AI & Automation Technical Lead

AI & Automation Tech Lead

Baird is building out its AI capabilities, and the AI Acceleration team is at the center of that work. AI Acceleration is the IT team responsible for enabling AI technology across the firm, spanning everything from enterprise AI tools to custom agent solutions. This team is responsible for evaluating and deploying the tools, platforms, and solutions that make AI real for Baird associates and clients.

The AI & Automation Tech Lead is a new role on this team, created to address two growing needs: a broader view across the AI technology landscape to guide the right solution approach for each problem, and deeper hands-on capacity to enable and support the AI platforms and infrastructure that others across the firm use to build solutions.

This is a practitioner role, not an advisory one. You will be expected to assess business needs, recommend the right technology approach, and then roll up your sleeves and help deliver. The work is real, the stakeholders are engaged, and the expectation is outcomes. This hybrid position is based in our downtown Milwaukee office offering flexibility to work 2 days remote.

The Impact You'll Make:

• Broad AI Solutioning across the Full Tool Suite:
• Hands-on Platform Enablement and Technical Support:
• AI Landscape Awareness and Team Enablement:
• Organizational Credibility and Communication:

What You'll Bring to Baird:

• Proven, hands-on experience doing this kind of work at another organization.
• 5 or more years of experience in a technical AI, automation, or solution design role.
• Broad and current knowledge of the AI technology landscape, including commercial platforms, agentic solutioning approaches, and LLM-based tooling.
• Hands-on depth in at least one area of the AI tool stack, with direct experience enabling and supporting that platform at another organization.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate technology options across vendors and approaches and recommend the right fit for the problem, rather than defaulting to a preferred platform.
• Working fluency across AI tool categories, including enterprise AI productivity tools, low-code business agent platforms, and familiarity with pro-code or custom agent approaches.
• Comfort working with ambiguity, moving between strategic framing and ground-level execution as the work demands.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills, with a track record of earning credibility across both technical and business audiences.
• Experience working within or alongside risk, compliance, and governance functions in a regulated industry is a plus.
• Equivalent practical experience in lieu of a formal degree is fully accepted.

Why This Role:

Baird has built real AI momentum, and the AI Acceleration team is where that momentum is being turned into tangible outcomes for the firm. This role sits at the intersection of two things that are hard to find in one person: the breadth to navigate a complex, fast-moving technology landscape and the hands-on ability to actually deliver.

You will have a meaningful voice in how AI solutions are shaped and deployed at Baird, working alongside a team that brings strong technical foundations and genuine curiosity about what AI can do. This is not a role defined by slide decks and recommendations. It is defined by what gets built and what gets used.

Baird is an employee-owned firm with a strong culture of collaboration and long-term thinking. The expectation here is to do good work, build real trust, and contribute to something that will matter to the firm for years to come.