{"id":1263175,"url":"https://alion.io/job/ahead-principal-data-consultant-ai-readiness","title":"Principal Data Consultant - AI Readiness","company":{"id":3614,"name":"AHEAD","domain":"ahead.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/ahead","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Lever","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":75,"open_postings":46,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.783,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":73,"computed_at":"2026-10-25T05:49:26Z"}},"role":"Data Science","role_family":"Data Science","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"remote","remote_scope":"stated_countries","remote_scope_basis":"board_field","remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":["US"],"hiring_countries_total":1,"salary":{"min":220000,"max":260000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":260000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":12,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Agile","optional":false},{"name":"AWS","optional":false},{"name":"Azure","optional":false},{"name":"Databricks","optional":false},{"name":"GCP","optional":false},{"name":"Microsoft Fabric","optional":false},{"name":"Snowflake","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-24T17:45:14Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-24","last_verified_at":"2026-10-25T14:18:29Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":30,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":30},"description":"The Principal Data Consultant is a senior consulting leader who serves as the Engagement Lead and primary executive advisor across the full client engagement lifecycle. This role is accountable for client success, delivery excellence, financial performance, executive stakeholder relationships, strategic direction, and overall engagement outcomes.\nPrincipal Data Consultants lead complex data, analytics, AI, cloud, and digital transformation initiatives by aligning business objectives to technology solutions that deliver measurable value. They set engagement strategy, establish governance, guide executive decisions, mitigate risk, and ensure delivery quality, transparency, and operational discipline. On smaller engagements, they may also act as Project Manager; however, their primary responsibility is strategic engagement leadership while enabling Project Managers and delivery teams to execute successfully.\nBeyond client delivery, Principal Data Consultants help advance the Data Practice by developing future leaders, improving consulting methodologies, shaping service offerings, supporting business development, and contributing to the long-term growth and maturity of the practice.\nRoles & Responsibilities\nClient Delivery\nOwn the success of complex engagements, including delivery quality, client satisfaction, financial performance, business outcomes, and strategic account growth.\nServe as the primary Engagement Lead and executive advisor, building trust and maintaining executive relationships throughout the engagement lifecycle.\nDefine engagement strategy, governance, communication cadence, success measures, and executive reporting.\nLead executive steering committees, governance meetings, roadmap workshops, and strategic planning sessions.\nPartner with Project Managers, Solution Architects, and Technical Leads to ensure execution aligns to client objectives with the right level of executive oversight.\nProvide strategic direction across workstreams to maintain alignment with business priorities, contractual commitments, and long-term client goals.\nProactively manage executive risks, organizational change, stakeholder alignment, staffing challenges, and delivery issues before they affect outcomes.\nEnsure engagements meet AHEAD quality standards, delivery methodologies, financial objectives, and governance expectations.\nProvide executive-level recommendations that support informed decisions and measurable business results.\nBusiness Development and Account Growth\nBuild trusted advisor relationships with executive business and technology leaders, including CIOs, CDOs, CISOs, and other senior stakeholders.\nIdentify opportunities to expand client engagements through a deep understanding of client priorities, organizational challenges, and business goals.\nLead discovery workshops, executive strategy sessions, and solution development efforts that shape future engagements.\nPartner with Client Directors and Practice Leadership to develop account strategies, multi-phase roadmaps, and long-term growth plans.\nLead proposal strategy, solution development, estimation, pricing discussions, and executive presentations.\nEnsure proposed solutions are technically feasible, operationally executable, financially sound, and aligned to client outcomes.\nPractice Leadership and Growth\nEvolve consulting methodologies, engagement frameworks, governance standards, reusable intellectual property, and delivery best practices.\nDrive continuous improvement that enhances delivery quality, operational excellence, financial performance, and client satisfaction across the Data Practice.\nMentor and coach Senior Consultants, Consultants, and emerging Engagement Leads through leadership guidance, performance feedback, and development support.\nBuild organizational capability by supporting recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, succession planning, leadership development, and career growth.\nPromote collaboration across consulting, delivery, architecture, engineering, project management, sales, and client success teams.\nMaintain expertise in emerging technologies, industry trends, business transformation strategies, and modern data platforms while representing AHEAD as a trusted industry advisor.\nExpectations\nPrincipal Data Consultants are expected to consistently demonstrate executive leadership, strategic thinking, business acumen, consulting excellence, and accountability while driving successful client engagements and advancing the Data Practice.