AI Architect

$190K - $230K US Mid Level AI Architect

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Skills & Technologies

AnthropicAzureDrift AiEmbeddingsOpenaiRagVector Search

About This Role

AI job market dashboard showing open roles by category

About KLDiscovery

KLDiscovery is a global eDiscovery and legal technology provider serving large law firms, corporate legal departments, and government agencies. We build and operate the products and services that legal teams rely on to manage, process, and review case data at scale. With operations across multiple countries and a client base that includes AmLaw 200 firms, we handle some of the largest and most complex matters in the industry.

About the Role

We're hiring our most senior AI practitioner. As AI Architect, you'll own the north star for gen AI and ML engineering at KLDiscovery and build alongside the team to make it real.

This is one of the most interesting AI problem sets in enterprise software. You'll work with terabytes of real\-world legal data, including emails, contracts, chat transcripts, images, video, depositions, and regulatory filings from some of the largest litigation and investigation matters in the world. The work is hard in ways that matter: documents are messy and adversarial, the stakes are real (privilege, defensibility, attorney work product), and the upside is enormous. AI that can surface key people, themes, and timelines in hours instead of weeks, or pre\-classify millions of documents for relevance and privilege, directly changes the economics of how legal matters get resolved.

This is a builder\-first role. You'll design and ship agent workflows that take on attorney\-level work, retrieval systems that reason over case data , and evaluation harnesses that prove our AI is defensible in court. You'll set strategic direction across Nebula, our eDiscovery platform, and CS \& Operations, then prove the architecture by building the hardest parts yourself. Not a role for anyone stepping back from the keyboard.

We offer competitive total compensation that includes base pay, bonus potential, inclusive benefits, wellness programs, and perks. We use market and industry data to inform pay decisions while considering geography and labor markets, individual experience, and business needs. Individual compensation will vary, although a reasonable estimate of the current annualized base pay range for this position is $190,000 to $230,000\.

Job location: Remote (but candidate must be based in the United States)

Key Responsibilities:

  • Own the AI\-native architecture and build it. Define the end\-to\-end gen AI architecture across Nebula and CS \& Operations, covering LLMs, agent harnesses, RAG, vector search, embeddings, and model selection and triage. Build the hardest parts personally: prototype agent loops, tune retrieval, design evals, and ship the shared infrastructure that powers AI Case Explorer (case overviews, timelines, key people and themes, PII surfacing, and Agent chat), AI Agent Review (pre\-classifying relevance, privilege, and key issues, shipping MLP), and CS \& OPS tech\-enablement using AI as a core part of our central work orchestration system.
  • Own AI/MLOps and AI telemetry end\-to\-end. Model deployment and versioning, eval pipelines, drift and quality monitoring, cost and latency telemetry, and prompt and agent observability. Define and implement how we select, triage, and route across models (Azure OpenAI, Anthropic, open\-source, fine\-tuned), manage vector databases and retrieval, and evolve our agent harness as the frontier moves.
  • Lead the AI practice from the front. Set the technical bar by building, not by reviewing. Partner with Engineering, Product, and Data Science leadership to translate architecture into delivery. Raise the bar on AI engineering, mentor senior ICs through hands\-on technical leadership, and represent KLD's AI strategy with customers, partners, and at industry events.

What You Bring (required skills):

  • 7\+ years in machine learning, applied AI, or ML engineering, with recent hands\-on experience as a senior or principal\-level builder in the gen AI era
  • Proven track record architecting and personally building enterprise gen AI systems in production with customer impact
  • Builder at heart: still writes code, ships, and tunes prompts and evals, and wants to keep doing so as a leader
  • Deep expertise across the modern gen AI stack: LLMs, agents, RAG, vector databases, embeddings, search, and evaluation harnesses
  • Hands\-on experience designing system\-of\-systems AI pipelines spanning search, retrieval, agent harnesses, and model selection/triage
  • Strong proficiency with the Microsoft AI stack: Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Foundry, Azure AI Search, and supporting Azure infrastructure
  • Experience owning MLOps and AI telemetry: model deployment, eval pipelines, monitoring, drift detection, and prompt/agent observability
  • Excellent technical leadership skills; demonstrated ability to influence architecture decisions across product and engineering
  • Strong communication skills, including explaining AI architecture trade\-offs to executive and customer audiences

Nice to Have (preferred skills):

  • Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, or related field
  • Background building agentic systems with tool use, planning, and multi\-step reasoning in production
  • Prior experience setting up AI governance and evaluation harnesses
  • Open\-source contributions, technical writing, conference talks, or other evidence of being a recognized builder in the AI community

Salary Context

This $190K-$230K range is above the median for AI Architect roles in our dataset (median: $197K across 33 roles with salary data).

