AI & Machine Learning Engineering Consultant - Life Sciences Sector - Senior - Consulting

$106K - $200K New York, NY, US Senior AI/ML Engineer

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Skills & Technologies

AzureJavascriptLangchainOpenaiPythonPytorchRagRust

About This Role

AI job market dashboard showing open roles by category

Location: Anywhere in Country

At EY, we’re all in to shape your future with confidence.

We’ll help you succeed in a globally connected powerhouse of diverse teams and take your career wherever you want it to go. Join EY and help to build a better working world.

The opportunity

Our Artificial Intelligence and Data team helps apply cutting edge technology and techniques to bring solutions to our clients. As part of that, you'll sit side\-by\-side with clients and diverse teams from EY to create a well\-rounded approach to advising and solving challenging problems, some of which have not been solved before. No two days will be the same, and with constant research and development, you'll find yourself building knowledge that can be applied across a wide range of projects now, and in the future. You'll need to have a passion for continuous learning, stay ahead of the trends, and influence new ways of working so you can position solutions in the most relevant and innovative way for our clients. You can expect heavy client interaction in a fast\-paced environment and the opportunity to develop your own career path for your unique skills and ambitions. Additionally, you will engage with life sciences stakeholders to understand their unique challenges and tailor AI solutions accordingly.

As a Senior AI Native Engineer, you will be at the forefront of revolutionizing how businesses leverage artificial intelligence. Your role will involve researching, building, and implementing scalable AI systems that learn and make predictions tailored to diverse business environments, whether in the cloud or on\-premises. You will enhance data pipelines to ensure data integrity and optimize learning processes, all while collaborating with a talented team of data and analytics professionals. Additionally, you will apply your engineering expertise to develop AI and data solutions that support key life sciences needs across scientific, clinical, and commercial domains.

Your key responsibilities

In this role, you will contribute significantly to the delivery of innovative AI solutions. You will work with a wide variety of clients to deliver the latest data science and big data technologies. Your teams will design and build scalable solutions that unify, enrich, and derive insights from varied data sources across a broad technology landscape. You will help our clients navigate the complex world of modern data science, analytics, and software engineering. We'll look to you to provide guidance and perform technical development tasks to ensure data science solutions are properly engineered and maintained to support the ongoing business needs of our clients.

You will be joining a dynamic and interdisciplinary team of scientists and engineers who love to tackle the most challenging computational problems for our clients. We love to think creatively, build applications efficiently, and collaborate in both the ideation of solutions and the pursuit of new opportunities. Many on our team have advanced academic degrees or equivalent experience in industry.

You will spend your time on key responsibilities that include:

  • Researching and implementing scalable AI systems that meet business requirements.
  • Enhancing data pipelines and storage for optimal data accuracy and cleanliness.
  • Monitoring and optimizing learning processes to improve high\-performance models.
  • Developing AI and data engineering solutions for life sciences by understanding sector‑specific datasets such as commercial, clinical, and R\&D data, and aligning technical approaches to these needs.
  • This position may have travel requirements as needed to engage with external clients regularly.

Skills and attributes for success

To excel in this role, you will need a blend of technical expertise and interpersonal skills. Your ability to navigate complex challenges and deliver impactful solutions will be essential.

This role will work to deliver tech at speed, innovate at scale and put humans at the center. Provide technical guidance and share knowledge with team members with diverse skills and backgrounds. Consistently deliver quality client services focusing on more complex, judgmental and/or specialized issues surrounding emerging technology. Demonstrate technical capabilities and professional knowledge. Learn about EY and its service lines and actively assess and present ways to apply knowledge and services.

  • Hands\-on experience implementing AI/ML pipelines that support drug discovery and development, covering data ingestion/curation, model training/validation, and deployment in compliant environments.
  • Strong analytical and decision\-making skills to guide project direction.
  • Proven experience in project management and tracking deliverable completion.
  • Ability to build and maintain relationships with clients and team members.
  • Excellent communication skills to convey complex ideas effectively.

