Director, LASER

New York, NY 

Summary

Own the Lawyer Augmenting Solutions Engineering and Research function (people, operating cadence, and delivery quality) so AI-enabled workflows move from idea to production at scale. Interface across attorneys, select client teams, Information Services, and the developer team. 

Responsibilities

Lead LASER Engineers and Product Manager; set standards, cadence, and coaching rhythm Run intake (helpdesk + office hours): triage, SLAs, prioritization, escalation paths Manage backlog and releases with developers and Information Services Own The Firm AI Studio governance and lifecycle (publish, monitor, update, retire) Drive enablement (training, playbooks, comms) and adoption/quality metrics Any additional responsibilities as required by management. 

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• 12+ years across legal practice, legal ops, product, or consulting; 3+ years leading teams
• Technical fluency translating attorney needs into requirements; strong partnership with engineers
• AI tool fluency (e.g., Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Harvey, Legora) + verification-first habits
• Excellent judgment, confidentiality discipline, and senior-stakeholder communication

Education/Certifications

• JD required and experience operating legal workflows in a major law firm/legal tech

Performance Competencies

Management Qualities-Skills and abilities that drive proficient people and business management.

• Leadership-Promotes organizational mission and goals and shows the way to achieve them. Sets clear, meaningful, challenging, and attainable group goals and expectations that are aligned with those of the organization.
• Empowerment-Provides resources to employees to enhance their skills, authority, opportunity, motivation, as well as holding them responsible and accountable for outcomes of their actions.
• Diplomacy & Tact-Works through difficult or awkward interpersonal situations in a positive manner. Broaches sensitive issues in ways that allow for rational and open discussion.
• Mentoring & Coaching ‐ Ensures staff know what is expected of them and holds them accountable. Differentiates between high and low performance. Rewards and recognizes hard work and results. Addresses performance issues promptly and corrects poor performance.
• Collaboration ‐ Enables individuals to work together to achieve a defined and common business purpose.

Business Acumen-Aligns the direction and performance of the department with the rest of the organization. Links mission, vision, values, goals, and strategies to everyday work.

• Strategic Vision-Forms and articulates a clear picture of the future of the organization. Explains why that future is important and how current decisions make or break the chance to reach it.
• Critical Thinking-Self‐directed, self‐disciplined, self‐monitored, and self‐corrective thinking.
• Planning & Execution ‐ Coordinates ideas and resources to achieve goals. Creates realistic schedules for projects and evaluates progress.
• Client Focus-Builds and maintains client satisfaction. Explores options when unable to deliver a requested service and pursues solutions until the client is satisfied.
• Advocacy & Influence-Influences others to act in support of ideas, programs, or causes and builds credibility by demonstrating personal commitment and sharing information.
• Communication-Presents information clearly, concisely, and logically. Focuses on key points. Varies content, style, and form to suit the subject, the purpose, and the needs of diverse audiences.
• Listening ‐ Understands and learns from what others say.
• Comprehension-Grasps the meaning of written information and applies it to work situations.
• Verbal-Conveys ideas and facts orally using language the audience will best understand.
• Writing-Conveys ideas and facts in writing using language the reader will best understand.

Professional Characteristics-Individual qualities that correlate with effective business behavior.

• Accountability-Takes personal responsibility for the quality and timeliness of work and achieves results with little oversight. Diligently attends to details and pursues quality in accomplishing tasks.
• Judgment & Decision Making-Makes timely, informed decisions that take into account the facts, goals, constraints, and risks based on experience and perspective. Weighs the pros and cons of each option before making a decision and moving forward.
• Adaptability & Flexibility-Adapts to changing business needs, conditions and work responsibilities. Copes well and helps others deal with the ongoing demands of change; sees and shows others the benefits of change.
• Ethics & Integrity-Earns the trust and respect of others through consistent honesty and professionalism in all interactions. Keeps promises and commitments. Does the right thing, even when it is difficult. Does not yield to pressure to show bias or manipulate others. Avoids situations and actions considered inappropriate or which present a conflict of interest.
• Initiative-Has a self‐starting nature, a proactive approach, and is persistent in overcoming difficulties that arise in pursuit of a goal.
• Innovation & Creativity-Employs novel approaches to solving problems. Thinks in terms of desired outcomes, not just reactive, quick solutions. Experiments with new ideas, methodologies, and procedures.
• Continual Learning & Development-Takes the initiative to find and maximize opportunities for growth and development from multiple sources. Sees setbacks as an opportunity to learn from past results and continues to learn and grow.

Interpersonal Skills-The ability and desire to work cooperatively with others. The ability to demonstrate interest, skill, and success in getting groups to learn and work together.

• Team Engagement-Promotes cooperation and commitment within a team to achieve goals and results. Encourages team unity through sharing information or expertise, working together to solve problems, and putting team success first. Acknowledges and celebrates the achievements of teammates.
• Inclusion-Helps create a work environment that embraces and appreciates diversity. Sees the value of cultural, ethnic, gender, and other individual differences in people. Seeks different points of view and leverages diverse perspectives in group processes and decision‐making. Checks own views against the views of others.

Physical Requirements

• The physical demands/work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to perform the essential functions of this job successfully.

• Work is performed in a typical office environment. Movement & lifting requirements are consistent with the demands of a typical office environment. Visual, hearing and language acuity required for correspondence and computer usage. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

Estimated salary range is $375,000.00-$425,000.00, plus bonus. This position is bonus eligible. Compensation decisions within the range are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case including but not limited to the individual’s skills, experience, and qualifications. 

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