Associate Director of Product Management, Practice Innovation Delivery

About Kirkland & Ellis

At Kirkland & Ellis, we don't just meet the standard for legal excellence - we set it. Our culture is built on teamwork, ingenuity and an unwavering commitment to continuous growth. We tackle the most sophisticated legal challenges with bold ideas and innovative solutions, powered by the exceptional experience and ambition of our 7,000+ people, including 4,000+ attorneys, across 24 offices worldwide. Our dedicated professionals share our lawyers' commitment to excellence and show up each day to do meaningful work that helps drive global business, investment and innovation forward.

What You'll Do

Are you a hands-on product leader who thrives on turning strategy into real-world delivery, while building and mentoring high-performing teams along the way?

As the Associate Director of Product Management, Practice Innovation Delivery, you'll play a critical role within the Information Technology (IT) Innovation Delivery team, helping bring the firm's most ambitious product and innovation initiatives to life. Reporting to the Director of Innovation Delivery, you will lead a team of product owners while remaining actively involved in delivery yourself, translating product vision into structured execution across SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) integrations, AI (Artificial Intelligence) deployments, and broader technology initiatives.

This role sits at the intersection of product, engineering, and business stakeholders, where your ability to align strategy, drive execution, and champion agile ways of working will directly impact how innovation is delivered and adopted across the organization.

Team Leadership & Delivery Excellence:

Build, lead, and coach a team of product owners, establishing consistent delivery standards, agile cadences, and a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
Hands-On Product Ownership: Personally manage key initiatives-owning backlogs, defining requirements, and guiding sprint execution-to model best-in-class product ownership and delivery rigor.
Strategic Alignment: Partner with Product Management and business leaders to translate strategy into executable plans, ensuring clear prioritization, sequencing, and alignment across stakeholders.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

Serve as a central connector across Engineering, Quality Assurance (QA), Data, Security, and Architecture teams-surfacing dependencies and driving coordinated execution.
Knowledge Portfolio Leadership: Oversee delivery across Knowledge-focused initiatives, working closely with Knowledge Services and attorneys to align priorities and deliver impactful solutions.
SaaS & AI Integration: Lead the integration of SaaS platforms and AI tools into the technology ecosystem, developing reusable integration patterns and partnering with third-party vendors to ensure successful deployment.

Agile & Product Mindset:

Champion agile practices and product thinking-ensuring solutions are not only delivered on time, but are intuitive, valuable, and adopted by end users.
Flexible Delivery Approach: Apply the right methodology-agile, waterfall, or hybrid-based on project needs, guiding teams to make informed, practical decisions.

Backlog & Prioritization Management:

Maintain high-quality, development-ready backlogs and guide prioritization based on business value, feasibility, and delivery capacity.
Requirements & Acceptance Standards: Ensure clarity and quality of requirements, oversee user acceptance testing, and enforce a strong definition of done across all initiatives.
Tracking, Reporting & Governance: Provide transparent reporting on progress, risks, and dependencies while ensuring compliance with security, data governance, and responsible AI standards.

What You'll Bring

Education : Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent practical experience.
Experience : At least 8 years of experience in product ownership, delivery management, or a related technology role, including 2+ years leading teams.
Leadership & Team Development : Proven ability to build, coach, and lead high-performing product or delivery teams in complex, fast-paced environments.
Agile & Delivery Expertise : Deep experience with agile methodologies and delivery frameworks; certifications such as Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) or SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager (SAFe PO/PM) are a plus.
Strategic & Execution Balance : Ability to contribute to product strategy and roadmap planning while remaining hands-on in execution.
SaaS & AI Integration Knowledge : Experience integrating SaaS products and AI tools, including Application Programming Interface (API), single sign-on (SSO), data exchange, and workflow integration.
Methodology Flexibility : Demonstrated ability to apply agile, waterfall, or hybrid delivery approaches based on project complexity and requirements.
Collaboration & Communication : Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build trust and alignment across technical teams, business stakeholders, and leadership.
Governance & Risk Awareness : Familiarity with data governance, information security, and responsible AI frameworks.
Technical Toolkit: Proficiency with tools such as Jira, Azure DevOps, and Microsoft Office; experience with Power BI or similar reporting tools is a plus.
Industry & Domain Knowledge : Experience in professional services or legal technology environments is beneficial.
Drive & Curiosity : A proactive, organized approach with enthusiasm for emerging technologies and their potential to transform how work gets done.

Compensation

The base salary range below represents the low and high end of the salary range for this position in Chicago. This range may differ based on your geographic location and cost of living considerations. At Kirkland & Ellis, we consider compensation more than just a base salary. We offer an exceptional range of flexible benefits including comprehensive healthcare, paid time off, and retirement. We also offer personal support and tailored learning and development opportunities all designed to help you realize your full potential both in life and at work.

Compensation Range:

Chicago: $203,000 - $253,000

How to Apply

Thank you for your interest in Kirkland & Ellis LLP. To complete an application and submit your resume, please click "Apply Now."

Don't meet every job requirement? That's okay! If you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't perfectly fit every qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right person for this role or others at Kirkland.

Equal Employment Opportunity

All employment decisions, including the recruiting, hiring, placement, training availability, promotion, compensation, evaluation, disciplinary actions, and termination of employment (if necessary) are made without regard to the employee's race, color, creed, religion, sex, pregnancy or childbirth, personal appearance, family responsibilities, sexual orientation or preference, gender identity, political affiliation, source of income, place of residence, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, marital status, military veteran status, unfavorable discharge from military service, physical or mental disability, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law. #LI-Hybrid #LI-SM1