Technical Product Senior Manager

Sidley Austin LLP•Chicago, IL

67d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Technical Product Senior Manager is a senior leader who combines deep technical expertise with strong business acumen. Serving as the firm's business-facing lead for workflow automation initiatives, this role ensures complex business needs are translated into clear, actionable, and technically sound solutions. The Senior Manager must be equally adept at hands-on technical work-building automations when needed, reviewing architectures, validating feasibility, and leveraging AI tools-as well as leading teams to deliver high-quality outcomes under tight timelines. By fluently bridging business priorities with technical execution, this role drives alignment, accelerates adoption of intelligent automation, and enables scalable AI-driven workflow solutions across the firm. This hybrid role blends the capabilities of a technical product senior manager, technical lead, and strategic business partner, making it pivotal to shaping and delivering the firm's Data & AI strategy.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Technology, Business, or related field; or equivalent professional experience.
Experience with automation platforms, workflow orchestration tools, AI/ML technologies, and cloud-based platforms.
A minimum of 6 years of experience in technical product management, solution delivery, or Agile program management with cross-functional teams.
Proven track record of managing product backlogs and driving prioritization of initiatives by business value and technical feasibility.
Demonstrated ability to engage with business leaders and technical teams, aligning priorities and ensuring outcomes deliver measurable impact.
Experience facilitating intake, roadmap planning, and stakeholder alignment sessions.
Strong technical background, with hands-on experience in reviewing architectures, evaluating platforms, and validating automation or AI solutions.
Familiarity with Agile project management tools such as Jira, Azure DevOps, or similar.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a demonstrated ability to build consensus and drive collaboration across business and technical stakeholders.
Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, with the ability to adapt to changing priorities and manage multiple initiatives simultaneously.
Strong organizational skills
Strong attention to detail
Good judgment
Strong interpersonal communication skills
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
Able to work harmoniously and effectively with others
Able to preserve confidentiality and exercise discretion
Able to work under pressure
Able to manage multiple projects with competing deadlines and priorities

Nice To Haves

Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) or Certified Scrum Master (CSM).
Proficiency in process analysis, workflow design, and optimization techniques.
Proficiency in the following technologies, n8n (or equivalent experience in other workflow tools), LLMs, ChatGPT, UiPath (or equivalent experience in other RPA tools), Git, Javascript, C#, Python, Azure Devops - Boards and Test Suites, JIRA and draw.io (or equivalent process mapping tools).
User experience (UX) knowledge, with an understanding of usability principles and how user needs inform product design.
Experience in the professional services industry (e.g., legal, financial, accounting, consulting).
Experience leading organizational change and driving adoption of new technologies across business units.
Experience leading distributed or remote delivery teams and managing stakeholders across multiple geographies.

Responsibilities

Lead the intake process for workflow automation and AI initiatives, ensuring requests are captured, assessed, and prioritized by business value and technical feasibility.
Manage the product backlog, ensuring delivery teams focus on the right priorities and maintain momentum on high-impact initiatives.
Serve as the primary business-facing lead, engaging with stakeholders to clarify objectives, align expectations, and drive consensus on scope and priorities.
Review and validate solution architectures, technical approaches, and platform selections, ensuring alignment with firm standards and scalability needs.
Partner with engineering leads to assess feasibility, allocate resources, and sequence work to maximize impact.
Provide hands-on technical leadership when needed-evaluating tools, building prototypes, or testing automation concepts to accelerate delivery.
Influence the firm's Data & AI roadmap by identifying emerging opportunities, aligning business priorities, and advising leadership on automation and AI adoption strategies.
Track and communicate initiative progress, proactively identify blockers, and facilitate resolution to keep projects on schedule.
Ensure stakeholder feedback is incorporated into roadmap planning and backlog refinement.
Provides strong people leadership, including coaching and mentoring delivery teams, fostering technical excellence, agility, and a culture of continuous improvement.
Advocate for intelligent automation adoption across the firm, promoting awareness, education, and alignment with strategic goals.