Senior AI Program Director

Description

This is an exciting opportunity to work for one of the top law firms in the U.S.! Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is looking for a Senior AI Program Director to join our team in our Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, New York, or Washington D.C offices.

This position offers the flexibility to be fully remote while working within reasonable commuting distance from any of our offices.

This position leads the firm-wide Artificial Intelligence (AI) Program with a primary focus on value creation-identifying, building, and scaling AI-enabled products and workflows that measurably improve client outcomes and firm performance. Responsibilities include product management and portfolio leadership, firm-wide adoption champion and change management, client-facing support for RFPs and outside counsel guidelines (OCGs), and results-driven enablement across practice groups and business functions. The AI Program Director will also work closely and influence the AI governance model and partner with Information Security and Information Governance to ensure safe, compliant, and secure AI usage aligned with recognized standards.

At Davis Wright Tremaine, you will find challenging assignments, opportunities for professional growth and community involvement, and a culture of inclusion. DWT fosters inclusiveness and authenticity. Regardless of position, everyone here has a voice and the support is unparalleled.

On a typical day you will :

• Value creation, product management, and portfolio leadership
• Define the firm's AI product strategy and offerings (internal and client-facing), including product charters, value hypotheses, MVPs, roadmaps, packaging, and success metrics.
• Operate an intake and prioritization process to evaluate ideas across the firm; conduct discovery and user research; size opportunities; assess feasibility, ROI, and risk; and advance high-potential use cases to pilots and scale.
• Lead cross-functional product teams (Innovation, IT, KM, PD, BD / Marketing, Pricing) to deliver AI-enabled solutions for high-impact workflows (e.g., research, drafting, review, intake, matter management).
• Establish product KPIs and measurement plans; instrument usage analytics and feedback loops; run A / B tests and iterative improvements to drive adoption and sustained value.
• Adoption, enablement, and change management
• Partner with Professional Development to design tiered curricula (fundamentals, prompt techniques, practice-specific patterns, responsible use) and certify competency levels.
• Build communities of practice and a champions network; publish playbooks and use-case libraries; provide office hours and coaching to accelerate skill development and behavioral change.
• Implement structured change management (communications, readiness assessments, stakeholder engagement) to reduce friction and increase adoption across attorneys and staff.
• Client engagement, RFPs, and OCG alignment
• Lead AI-related responses for RFPs, DDQs, and client assurance requests; articulate our products, governance, security posture, and measurable outcomes.
• Coordinate with Pricing and BD on differentiators, case studies, and value narratives; ensure OCGs that address AI are operationalized in policy and controls.
• Marketing, brand, and recognition
• Collaborate with Marketing to pursue industry awards and rankings that showcase responsible innovation and client impact; support thought leadership, speaking, and media opportunities.
• Data, measurement, and business impact
• Define and report KPIs such as adoption and active use rates, time-to-value, cycle-time reduction, error-rate improvement, cost savings, revenue contribution from AI-enabled offerings, client satisfaction, and training completion.
• Publish dashboards and progress reports for leadership and stakeholders; benchmark against industry surveys and best practices.
• Operations and delivery
• Align AI architecture, integrations, and environments with IT standards; coordinate platform operations (e.g., model lifecycle, versioning, evaluation, and decommissioning).
• Manage resourcing, vendor relationships, and program budget; evaluate build-vs-buy and total cost of ownership.
• Responsible AI governance (positioned after product / adoption)
• Partner with IG on the firm's AI policy, standards, and operating model aligned to recognized frameworks (e.g., NIST AI RMF; ISO / IEC 42001).
• Advise on governance processes for responsible AI (use-case intake and triage, risk assessments, model evaluation, human-in-the-loop controls, monitoring, auditability, incident response).
• Track evolving regulatory obligations (e.g., EU AI Act) and client expectations; coordinate with IG, GC, and InfoSec to operationalize compliance.
• Security, privacy, and risk management (positioned after governance)
• Partner with Information Security to embed "secure by design" principles across AI systems and workflows, consistent with CISA and UK NCSC guidance.
• Ensure data protection and confidentiality controls (access management, minimization, redaction / tokenization where appropriate, logging / telemetry, retention, data residency); lead vendor due diligence and third-party risk management for AI providers.