Role Details

Company KLDiscovery
Title AI Architect
Location US
Category AI Architect
Experience Mid Level
Salary $190K - $230K
Remote No

About This Role

This role sits at the intersection of AI and engineering, building systems that bring machine learning capabilities into production environments. The scope varies by company, but the common thread is applying AI technology to solve real business problems at scale. Most AI roles today require a combination of software engineering fundamentals and domain-specific ML knowledge, with the exact mix depending on the team's maturity and the product they're building.

The AI job market is evolving fast. New role categories emerge as companies figure out what they need to ship AI-powered products. What matters most is the ability to learn quickly, build working systems, and iterate based on real-world performance data. The specific title matters less than the skills you bring and the problems you can solve. Companies are past the experimentation phase and want engineers who can deliver production-quality systems that work reliably at scale.

Across the 3,708 AI roles we're tracking, AI Architect positions make up 1% of the market. At KLDiscovery, this role fits into their broader AI and engineering organization.

AI hiring keeps growing across industries. Companies in tech, finance, healthcare, and retail are all building AI teams. The strongest demand is for people who can bridge the gap between AI research and production engineering. The shift toward generative AI has created new role types (LLM Engineer, Prompt Engineer, AI Agent Developer) that didn't exist three years ago, while traditional roles (Data Scientist, ML Engineer) have evolved to incorporate LLM capabilities.

What the Work Looks Like

Day-to-day work involves a mix of building, debugging, and collaborating. You'll write code, review pull requests, participate in design discussions, and work with cross-functional teams (product, design, data) to define what AI features should do and how they should behave. Expect to spend time on both technical implementation and communication. Most AI teams operate in two-week sprint cycles, with regular demos and retrospectives. The ratio of heads-down coding to meetings and reviews varies by seniority, with senior roles spending more time on architecture decisions and mentorship.

AI hiring keeps growing across industries. Companies in tech, finance, healthcare, and retail are all building AI teams. The strongest demand is for people who can bridge the gap between AI research and production engineering. The shift toward generative AI has created new role types (LLM Engineer, Prompt Engineer, AI Agent Developer) that didn't exist three years ago, while traditional roles (Data Scientist, ML Engineer) have evolved to incorporate LLM capabilities.

Skills Required

Anthropic (6% of roles) Azure (24% of roles) Drift Ai (2% of roles) Embeddings (6% of roles) Openai (11% of roles) Rag (23% of roles) Vector Search (3% of roles)

Python and cloud platform experience are common requirements. Specific skill needs vary by company and focus area, but familiarity with ML frameworks, data pipelines, and API design covers the basics for most roles. RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), vector databases, and LLM API integration are increasingly standard requirements across role types.

Beyond the core stack, communication skills matter more than many technical candidates realize. The ability to explain AI capabilities and limitations to non-technical stakeholders is a differentiator at every level. Technical writing, documentation, and clear thinking about tradeoffs are underrated skills in AI roles. Experience with evaluation methodology (how to measure whether an AI system is working well) is becoming a core requirement, especially for roles that involve LLM integration.

Look for job postings that specify the problems you'll work on, the tech stack, and the team structure. Vague postings that list every AI buzzword are often a sign the company hasn't figured out what they need. Strong postings describe the product context, the team you'd join, and the specific challenges you'd tackle.

Compensation Benchmarks

AI Architect roles pay a median of $254,798 based on 67 positions with disclosed compensation. Mid-level AI roles across all categories have a median of $200,000. This role's midpoint ($210K) sits 18% below the category median. Disclosed range: $190K to $230K.

Across all AI roles, the market median is $217,500. Top-quartile compensation starts at $272,100. The 90th percentile reaches $325,000. For comparison, the highest-paying categories include AI Safety ($300,000) and Research Engineer ($280,000). By seniority level: Entry: $120,000; Mid: $200,000; Senior: $230,000; Director: $272,150; VP: $250,000.

KLDiscovery AI Hiring

KLDiscovery has 1 open AI role right now. They're hiring across AI Architect. Based in US. Compensation range: $230K - $230K.

Location Context

AI roles in Austin pay a median of $214,343 across 87 tracked positions.

Career Path

Common paths into AI Architect roles include Software Engineer, Data Scientist, Data Analyst.

From here, career progression typically leads toward Senior Engineer, AI Architect, Engineering Manager, Principal Engineer.

Focus on building things that work. A deployed project that solves a real problem is worth more than any certification. Contribute to open-source, build portfolio projects, and invest in fundamentals (software engineering, statistics, systems design) rather than chasing the latest framework. The AI field moves fast, but the engineers who succeed long-term are the ones with strong fundamentals who can adapt to new tools and paradigms as they emerge.

