Ecolab Digital is seeking a commercial solution focused Principal AI Architect to scale the value of AI / DS intelligence to deliver unique offerings for customers via digital software solutions with embedded AI. In this role, you will collaborate with the AI development teams, E2E solution architects, and technical engineering owners to design AI architecture within the larger solution architecture. You will own the strategic advancement of the AI tech stack and understand industry changes and opportunities to maximize solution design. You will partner with AI development teams to review adherence and navigate new solution challenges through the development process. This role is aligned with a dynamic team at the forefront of technological innovation creating cutting-edge AI for intelligent solutions that transform how our customers operate for enhanced efficiency and sustainability.
Position Details
- The desired location for this role is either Naperville, IL or St. Paul, MN with a hybrid schedule.
- Travel: Up to 10% of the time.
What you will do
- Define enterprise architecture across GenAI, agentic workflows, ML platforms, and data engineering ecosystems.
- Serve as a technical voice in leadership discussions, influencing strategy and navigating organizational challenges.
- Architect and implement scalable AI solutions including agentic ecosystems, advanced pipelines, and AI model integrations with larger end-to-end SAAS solutions.
- Evaluate and understand technologies that meet needs in support of cost optimized, multi-cloud solutions including aspects of Databricks, Snowflake, Azure and beyond.
- Elevate governance standards covering security, compliance, and responsible AI/data use.
- Mentor engineering teams, fostering autonomy, technical excellence, and architectural discipline.
- Evaluate emerging AI/data tooling and integrate reusable architectural patterns to accelerate delivery.
- Ensure alignment of architecture with business goals, scalability requirements, and innovation roadmaps.
- Provide clear, consistent communication and presentation to various stakeholders related to AI architecture strategy and implementation to drive alignment, education and impact-based decisions
- Work within an agile global resource model, planning for and delivering against initiatives
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelors Degree in Computer Science or related field and 10 years of experience in progressive architecture and AI/DS design and engineering
- Enterprise Architecture: AI + data ecosystem design, multi-agent orchestration (LangChain, LangGraph, Haystack), enterprise-wide AI/ML standards.
- AI/ML Platforms: LLM APIs (OpenAI, Hugging Face, Anthropic, MosaicML), transformer architectures, RAG workflows, LLMOps frameworks (prompt lifecycle, monitoring).
- LLMOps frameworks (prompt lifecycle, monitoring, context engineering, harness engineering).
- Data & Cloud Infrastructure: Databricks (Delta Lake, Spark SQL, PySpark, MLflow), Snowflake (enterprise-scale warehousing), Azure (AKS, Synapse, EventHub, Logic Apps).
- Programming & Integration: Python (Transformers, LangChain, PyTorch), API integration (REST, GraphQL, gRPC), microservices/event-driven systems.
- Governance & Security: Responsible AI frameworks, privacy/compliance, OAuth2, JWT, TLS, RBAC.
- DevOps & Delivery: CI/CD (Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions), containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), observability (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack).
- Leadership & Strategy: Influence technical strategy, mentor engineers, simplify complex concepts for diverse stakeholders.
- Ability to thrive in an ambiguous environment, embracing change and utilizing proven reasoning in balancing practical business needs and architectural rigor
- No immigration sponsorship is available for this role at this time.
Preferred Qualifications
- Exposure to multi-cloud architectures (Azure, AWS, GCP).
- Strong understanding of token-efficient AI consumption with an ability to surface FinOps tradeoffs
- Experience with data mesh and federated AI systems.
- Familiarity with knowledge graphs and semantic search.
- Hands-on with MLOps orchestration tools (Kubeflow, MLflow, Vertex AI).
- Understanding of edge AI deployment and IoT integration.
- Experience in enterprise architecture frameworks (TOGAF, Zachman).
- Knowledge of AI ethics frameworks and regulatory compliance (EU AI Act, ISO standards).
- Demonstrated interconnected disciplinary knowledge of digital solution development
Annual or Hourly Compensation Range
Benefits
Ecolab strives to provide comprehensive and market-competitive benefits to meet the needs of our associates and their families. Click here to see our benefits.
If you are viewing this posting on a site other than our Ecolab Career website, view our benefits at jobs.ecolab.com/working-here.
Potential Customer Requirements Notice
To meet customer requirements and comply with local or state regulations, applicants for certain customer-facing roles may need to:
- Undergo additional background screens and/or drug/alcohol testing for customer credentialing.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Ecolab will provide reasonable accommodation (such as a qualified sign language interpreter or other personal assistance) with our application process upon request as required to comply with applicable laws. If you have a disability and require accommodation assistance in this application process, please visit the Recruiting Support link in the footer of each page of our career website.
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field
- 10 years of progressive experience in architecture and AI/data science design and engineering
- Experience designing enterprise AI and data ecosystems, including multi-agent orchestration and enterprise AI/ML standards
- Experience with LLM APIs, transformer architectures, retrieval-augmented generation workflows, and LLMOps
- Experience with Databricks, Delta Lake, Spark SQL, PySpark, MLflow, Snowflake, and Azure services
- Proficiency in Python, AI/ML libraries, API integration, microservices, and event-driven systems
- Knowledge of responsible AI, privacy and compliance, OAuth2, JWT, TLS, and RBAC
- Experience with CI/CD, Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions, Docker, Kubernetes, and observability tools
- Ability to influence technical strategy, mentor engineers, and communicate complex concepts to diverse stakeholders
- Ability to work effectively in ambiguous and changing environments
- Exposure to multi-cloud architectures using Azure, AWS, and GCP
- Understanding of token-efficient AI consumption and FinOps tradeoffs
- Experience with data mesh and federated AI systems
- Familiarity with knowledge graphs and semantic search
- Hands-on experience with Kubeflow, MLflow, or Vertex AI
- Understanding of edge AI deployment and IoT integration
- Experience with TOGAF or Zachman enterprise architecture frameworks
- Knowledge of AI ethics frameworks and regulatory compliance, including the EU AI Act and ISO standards
- Interdisciplinary knowledge of digital solution development
Ecolab Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Ecolab and has not been reviewed or approved by Ecolab.
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Retirement Support — Feedback suggests the company provides strong retirement programs, including a 401(k) with employer matching and a pension, alongside options like an employee stock purchase plan. Offerings such as retiree healthcare benefits and diverse investment choices reinforce long-term financial support.
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Healthcare Strength — Feedback suggests medical coverage is broad, with HSA plan options and company contributions, prescription benefits, dental and vision, and virtual care and mental health support. Company-paid wellness programs and income protection (short- and long-term disability, life and accident) further strengthen core coverage.
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Parental & Family Support — Family-focused programs include fertility support, adoption assistance, and paid parental leave, complemented by counseling and resource services. These offerings are positioned as supportive of employee well-being across different life stages.
Ecolab Insights
What We Do
A trusted partner at nearly three million customer locations, Ecolab (ECL) is the global leader in water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. With annual sales of $12 billion and more than 44,000 associates, Ecolab delivers comprehensive solutions, data-driven insights and personalized service to advance food safety, maintain clean and safe environments, optimize water and energy use, and improve operational efficiencies and sustainability for customers in the food, healthcare, hospitality and industrial markets in more than 170 countries around the world. For more Ecolab news and information, visit www.ecolab.com, or follow us on twitter.com/ecolab, facebook.com/ecolab or instagram.com/ecolab_inc.
