Director of Infrastructure

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 transformational infrastructure leader who thrives on building secure, resilient, and high-performing technology environments at global scale?

As Director of Infrastructure, you will report to the Chief Information Officer and lead the strategy, delivery, and continuous improvement of the technology platforms that support more than 7,000 attorneys and business professionals across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Leading a global team of approximately 60 professionals through six functional leaders, you will oversee a diverse infrastructure portfolio spanning data centers, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, enterprise networks, telecommunications, collaboration platforms, databases, storage, compute, and identity management.

This is a highly visible leadership opportunity for a technology executive who can balance long-term strategy with operational excellence. You will partner closely with Information Security, Applications, and senior business leaders to strengthen resilience, modernize critical platforms, enable Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption, and ensure the secure delivery of world-class technology services in a fast-paced, client-focused environment.

• Shape Infrastructure Strategy: Define and execute a multi-year infrastructure roadmap that supports business growth, client service excellence, operational efficiency, and AI-enabled innovation.
• Lead Modernization Initiatives: Drive cloud adoption, network transformation, unified communications initiatives, automation programs, and enterprise technology modernization efforts.
• Enable Enterprise AI: Partner with technology and security leaders to establish the infrastructure, governance, identity, data, and network foundations required for Microsoft 365 Copilot and other AI-driven solutions.
• Deliver Reliable Global Services: Ensure 24/7 availability, performance, scalability, and service quality across infrastructure platforms that support business-critical operations worldwide.
• Drive Operational Excellence: Champion Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practices across change, incident, problem, and configuration management while improving monitoring, automation, and service reliability.
• Lead Through Critical Events: Act as the senior escalation point during major outages, cybersecurity incidents, and recovery efforts, coordinating cross-functional teams to restore services and minimize business impact.
• Oversee Core Technology Domains: Provide leadership across cloud and data center operations, networks, telecommunications, messaging and collaboration, storage, databases, backup and recovery, and Identity and Access Management (IAM).
• Strengthen Risk and Resilience: Lead Disaster Recovery (DR) strategy, testing, ransomware preparedness, recovery capabilities, and infrastructure governance to support security, compliance, and client expectations.
• Manage Investment and Vendor Partnerships: Oversee infrastructure budgets, technology investments, vendor relationships, contract negotiations, sourcing strategies, and cost optimization initiatives.
• Develop High-Performing Teams: Coach and inspire a global organization of infrastructure professionals, building leadership capability, succession plans, technical expertise, and a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Influence Executive Stakeholders: Communicate infrastructure strategy, operational performance, technology risks, and investment priorities clearly to senior leadership and business partners.

What You'll Bring


• Education & Certifications: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience. Advanced degrees and certifications such as ITIL, Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), or Project Management Professional (PMP) are a plus.
• Deep Leadership Experience: 15+ years of progressive enterprise infrastructure experience, including at least seven years leading managers and multidisciplinary teams within large, globally distributed environments.
• Enterprise Infrastructure Expertise: Demonstrated success managing complex hybrid environments spanning cloud and on-premises technologies at enterprise scale.
• Transformation Leadership: Proven experience delivering large-scale cloud migrations, data center consolidations, network modernization programs, or unified communications transformations.
• Service Management Excellence: Strong command of ITIL-based service delivery practices, operational governance, and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Financial & Vendor Acumen: Experience managing substantial technology budgets, optimizing costs, negotiating contracts, and governing strategic vendor relationships.

• Executive Presence: Exceptional communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear business recommendations and build alignment across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Crisis Leadership & Resilience: Demonstrated ability to lead through high-pressure incidents, cybersecurity events, and recovery scenarios with sound judgment and decisiveness.
• Professional Services Mindset: Experience in a law firm, consulting organization, Big Four firm, or other highly client-focused, confidentiality-driven environment is preferred.
• Integrity & Collaboration: A track record of earning trust, influencing through credibility, and handling sensitive information with discretion and professionalism.
If you're excited to shape global infrastructure strategy, lead transformative technology initiatives, and build the resilient foundation that powers exceptional client service, we'd love to hear from you for this Director of Infrastructure opportunity.

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: $308,000 - $385,000


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