Applied AI Manager at Womble Bond Dickinson in Location not listed

Applied AI Manager

Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP is seeking an Applied AI Manager to their Technology team. This position leads the firm's Applied AI team and supports the firm's shift from consumer of artificial intelligence to designer and producer of AI-enabled legal services. The position reports to the Director of Applied AI and manages a small team of applied AI professionals.

The role is organized around three areas of work. The first is the agentic AI operating model: establishing and administering the approval workflows, lifecycle management, human-in-the-loop controls, and operational standards under which agents and model-based workflows are built, deployed, and retired. The second is agent and workflow development: designing, building, and governing agents and automations in the firm's Microsoft platform, including Copilot Studio, Agent Builder, and SharePoint Agents, so that recurring practice and business requests can be resolved directly by the requester. The third is enablement at scale: readiness, training, and adoption programs that equip attorneys, paralegals, and professional staff to use these capabilities responsibly, supported by the information governance controls in Microsoft Purview that make firmwide adoption safe.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Team Leadership and Agentic AI Operating Model

1. Manage, coach, and develop the Applied AI team, including work assignment, performance management, professional development, and hiring
2. Establish and maintain the firm's operating model for agentic AI, including intake, approval workflows, environment strategy, lifecycle management, and decommissioning standards
3. Define and enforce human-in-the-loop controls, auditability requirements, and operational risk thresholds for agents and automations placed into production
4. Partner with Information Security, Risk and Compliance, the Office of General Counsel, Practice Systems, and Womble AI Labs to align agent development with firm policy and client obligations
5. Balance security, compliance, operational risk, licensing, and consumption cost when approving new agents, connectors, and integrations
6. Report to the Director of Applied AI on portfolio status, risk, adoption, and value delivered across the agent and automation portfolio

Agent and Workflow Development on the Microsoft Platform

1. Design, build, test, and maintain agents and model-based workflows in Copilot Studio, Agent Builder, and SharePoint Agents so that recurring requests can be completed by the requester without analyst intervention
2. Administer Copilot Studio environments, connector governance, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) integrations to firm systems in coordination with Information Technology and Enterprise Architecture
3. Design, publish, and version reusable prompts, agent instructions, workflow templates, and structured query sets for common request types across practice groups
4. Identify manual, repetitive, and high-volume steps in department and firm workflows and convert them into documented, monitored, measurable automations using Power Platform and related tooling
5. Document process logic, exception handling, and human review points for every agent and automation placed into production
6. Serve as the escalation point when an agent or self-service workflow does not resolve a request, and convert recurring escalations into new or improved capabilities

Information Governance and Compliance for AI

1. Develop and maintain the information governance standards that support safe AI adoption, including sensitivity labeling, data loss prevention, oversharing mitigation, and data access governance in Microsoft Purview
2. Coordinate with Information Security and Records on retention, legal hold, and eDiscovery implications of agent-generated content and conversation data
3. Record the platform, model, prompt or agent approach, data sources, and validation performed so that work product can be verified and audited
4. Handle materials in accordance with license terms, copyright requirements, client outside counsel guidelines, and firm confidentiality policy

Enablement, Adoption, and Change Management

1. Develop and deliver AI readiness, literacy, and adoption programs for attorneys, paralegals, and professional staff across all offices
2. Build instructional materials, quick reference guides, and workflow documentation covering agents, automations, and self-service pathways
3. Guide attorneys, paralegals, and professional staff on prompt construction, agent selection, and validation expectations for model output
4. Monitor self-service adoption, completion, and abandonment, identify where requesters stall or escalate, and revise agents and workflows in response
5. Maintain working knowledge of the firm's practice areas, clients, and service lines

Platform Evaluation, Output Validation, and Measurement

1. Lead testing, proof-of-concept validation, and evaluation of new platforms, models, integrations, and product features before firmwide release
2. Define and document validation standards for model output, including source confirmation, currency checks, and the conditions that require escalation to an analyst or attorney
3. Measure volume, cycle time, rework, self-service deflection, and consumption cost before and after deployment, and report results to the department
4. Evaluate platforms and technologies and contribute to subscription, renewal, trial, and procurement decisions
5. Maintain working knowledge of Microsoft 365, Copilot, Power Platform, and model capabilities, including new releases and features

Service Operations and Administration

1. Maintain intake, assignment, and completion data in the department's request management and reporting systems
2. Contribute to department service standards, metrics, and continuous improvement efforts
3. Support department communications and outreach regarding available agents, automations, and training
4. Participate in professional associations and continuing education relevant to the role

REQUIREMENTS:

• A bachelor's degree, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience, is required.
• Three or more years of progressive experience in enterprise AI, Microsoft 365 platform management, information governance, practice technology, or a comparable function in a law firm, corporate legal department, professional services firm, or other highly regulated environment is required
• Two or more years of experience leading a team or program, including responsibility for work assignment, standards, and outcomes, is required
• Hands-on experience building and governing agents in Microsoft Copilot Studio, Agent Builder, or SharePoint Agents, including environment strategy and connector governance, is required
• Experience building automations in Power Platform, Power Automate, or comparable low-code tooling, and integrating them with enterprise systems through REST APIs or MCP, is required
• Experience implementing Microsoft Purview information governance capabilities, including sensitivity labeling, DLP, retention, legal hold, or eDiscovery, is required
• Designing and delivering enterprise AI readiness, training, and adoption programs is required
• Experience with process mapping, workflow documentation, and process measurement is required
• Experience with document management systems and request tracking or ticketing systems is preferred
• Working knowledge with Python, FastAPI, PostgreSQL, Dataverse, or retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) patterns is preferred
• Lead, coach, and hold accountable a small technical team while remaining hands-on in agent and workflow development
• Work fluently with AI platforms and treat model output as a draft requiring validation
• Design, build, and govern agents in Copilot Studio, Agent Builder, and SharePoint Agents, including environment, connector, and approval controls
• Translate a recurring manual process into a documented, repeatable, automated workflow with defined human review points
• Read, adapt, and troubleshoot workflow logic, conditional rules, and platform integrations, including REST APIs and MCP-based connections
• Apply Microsoft Purview capabilities, including sensitivity labeling, DLP, and data access governance, to reduce oversharing risk as AI adoption expands
• Manage a heavy workload, competing priorities, and multiple tasks effectively under tight deadlines
• Document work clearly enough that another team member can reproduce, maintain, or audit it
• Handle confidential client and firm information with discretion and in accordance with firm policy
• Demonstrate excellent written, oral, presentation, and technology skills, including the ability to explain AI risk and value to attorneys and firm leadership
• Exercise sound judgment and work independently with minimal supervision in a remote setting
• Work collaboratively with attorneys, paralegals, professional staff, and technology teams

COMPENSATION: The average salary range for this position in Denver, Colorado is $135,000 - $212,000. Starting salary will be determined based on location, qualifications, and experience.

BENEFITS: Medical Insurance, Dental Insurance, Vision Insurance, Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Accounts, Life insurance, Disability Insurance, Paid Parental Leave, 401(k) Plan, Paid Days Off/Vacation, Firm Paid Holidays

Colorado candidates are not required to submit age-related information and may redact any personally identifiable information on their application materials including but are not limited to age, date of birth, and dates of attendance and date of graduation for educational institutions. This position does not have a fixed deadline. The posting will remain open until the position is filled and all necessary due diligence has been completed for the selected candidate.