible initiative that helps you build a large and high-level network of start-ups, partners, and tech companies * A flexible development budget that’s yours to shape - invest it in training, certifications, conferences, or new challenges, however you want to grow * Sports membership with Wellpass to access thousands of sports facilities all over Germany (and beyond), as well as online courses * JobRad: Lease a bike for a cheaper rate via JobRad and we cover the bike insurance on top * Sabbatical option: You can take a sabbatical of up to 3 months after min. 3 years of employment - because sometimes 30 vacation days are not enough to explore the beauty of this world * PME Familienservice: A 24/7 support for a successful work & life in any life situation. Benefit from free support in areas like life coaching, child care and many other options * Mobility budget: Every month we contribute to your individual mobility usage with public transport or shared mobility offers within the app Moovster * Workation: Work from anywhere in the EU/EWR area for up to 3 months per year - combining working at a nice place and spending your leisure time in the evening like vacation KONTAKT Lucas Fernandes - Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist appliedAI Initiative GmbH, August-Everding-Str. 25, 81671 München