Join us if you have :

Who We Are

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is an AmLaw 100 law firm with 10 offices nationwide. We are relentlessly committed to client service and look for candidates who share that commitment. At DWT, client service means having empathy for each client's and each lawyer's work and personal pressures, business objectives, and legal needs; anticipating their needs; and having the capabilities and commitment to deliver what matters most to them.

What's in it For You?

DWT offers competitive compensation in addition to ample benefits including but not limited to :

This job description intends to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this position. It is not intended to include all duties and responsibilities.

Washington State

The annualized salary range for this position in Washington is $273,000 to $332,000. Actual pay will be adjusted based on the candidate's education, training, experience and other job-related factors permitted by law. Full time employees may be eligible for a bonus, health insurance with an optional HSA, long term disability, dental insurance, vision care, telemedicine and virtual short term solution based counseling services, life insurance, Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts, subsidized backup care and caregiving resources, 401(k), vacation, sick time, 11 paid holidays each year and an employee assistance program. For full-time employees, the initial vacation benefit is 15 days per year and 11 days of sick leave per year, accrued bi-weekly. Additional voluntary programs include : voluntary accident insurance, voluntary life, voluntary disability, voluntary long term care, and pet insurance. Commuter and Transit programs are also available.

California

The annualized salary range for this position in Los Angeles is $273,000 to $332,000; and in San Francisco is $301,000 to $366,000. Actual pay will be adjusted based on experience and other job-related factors permitted by law. Full time employees may be eligible for a bonus, health insurance with an optional HSA, long term disability, dental insurance, vision care, telemedicine and virtual short term solution based counseling services, life insurance, Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts, subsidized backup care and caregiving resources, 401(k), vacation, sick time, and an employee assistance program. Additional voluntary programs include : voluntary accident insurance, voluntary life, voluntary disability, voluntary long term care, and pet insurance. Commuter and Transit programs are also available.

New York

The annualized salary range for this position in New York City is $301,000 to $366,000. Actual pay will be adjusted based on experience and other job-related factors permitted by law. Full time employees may be eligible for a bonus, health insurance with an optional HSA, short term disability, long term disability, dental insurance, vision care, telemedicine and virtual short term solution based counseling services, life insurance, Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts, subsidized backup care and caregiving resources, 401(k), vacation, sick time, and an employee assistance program. Additional voluntary programs include : voluntary accident insurance, voluntary life, voluntary disability, voluntary long term care, and pet insurance. Commuter and Transit programs are also available.

District of Columbia

The annualized salary range for this position in Washington D.C. is $282,000 to $344,000. Actual pay will be adjusted based on experience and other job-related factors permitted by law. Full time employees may be eligible for a bonus, health insurance with an optional HSA, short term disability, long term disability, dental insurance, vision care, telemedicine and virtual short term solution based counseling services, life insurance, Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts, subsidized backup care and caregiving resources, 401(k), vacation, sick time, and an employee assistance program. Additional voluntary programs include : voluntary accident insurance, voluntary life, voluntary disability, voluntary long term care, and pet insurance. Commuter and Transit programs are also available.

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP fosters a culture where all talented individuals-including those who are traditionally underrepresented in the legal profession-can have, and can see, paths to success.Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion sits on four pillars : Community, Growth, Education, and Engagement.Learn more about the firm's commitment to DEI here : www.dwt.com / dei .

Davis Wright Tremaine provides reasonable accommodations for those who need them to complete the application or recruiting process and for employees who need reasonable accommodations to perform the essential functions of their positions due to a disability or for religious reasons. If you need to request accommodation during the application or recruiting process, please email [emailprotected] .

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