Senior Director of Innovation

Faegre Drinker • Washington, DC

21h • $295,000 - $344,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Faegre Drinker has an opportunity for a Senior Director of Innovation to work within our Technology & Innovation department in our New York City, Philadelphia, or Washington D.C. office. You will be part of a dynamic team dedicated to defining (in collaboration with the CTIO) and executing the firm's innovation, AI, and data products roadmap aligned to business priorities, practice needs, client expectations, and the firm's overall technology strategy. This position will work with other talented individuals who share a passion for doing great work in the best interest of our clients.

Requirements

• Strong analytical, problem-solving and diplomacy skills.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively in a virtual environment (e.g., via phone, web/videoconference)
• Ability to concentrate on tasks, make decisions and work calmly and effectively in a high-pressure, deadline-oriented environment
• Demonstrated ability to use good judgment in taking initiative while asking for direction or clarification and consulting others, as appropriate
• Willingness to be flexible with time and adjust to a changing work environment
• Ability to build and maintain positive relationships, both internally and externally, while maintaining a client service orientation in a collaborative environment
• Ability to use sound judgment and discretion in dealing with highly confidential information
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, organize and accurately prioritize work, be detail-oriented, understand when urgency is required and use good judgment in varied situations
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Systems, Data Science, or a related technical discipline required; MBA or other advance degree (e.g., MS in Information Systems, Computer Science, Data Analytics, or a related discipline) preferred; or equivalent years of professional experience.
• Minimum of 15 years of progressive, hands-on experience in technology leadership within a complex professional service, legal, or similarly regulated environment.
• 10+ years supervisory experience with a demonstrated history of developing team members professionally.
• Prior experience in a law firm (AmLaw 100 environment), professional services firm, or equivalent required.
• Demonstrated experience designing, deploying, and managing AI platforms in production environments, including LLM integration, prompt architecture, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and API gateway design.
• Hands-on experience with UiPath or an equivalent enterprise automation platform, including bot development, process design, and operational governance.
• Proven experience building and operating cloud-based data lake platforms.
• Familiarity with medallion architecture (Bronze/Silver/Gold), data pipeline design, and data governance frameworks.
• Relevant professional certifications preferred, including: AI/ML certifications (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or platform-specific)
• Databricks
• PowerBI
• UiPath Certified Automation Professional or equivalent
• Cloud data platform certification (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud data engineering track)
• ITIL or comparable IT service management certification

Nice To Haves

• MBA or other advance degree (e.g., MS in Information Systems, Computer Science, Data Analytics, or a related discipline) preferred
• Relevant professional certifications preferred, including: AI/ML certifications (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or platform-specific)
• Databricks
• PowerBI
• UiPath Certified Automation Professional or equivalent
• Cloud data platform certification (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud data engineering track)
• ITIL or comparable IT service management certification

Responsibilities

• Establish the operating model for intake, prioritization, delivery, adoption, and support of innovation initiatives, with clear governance, ownership, metrics, and risk controls.
• Evaluate and manage strategic software and service vendors, balancing speed, capability, economics, and long-term platform fit.
• Partner with firm wide operational department and practice groups and IT leaders to identify and deliver high impact use cases across legal and business workflows.
• Oversee the buildout of scalable data and AI foundations, including data integration, warehouse capabilities, reporting products, workflow automation, experimentation environments, and vendor-supported engineering models.
• Lead the buildout and operationalization of the firm's enterprise data lake, applying a Bronze/Silver/Gold medallion architecture for data ingestion, transformation, and consumption.
• Oversee and actively contribute to data engineering, data pipeline development, and analytics delivery using platform-native tooling and cloud data integration services.
• Lead the technical design, deployment, and continuous refinement of the firm's AI platform, anchored by the PLIL (Proprietary Legal Intelligence Layer) architecture: a commercial AI platform base, a proprietary integration and workflow layer, and practice-specific AI agents.
• Ownership of the design and delivery of the firm's automation program, with UiPath as the primary platform.
• Support the CTIO regarding the management of the Illuminate program (Digital Literacy Program), a micro-module, mobile-first training initiative designed to onboard all firm employees onto AI and automation tools.
• Lead and develop a high-performing multidisciplinary team spanning data services, enterprise architecture, process automation, analytics, AI engineering, legal workflow innovation, and AI/data governance.
• Provide day-to-day oversight of direct reports and hold managers accountable for the performance, development, and engagement of their teams.
• Other duties as assigned

Benefits

• Flexible working environment for work-life success
• Opportunity to participate in firm-sponsored volunteer events
• Wellness programming with personalized content and activities
• Professional environment and the opportunity to work with experts at the top of their fields
• Variety of health plan options, as well as dental, vision and 401(k) plans
• Generous paid time off
• discretionary bonus
• life, health, accident, and disability insurance
• a 401(k) plan

What This Job Offers

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