Senior Director of Innovation

Faegre Drinker is a firm designed for clients and designed for you. We understand that our people are critical to our success and we are committed to investing in our paraprofessional, administrative and operations professionals. We are always looking for talented, service-focused individuals to join our flexible and high-performing culture. With technology tools and resources that support our hybrid work environment, our colleagues enjoy a culture of learning, support for work and personal goals, opportunities to give back to our communities, and competitive benefits and rewards programs. At Faegre Drinker, you will have the opportunity to share your expertise within and across teams and contribute to our success.

Job Description Summary

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.

Job Description

What you would do:

• 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
  
  

What Is Expected

• 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
  
  

What We Offer

• 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
  
  

The anticipated initial annual salary range for someone who is hired into this position is $295,000 – $344,000.

Actual initial salary may be above or below the above-identified range and will be based on the relevant skills, training, experience, and other job-related factors, including the location where the position is filled, in all cases consistent with applicable law. This is an exempt role and the initial salary range listed above is just one component of Faegre Drinker's total compensation and benefits package for professional staff, which includes, but is not limited to, a discretionary bonus; life, health, accident, and disability insurance; and a 401(k) plan.

What Is Required

• 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
    

Apply now if you are ready to join the Faegre Drinker team!

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP participates in the federal government's E-Verify program. With all new hires, we provide the Social Security Administration and, when applicable, the US Department of Homeland Security with information from each new employee's Form I-9 to confirm work authorization.

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, national origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, veteran or military status, or any other characteristic made unlawful by applicable federal, state or local laws. Equal employment opportunity will be extended to all persons in all aspects of employment, including retirement, hiring, training, promotion, transfer, compensation, benefits, discipline and termination.

Notice to Recruiters and Staffing Agencies: Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath (and any subsidiary) has an internal recruiting department and does not accept unsolicited resumes.