Chicago - Data Governance Product Manager

Winston Taylor • Chicago, IL

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Data Governance Product Manager is accountable for the structure, integrity, and lifecycle management of the firm’s taxonomy, data, and associated products. The role maintains product backlogs to ensure alignment with governance standards, data quality expectations, and enterprise information architecture objectives.

Working across administration and practice areas, the Product Manager establishes consistent data definitions, taxonomy alignment, and governance controls. The role partners with firm leadership, Knowledge Management partners, attorneys, and data specialists to elicit, document, and translate business and legal requirements into governed data structures and application specifications for firm-wide and client-facing needs.

The position is based within commuting distance of a local office and requires coming into the office three to four days per week. The posting gives target annual salary ranges by applicant location: Illinois, $145,000–$188,000; Washington, DC, $152,000–$197,000; and New York, $158,000–$206,000. Compensation depends on factors including experience, qualifications, market data, and internal equity. Total compensation includes healthcare benefits and a yearly retirement contribution, and may include an annual discretionary merit bonus.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• At least 6 years of product management and business analysis experience in a professional services environment required.
• Must live within a commutable distance to a local office and be willing to come into the office 3–4 days per week.
• Demonstrated ability to define and prioritize product backlogs and translate business needs into actionable user stories and requirements.
• Technical fluency across software development disciplines sufficient to partner with engineering teams, evaluate feasibility, and make informed trade-off decisions.
• Strong understanding of software and application architecture to support product roadmap planning and dialogue with solution architects and developers.
• Strong grasp of software quality assurance standards and ability to align acceptance criteria and definition-of-done with quality benchmarks throughout the product lifecycle.
• Detail-oriented, analytical approach and ability to break down complex problems into well-scoped, deliverable increments.
• Strong organizational skills and experience managing competing priorities, stakeholder expectations, and sprint ceremonies across cross-functional teams.
• Outstanding communication and presentation abilities, including the capacity to align executives, stakeholders, and development teams around a shared product vision.

Nice To Haves

• Law firm experience preferred.
• At least 6 years of stakeholder engagement and management preferred.

Responsibilities

• Translate business and legal requirements into functional and technical data solutions aligned with governance principles, including consistency, traceability, and controlled change management.
• Ensure alignment across platforms through the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) and Agile delivery practices.
• Manage and prioritize the data product backlog and maintain a scalable, controlled roadmap aligned with evolving business needs, enterprise information strategy, and architecture standards.
• Serve as the primary interface between business stakeholders, legal teams, and technical partners to align data definitions, taxonomy, and governance standards.
• Ensure governance controls are applied consistently across use cases and systems.
• Establish and enforce data governance practices, including taxonomy alignment, data quality standards, lifecycle management, and documentation rigor across legal and business data domains.
• Oversee the design and implementation of data structures, workflows, and system behaviors to ensure compliance with governance frameworks, auditability requirements, and firm standards.
• Partner with developers, architects, and vendors to execute product and governance initiatives in alignment with architecture, data standards, and operational priorities.
• Ensure product delivery activities adhere to IS Service Management and Project Management processes.
• Document data definitions, governance standards, requirements, and system designs to support transparency, auditability, and stakeholder alignment.

Benefits

• Comprehensive healthcare benefits package
• Yearly retirement contribution
• May include an annual discretionary merit bonus
• Comprehensive benefits providing coverage and support for full-time employees and their families

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level