To qualify for the role, you must have

  • A Bachelor’s degree required (4\-year degree).
  • 3\-6 years of full\-time working experience in AI and/or Machine Learning
  • Strong skills in Python
  • Ability to collaborate and communicate effectively with diverse, hybrid and global teams
  • Experience designing, building, and maintaining high\-impact, high\-value production AI/ML solutions on a major cloud platform
  • Proficient in Generative AI models and frameworks (e.g., OpenAI, Dall\-e, Langchain, Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG)) and experienced with ML packages like scikit\-learn and PyTorch
  • Experience with natural language processing and deep learning
  • Extensive experience in DevOps tools (GIT, Azure DevOps), Agile methodologies (Jira), and CI/CD pipelines for developing, deploying, and scaling analytical solutions
  • Experience with MLOps and ML workflows, including data ingestion, transformation, and evaluation
  • Experience with model retraining and feedback loop methodologies
  • Experience with model and solution monitoring and reporting
  • Understanding of data structures, data modelling, and software engineering best practices
  • Strong foundation in mathematics, statistics, and operations research, with proficiency in data manipulation tools (SQL, Pandas, Spark) and deep learning techniques
  • Familiarity with the types of data used across pharmaceutical commercial, clinical, and R\&D functions, along with an understanding of the key standards that help these datasets work together
  • Excellent communication skills for conveying findings and recommendations, with a willingness to travel for client engagements

Ideally, you’ll also have

  • Master's degree Computer Science, Mathematics, Physical Sciences, or another quantitative field
  • Experience in hybrid collaboration and emotional agility
  • A track record of working with diverse teams to drive outcomes through complex problem\-solving
  • Knowledge of sustainability practices in technology
  • A deep understanding of and ability to teach concepts, tools, features, functions, and benefits of different approaches to apply them
  • Strong skills in languages beyond Python: R, JavaScript, Java, C\+\+, C
  • Experience fine\-tuning Generative AI models
  • Experience with image processing techniques and/or speech and audio processing and analysis
  • Awareness of trends and new technologies shaping the pharmaceutical and life sciences space, and an interest in applying them in practical, data‑focused solutions

What we look for

We seek individuals who are not only technically proficient but also possess the qualities of a top performer. You should be innovative, adaptable, and purpose driven by a desire to make a significant impact in the field of artificial intelligence. Your ability to collaborate effectively and communicate with clarity will set you apart as a leader in our team.

\#FY26NATAID What we offer you

At EY, we’ll develop you with future\-focused skills and equip you with world\-class experiences. We’ll empower you in a flexible environment, and fuel you and your extraordinary talents in a diverse and inclusive culture of globally connected teams. Learn more.

  • We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package where you’ll be rewarded based on your performance and recognized for the value you bring to the business. The base salary range for this job in all geographic locations in the US is $106,900 to $176,500\. The base salary range for New York City Metro Area, Washington State and California (excluding Sacramento) is $128,400 to $200,600\. Individual salaries within those ranges are determined through a wide variety of factors including but not limited to education, experience, knowledge, skills and geography. In addition, our Total Rewards package includes medical and dental coverage, pension and 401(k) plans, and a wide range of paid time off options.
  • Join us in our team\-led and leader\-enabled hybrid model. Our expectation is for most people in external, client serving roles to work together in person 40\-60% of the time over the course of an engagement, project or year.
  • Under our flexible vacation policy, you’ll decide how much vacation time you need based on your own personal circumstances. You’ll also be granted time off for designated EY Paid Holidays, Winter/Summer breaks, Personal/Family Care, and other leaves of absence when needed to support your physical, financial, and emotional well\-being.

Are you ready to shape your future with confidence? Apply today.

EY accepts applications for this position on an on\-going basis.

For those living in California, please click here for additional information.

EY focuses on high\-ethical standards and integrity among its employees and expects all candidates to demonstrate these qualities.

EY \| Building a better working world

EY is building a better working world by creating new value for clients, people, society and the planet, while building trust in capital markets.

Enabled by data, AI and advanced technology, EY teams help clients shape the future with confidence and develop answers for the most pressing issues of today and tomorrow.

EY teams work across a full spectrum of services in assurance, consulting, tax, strategy and transactions. Fueled by sector insights, a globally connected, multi\-disciplinary network and diverse ecosystem partners, EY teams can provide services in more than 150 countries and territories.

