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Kirkland & Ellis · 1 week ago

Associate Director of Innovation Delivery

Houston, TX

Full-time

Onsite

Lead/Staff

Kirkland & Ellis is a leading law firm known for its commitment to legal excellence and innovation. The Associate Director of Innovation Delivery will lead the translation of innovative concepts into actionable delivery plans, overseeing a team of Innovation Product Managers and ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture and compliance requirements.

Financial ServicesLaw EnforcementLegal

Growth Opportunities

H1B Sponsor Likely

Responsibilities

Partner with Innovation leadership to define long-term delivery goals, prioritize initiatives, and align execution plans with the firm’s broader innovation roadmap

Translate innovation concepts into structured delivery plans and coordinate execution across IT towers, practice teams, and external vendors

Oversee delivery of solutions leveraging Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), legal Artificial Intelligence (AI) Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms (such as Harvey and Legora), agentic workflows, AI integrated development platforms (such as NewCode.AI), and custom-built legal technology products

Support pilots for emerging technologies (including Microsoft Azure AI services and on-premises Artificial Intelligence / Graphics Processing Unit (AI/GPU) environments) and guide their transition into scalable, supported production environments

Ensure solutions align with enterprise architecture, application programming interfaces (APIs), infrastructure standards, and future-state capabilities

Collaborate with Responsible Artificial Intelligence (RAI), Risk, and Security teams to ensure adherence to AI governance frameworks and security standards

Build strong working relationships across Innovation, IT, Risk, Security, and Practice teams to promote transparency, shared ownership, and continuous improvement

Track milestones, communicate progress to stakeholders, and proactively identify and mitigate risks impacting timelines, quality, or scalability

Lead, mentor, and hold accountable a team of Innovation Product Managers, removing obstacles and reinforcing strong agile and delivery practices

Qualification

Innovation Strategy AlignmentEnd-to-End Solution DeliveryEmerging Technology EnablementDelivery & Agile ExpertiseTechnology Operations KnowledgeVendor & Support Model FamiliarityAI & Automation ExposureCloud & Integration UnderstandingGovernance AwarenessCommunication & Leadership Skills

Required

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field or equivalent combination of education and experience

Demonstrated experience coordinating technology solution delivery within legal or professional services environments

Strong ability to structure sprint plans, manage backlogs, coordinate cross-functional execution, and ensure readiness activities (testing, quality assurance (QA), user acceptance testing (UAT), and documentation) are completed prior to release

Experience coordinating application upgrades, patching cycles, environment refreshes, and dependency management across IT, Infrastructure, Security, and vendor teams

Working knowledge of service-level agreements (SLAs), escalation paths, managed services workflows, and ticketing platforms such as ServiceNow and Jira

Familiarity with GenAI, agentic technologies, automation platforms, and leading legal AI SaaS tools (e.g., Harvey, Legora, Centari, Relativity aiR)

Exposure to Microsoft Azure AI and Machine Learning (AI/ML) services, Azure Functions, Logic Apps, APIs, and enterprise integration patterns

Understanding of data governance, security, and compliance frameworks in enterprise environments

Ability to translate technical concepts into clear business language, manage multiple priorities, and lead with an empathetic, collaborative approach

Willingness to travel as needed

Company

Kirkland & Ellis

Glassdoor4.3

Kirkland & Ellis is a law firm that offers a wide range of legal assistance in labor, government, and intellectual property litigation.

Founded in 1909

Chicago, Illinois, USA

5001-10000 employees

https://www.kirkland.com/

H1B Sponsorship

Kirkland & Ellis has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)

Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship

Represents job field similar to this job

Trends of Total Sponsorships

2025 (44)

2024 (55)

2023 (27)

2022 (54)

2021 (45)

2020 (26)