What to Expect in Interviews

AI interviews typically combine coding challenges (Python-focused), system design questions tailored to the role, and discussions about your experience with relevant tools and frameworks. Strong candidates demonstrate both technical depth and the ability to make pragmatic engineering tradeoffs. Prepare portfolio projects that demonstrate end-to-end capability rather than isolated skills.

When evaluating opportunities: Look for job postings that specify the problems you'll work on, the tech stack, and the team structure. Vague postings that list every AI buzzword are often a sign the company hasn't figured out what they need. Strong postings describe the product context, the team you'd join, and the specific challenges you'd tackle.

AI Hiring Overview

The AI job market has 3,708 open positions tracked in our dataset. By seniority: 102 entry-level, 1,705 mid-level, 1,469 senior, and 432 leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level). Remote roles make up 14% of the market (508 positions). The remaining 3,180 roles require on-site or hybrid attendance.

The market median for AI roles is $217,500. Top-quartile compensation starts at $272,100. The 90th percentile reaches $325,000. Highest-paying categories: AI Safety ($300,000 median, 21 roles); Research Engineer ($280,000 median, 147 roles); AI Architect ($254,798 median, 67 roles).

AI hiring keeps growing across industries. Companies in tech, finance, healthcare, and retail are all building AI teams. The strongest demand is for people who can bridge the gap between AI research and production engineering. The shift toward generative AI has created new role types (LLM Engineer, Prompt Engineer, AI Agent Developer) that didn't exist three years ago, while traditional roles (Data Scientist, ML Engineer) have evolved to incorporate LLM capabilities.

The AI Job Market Today

The AI job market spans 3,708 open positions across 16 role categories. The largest categories by volume: AI/ML Engineer (2,605), Data Scientist (310), AI Software Engineer (259). These three account for the majority of open positions, though smaller categories often have higher per-role compensation because of specialized skill requirements.

The seniority mix tells a story about where AI teams are in their maturity. Entry-level roles (102) are outnumbered by mid-level (1,705) and senior (1,469) positions, reflecting that most companies are past the 'build a team from scratch' phase and need experienced engineers who can ship production systems. Leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level) total 432 positions, representing the bottleneck between technical execution and organizational strategy.

Remote work availability sits at 14% of all AI roles (508 positions), with 3,180 requiring on-site or hybrid attendance. The remote share has stabilized after the post-pandemic correction. Senior and specialized roles (Research Scientist, ML Architect) are more likely to be remote-eligible than entry-level positions, partly because experienced hires have more negotiating power and partly because these roles require less hands-on mentorship.

AI compensation is structured in clear tiers. The market median sits at $217,500. Top-quartile roles start at $272,100, and the 90th percentile reaches $325,000. These figures include base salary with disclosed compensation. Total compensation (including equity, bonuses, and sign-on) runs 20-40% higher at companies that offer those components.

Category matters for compensation. AI Safety roles lead at $300,000 median, while Prompt Engineer roles sit at $140,000. The spread between highest and lowest-paying categories reflects the premium on specialized technical skills versus broader analytical roles.

The most in-demand skills across all AI postings: Python (1,890 postings), Aws (1,103 postings), Azure (877 postings), Rag (855 postings), Gcp (631 postings), Prompt Engineering (560 postings), Pytorch (545 postings), Claude (498 postings). Python dominates, appearing in the vast majority of role descriptions regardless of category. Cloud platform experience (AWS, GCP, Azure) is the second most common requirement. The newer entrants to the top skills list (RAG, vector databases, LLM APIs) reflect the shift from traditional ML toward generative AI applications.

Frequently Asked Questions

Based on 67 roles with disclosed compensation, the median salary for AI Architect positions is $254,798. Actual compensation varies by seniority, location, and company stage.
Python and cloud platform experience are common requirements. Specific skill needs vary by company and focus area, but familiarity with ML frameworks, data pipelines, and API design covers the basics for most roles. RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), vector databases, and LLM API integration are increasingly standard requirements across role types.
About 14% of the 3,708 AI roles we track offer remote work. Remote availability varies by company and seniority level, with senior and leadership roles more likely to offer location flexibility.
KLDiscovery is among the companies actively hiring for AI and ML talent. Check our company profiles for detailed breakdowns of open roles, salary ranges, and hiring trends.
Common next steps from AI Architect positions include Senior Engineer, AI Architect, Engineering Manager, Principal Engineer. Progression depends on whether you lean toward technical depth, people management, or product strategy.

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