EY provides equal employment opportunities to applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, pregnancy, genetic information, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other legally protected basis, including arrest and conviction records, in accordance with applicable law.

EY is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities including veterans with disabilities. If you have a disability and either need assistance applying online or need to request an accommodation during any part of the application process, please call 1\-800\-EY\-HELP3, select Option 2 for candidate related inquiries, then select Option 1 for candidate queries and finally select Option 2 for candidates with an inquiry which will route you to EY’s Talent Shared Services Team (TSS) or email the TSS at ssc.customersupport@ey.com.

Salary Context

This $106K-$200K range is above the median for AI/ML Engineer roles in our dataset (median: $100K across 15465 roles with salary data).

View full AI/ML Engineer salary data →

Role Details

Company EY
Title AI & Machine Learning Engineering Consultant - Life Sciences Sector - Senior - Consulting
Location New York, NY, US
Category AI/ML Engineer
Experience Senior
Salary $106K - $200K
Remote No

About This Role

AI/ML Engineers build and deploy machine learning models in production. They work across the full ML lifecycle: data pipelines, model training, evaluation, and serving infrastructure. The role has evolved significantly over the past two years. Where ML Engineers once spent most of their time on model architecture, the job now tilts heavily toward inference optimization, cost management, and integrating LLM capabilities into existing systems. Companies want engineers who can ship production systems, and the experimenter-only role is fading fast.

Day-to-day, you're writing training pipelines, debugging data quality issues, setting up evaluation frameworks, and figuring out why your model performs differently in staging than it did on your dev set. The best ML engineers are obsessive about reproducibility and measurement. They instrument everything. They know that a model is only as good as the data feeding it and the infrastructure serving it.

Across the 26,159 AI roles we're tracking, AI/ML Engineer positions make up 91% of the market. At EY, this role fits into their broader AI and engineering organization.

Demand for AI/ML Engineers has been strong and consistent. Unlike some AI roles that spike with hype cycles, ML engineering is a foundational need. Every company deploying AI models needs people who can keep them running, and the gap between research prototypes and production systems keeps growing.

What the Work Looks Like

A typical week might include: debugging a data pipeline that's silently dropping 3% of training examples, running A/B tests on a new model version, writing documentation for a feature flag system that lets you roll back model deployments, and reviewing a junior engineer's PR for a new evaluation metric. Meetings tend to be cross-functional since ML touches product, engineering, and data teams.

Demand for AI/ML Engineers has been strong and consistent. Unlike some AI roles that spike with hype cycles, ML engineering is a foundational need. Every company deploying AI models needs people who can keep them running, and the gap between research prototypes and production systems keeps growing.

Skills Required

Azure (10% of roles) Javascript (2% of roles) Langchain (4% of roles) Openai (5% of roles) Python (15% of roles) Pytorch (4% of roles) Rag (64% of roles) Rust (29% of roles)

Python and PyTorch dominate the requirements. Most roles expect experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and familiarity with ML frameworks like TensorFlow or JAX. RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) has become a top-3 skill requirement as companies integrate LLMs into their products. Docker and Kubernetes show up in about a third of postings, reflecting the production focus of the role.

Beyond the core stack, employers increasingly want experience with experiment tracking tools (MLflow, Weights & Biases), feature stores, and vector databases. Fine-tuning experience is valuable but less common than you'd think from reading Twitter. Most production LLM work is RAG and prompt engineering, not fine-tuning. If you have both, you're in a strong position.

Companies that are serious about AI/ML hiring tend to post specific infrastructure details in the job description: the frameworks they use, their model serving stack, their data pipeline tools. Vague postings that just say 'ML experience required' without specifics are often companies that haven't figured out what they need yet.

Compensation Benchmarks

AI/ML Engineer roles pay a median of $166,983 based on 13,781 positions with disclosed compensation. Senior-level AI roles across all categories have a median of $227,400. This role's midpoint ($153K) sits 8% below the category median. Disclosed range: $106K to $200K.