\nLeadership and Ownership\nDemonstrate end-to-end ownership for engagement success across delivery quality, client satisfaction, financial performance, and strategic outcomes.\nEstablish clear direction, priorities, governance, and accountability across cross-functional teams.\nMake timely, informed decisions that balance business priorities, delivery risks, financial objectives, and client expectations.\nAnticipate challenges early, remove organizational obstacles, and lead teams through complexity with confidence and transparency.\nDevelop future leaders through coaching, mentoring, delegation, and growth opportunities.\nConsulting and Business Acumen\nUnderstand client strategies, organizational priorities, industry trends, and operational challenges.\nTranslate business strategy into practical roadmaps and transformation initiatives.\nConnect engagement activity to measurable business value, value realization, and long-term client success.\nMake financially sound decisions that protect profitability while maximizing outcomes.\nInfluence executive decisions through strategic insight, business-focused recommendations, and thoughtful guidance.\nTechnical and Consulting Excellence\nApply structured thinking and consultative problem solving to complex business and technology challenges.\nGuide solution strategy and ensure recommendations are practical, scalable, technically sound, and aligned to business objectives.\nChallenge assumptions, evaluate alternatives, and provide a clear point of view grounded in business and technical rationale.\nEnsure consistency, quality, and technical excellence across engagement deliverables.\nAdvance consulting excellence by improving methodologies, frameworks, accelerators, and reusable intellectual property.\nExecutive Relationships and Stakeholder Management\nBuild long-term trusted advisor relationships through credibility, integrity, and consistent delivery.\nCommunicate complex ideas clearly and confidently with a business-first perspective to influence executive decisions.\nFacilitate alignment across business and technology stakeholders while managing competing priorities and organizational dynamics.\nProactively identify concerns, resolve conflict, and build consensus to enable successful outcomes.\nRepresent AHEAD with executive presence, professionalism, and a commitment to exceptional client service.\nPractice Leadership and Growth\nLead initiatives that strengthen consulting capabilities, delivery excellence, governance, and operational maturity across the Data Practice.\nDevelop and mentor future Engagement Leads and consulting leaders through coaching, feedback, and leadership development.\nContribute to business development, practice strategy, service offerings, innovation, and thought leadership.\nFoster a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous learning, and consulting excellence.\nServe as a role model for AHEAD values, leadership principles, and client-first culture.\nQualifications\nRequired\nBachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Mathematics, Data Science, Business, or a related field.\nTypically 12-15+ years of progressively responsible experience leading enterprise data, analytics, AI, cloud, or digital transformation initiatives.\nMinimum seven years of consulting or professional services experience leading complex enterprise engagements.\nDemonstrated success as an Engagement Lead, Program Lead, or senior consulting leader for large, cross-functional transformation initiatives.\nProven experience managing executive client relationships, engagement financials, delivery governance, organizational change, and strategic account growth.\nExperience leading executive workshops, steering committees, governance forums, and strategic planning sessions.\nStrong understanding of enterprise data platforms, analytics, AI, cloud technologies, governance, and modern architecture principles.\nCore Competencies\nExecutive leadership with the ability to influence senior business and technology stakeholders.\nExceptional consulting skills, including structured thinking, consultative problem solving, strategic planning, and executive communication.\nStrong business acumen with the ability to align technology investments to measurable business outcomes.\nProven ability to lead multiple teams while maintaining accountability for engagement success.\nExcellent relationship management, facilitation, negotiation, conflict resolution, and executive presentation skills.\nStrong financial management skills, including forecasting, margin management, budget oversight, and commercial decision-making.\nDemonstrated ability to develop leaders, build high-performing teams, and foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.\nExecutive presence, sound judgment, professionalism, and the ability to lead through influence.\nPreferred\nMaster’s degree or MBA.\nProfessional certifications in cloud platforms, enterprise architecture, project management, Agile, AI, or data management.\nExperience with Snowflake, Databricks, Microsoft Fabric, Microsoft Azure, AWS, GCP, or similar enterprise technologies.\nExperience leading enterprise modernization, operating model transformation, data strategy, governance, AI adoption, or large-scale digital transformation programs.\nExperience developing consulting offerings, strategic partnerships, or practice growth initiatives.","description_format":"text","description_chars":9879,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":12,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Continuous learning","Growth opportunities"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Artificial Intelligence","IT Consulting & Digital Transformation","Managed IT Services (MSP)","AI Consulting & 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