Data Engineer II - QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey

About the role

You will build the foundational data infrastructure that powers cutting-edge AI applications leveraging LLMs, retrieval systems, workflows, and emerging agentic architectures.

Responsibilities

• Design and maintain scalable data pipelines, manage secure data environments, and prepare data for AI-driven systems while collaborating with cross-functional teams and clients.
• Tackle real-world challenges by contributing to the development of next-generation AI systems and grow as a technologist by working alongside diverse experts across industries.
• Design and build the scalable, reproducible data components essential for machine learning, agentic, and autonomous AI systems.
• Assess data landscapes, apply data quality fundamentals, and prepare data for AI solutions.
• Translate simple hypotheses into engineered features, manage secure data environments, and contribute to R&D initiatives focused on innovating and scaling next-generation AI capabilities.
• Help solve some of the most complex and high-impact challenges facing clients across industries.
• Collaborate across QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey and QuantumBlack Labs teams, help develop innovative AI capabilities and scalable enterprise solutions, and build robust data foundations for scalable, production-ready AI systems.
• Support the firm’s ability to accelerate AI adoption, solve complex business problems at scale, and enable clients to achieve meaningful, lasting impact.

Requirements

• Continuous learning: Our learning and apprenticeship culture, backed by structured programs, is all about helping you grow while creating an environment where feedback is clear, actionable, and focused on your development.
• A voice that matters: From day one, we value your ideas and contributions. You’ll make a tangible impact by offering innovative ideas and practical solutions, all while upholding our unwavering commitment to ethics and integrity.
• Global community: With colleagues across 65+ countries and over 100 different nationalities, our firm’s diversity fuels creativity and helps us come up with the best solutions for our clients.
• World-class benefits: On top of a competitive salary (based on your location, experience, and skills), we provide a comprehensive benefits package to enable holistic well-being for you and your family.

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science/Engineering, or equivalent experience
• 2+ years of relevant professional experience building and deploying data solutions
• Strong proficiency in Python and SQL for data engineering and experience writing robust, production-grade code, including deploying code across environments
• Proven experience building end-to-end data pipelines and platforms for Agentic AI, Generative AI, Machine Learning, or Business Intelligence, covering data preparation, embeddings generation, vector search, and system integration using modern frameworks (Spark, dbt, LangChain)
• A strong foundation in system design, data storage, and reliability with commonly used data platforms (Databricks, Snowflake, BigQuery, PSQL, etc.) and data engineering tools (e.g., Pandas, Spark, dbt, etc.)
• Hands-on experience with MLOps/LLMOps principles, including CI/CD for data workflows, automated agent evaluation (LangSmith, Opik, Langfuse), and infrastructure as code (Terraform)
• Experience building systems with different data formats (structured vs unstructured) and data processing methods (streaming vs batch) and deploying across major cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Exceptional time management in a complex and largely autonomous work environment
• Commercial client-facing or senior stakeholder management experience is beneficial
• Experience using coding agents (Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, etc.) is a plus
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written, in English and local office language(s)