Across all AI roles, the market median is $184,000. Top-quartile compensation starts at $244,000. The 90th percentile reaches $309,400. For comparison, the highest-paying categories include AI Engineering Manager ($293,500) and AI Architect ($292,900). By seniority level: Entry: $76,880; Mid: $131,300; Senior: $227,400; Director: $244,288; VP: $234,620.

EY AI Hiring

EY has 20 open AI roles right now. They're hiring across AI/ML Engineer, Data Scientist, AI Architect, AI Product Manager. Positions span Indianapolis, IN, US, Seattle, WA, US, Jacksonville, FL, US. Compensation range: $152K - $374K.

Location Context

AI roles in New York pay a median of $200,000 across 1,670 tracked positions. That's 9% above the national median.

Career Path

Common paths into AI/ML Engineer roles include Data Scientist, Software Engineer, Research Engineer.

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

The fastest path into ML engineering is through software engineering with a self-directed ML education. A CS degree helps, but production engineering skills matter more than academic credentials. Build something that works, deploy it, and measure it. That portfolio project is worth more than a Coursera certificate. For career growth, the fork comes around the senior level: go deep on technical complexity (staff/principal track) or move into managing ML teams.

What to Expect in Interviews

Expect system design questions around ML pipelines: how you'd build a training pipeline for a specific use case, handle data drift, or design A/B testing infrastructure for model deployments. Coding rounds typically involve Python, with emphasis on data manipulation (pandas, numpy) and algorithm implementation. Take-home assignments often ask you to build an end-to-end ML pipeline from raw data to deployed model.

When evaluating opportunities: Companies that are serious about AI/ML hiring tend to post specific infrastructure details in the job description: the frameworks they use, their model serving stack, their data pipeline tools. Vague postings that just say 'ML experience required' without specifics are often companies that haven't figured out what they need yet.

AI Hiring Overview

The AI job market has 26,159 open positions tracked in our dataset. By seniority: 2,416 entry-level, 16,247 mid-level, 5,153 senior, and 2,343 leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level). Remote roles make up 7% of the market (1,863 positions). The remaining 24,200 roles require on-site or hybrid attendance.

The market median for AI roles is $184,000. Top-quartile compensation starts at $244,000. The 90th percentile reaches $309,400. Highest-paying categories: AI Engineering Manager ($293,500 median, 28 roles); AI Architect ($292,900 median, 108 roles); AI Safety ($274,200 median, 19 roles).

Demand for AI/ML Engineers has been strong and consistent. Unlike some AI roles that spike with hype cycles, ML engineering is a foundational need. Every company deploying AI models needs people who can keep them running, and the gap between research prototypes and production systems keeps growing.

The AI Job Market Today

The AI job market spans 26,159 open positions across 15 role categories. The largest categories by volume: AI/ML Engineer (23,752), AI Software Engineer (598), AI Product Manager (594). 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 (2,416) are outnumbered by mid-level (16,247) and senior (5,153) 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 2,343 positions, representing the bottleneck between technical execution and organizational strategy.

Remote work availability sits at 7% of all AI roles (1,863 positions), with 24,200 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 $184,000. Top-quartile roles start at $244,000, and the 90th percentile reaches $309,400. 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 Engineering Manager roles lead at $293,500 median, while Prompt Engineer roles sit at $122,200. 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: Rag (16,749 postings), Aws (8,932 postings), Rust (7,660 postings), Python (3,815 postings), Azure (2,678 postings), Gcp (2,247 postings), Prompt Engineering (1,469 postings), Openai (1,269 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 13,781 roles with disclosed compensation, the median salary for AI/ML Engineer positions is $166,983. Actual compensation varies by seniority, location, and company stage.
Python and PyTorch dominate the requirements. Most roles expect experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and familiarity with ML frameworks like TensorFlow or JAX. RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) has become a top-3 skill requirement as companies integrate LLMs into their products. Docker and Kubernetes show up in about a third of postings, reflecting the production focus of the role.
About 7% of the 26,159 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.
EY 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/ML Engineer positions include ML Architect, AI Engineering Manager, Principal ML Engineer. Progression depends on whether you lean toward technical depth, people management, or product strategy.

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