Associate Director, AI Enablement + Adoption

Simpson Thacher’s Associate Director of AI Enablement + Adoption will play a key role in planning, delivering, supporting and driving use of artificial intelligence solutions within the Firm. To do so, this expert will need to maintain an understanding of evolving AI functions and limitations, sound product and portfolio management techniques, explicit and implicit practice needs, core technical requirements underpinning AI solutions, and corresponding risks related to AI use. This position will work across Firm functions and be connected to some of the most advanced projects in the legal industry.

The Associate Director of AI Enablement + Adoption is part of the Firm’s Applied Analytics Group, within the Firm’s Knowledge & Innovation Department. This position will work closely with lawyers and legal support professionals across Firm legal practices, as well as other technical and risk resources from IT, the General Counsel’s Office and other groups within the Firm. This role requires creative problem solving, analytical rigor, savvy communication skills and an appreciation for the business and practice of law.

Essential Job Duties & Responsibilities

• Assist in the development of the Firm’s strategic AI roadmap, working closely with Gen AI working groups, Practices, Operational Departments and Firm leadership

• Gather feedback from lawyers, support staff and clients on existing solutions or gaps in Firm offerings, and then translate into actionable plans

• Create, maintain and coordinate roadmaps across AI platforms and solutions and drive progress towards communicated goals

• Collect, clarify, and prioritize AI use cases and map them to existing and future solutions

• Identify, evaluate and recommend AI solutions that align with Firm objectives

• Conduct market research to stay informed on advancements in AI, for both in- and out-of-market solutions, and general trends within the legal industry

• Develop effective communication and onboarding strategies to drive adoption of AI solutions

• In collaboration with Legal Talent, design and deliver training to educate attorneys and support staff on effective use of AI solutions

• Provide ongoing support to ensure user satisfaction and maximize solution utilization

• Define key performance indicators and metrics to measure adoption, success and impact of AI-oriented products and services

• Participate in executive presentations, summarizing solution functionality, projects status and roadmap progress

• Coordinate and collaborate with project managers, data scientists, software developers, data engineers, knowledge management lawyers and other support professionals within Knowledge, IT and other functions to move broad concepts into workable solutions for Firm lawyers and staff

• Develop processes, documentation and best practices to facilitate knowledge sharing and efficient support of AI solutions

• Engage established and emerging vendors, participate in the review of AI solutions and coordinate the documentation of reviewed solutions

• Develop and maintain partnerships with vendors, external experts and academics with substantive knowledge and connection to AI

• Partner with the Office of the General Counsel and Information Governance team to ensure legal and ethical compliance of AI products and acceptable use

• Handle projects on request under the direction of the CKIO, Director of Applied Analytics + AI and other executive staff

Education

• A bachelor’s degree required, preferably in data science, mathematics, statistics, computer science, engineering, finance or a related field

• Prior coursework or certifications in deep learning, natural language processing, information retrieval or product ownership a significant plus

Skills and Experience

• 10+ years of overall experience; 5+ years in an artificial intelligence, natural language processing, data science, information retrieval, document management or relevant platform management role strongly preferred

• Strong program and project management skills with a track record of leading and influencing cross-functional teams

• Deep understanding of processes, terminology and the challenges faced by legal professionals

• Familiarity with data privacy, information governance and ethics issues commonly facing law firms

• Proactive, collaborative and flexible approach to project delivery

• Comfortable working closely with both technical resources and lawyers, and quickly switching in between those groups

• Able to translate business probl