Associate Vice President, Legal Engineering Lead

Job description

Over the last 20 years, Ares’ success has been driven by our people and our culture. Today, our team is guided by our core values – Collaborative, Responsible, Entrepreneurial, Self-Aware, Trustworthy – and our purpose to be a catalyst for shared prosperity and a better future. Through our recruitment, career development and employee-focused programming, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive work environment where high-performance talent of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can build careers within this exciting and growing industry. Job Description Ares is seeking a Legal Engineering Lead (Vice President) to join Corporate Technology, reporting to the Head of Legal and Compliance Technology . This role will lead engineering delivery, platform health, and ongoing evolution of technology solutions supporting Ares’ Legal and related risk and third-party governance workflows—driving scalable, secure, and audit-ready capabilities that improve operational efficiency and control effectiveness. The ideal candidate is a hands-on engineering leader with deep familiarity across Legal/GC processes and related risk workflows, ideally from a large alternative asset manager or similarly complex regulated firm (large law firm experience supporting sophisticated legal operations is also valued). This leader will bring strong technical fundamentals (e.g., SQL and at least one coding language), experience with integrations and data platforms, and the ability to partner closely with business stakeholders and vendors to deliver measurable outcomes. This role requires experience implementing and operating modern legal and risk platforms, including matter management and e-billing (e.g., Simple Legal / Passport / Apperio or similar), Legal Entity Management (e.g., GEMS), Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) solutions (e.g., Icertis, Ironclad), and third-party risk management (TPRM) and intake tooling (e.g., Zip and comparable platforms). RESPONSIBILITIES: • Lead engineering delivery and operational ownership for the Legal and technology portfolio, ensuring solutions are scalable, resilient, secure, and audit-ready. • Serve as the technical lead for platform strategy, implementation, and support across Legal systems, including matter management/e-billing, legal entity management, CLM, and third-party intake/TPRM tooling. • Partner with Legal, and key stakeholder groups to translate business needs into clear technical requirements, solution designs, delivery plans, and measurable outcomes. • Own end-to-end delivery: discovery, architecture/design, build/configuration, testing/UAT, release, and production support—aligned with SDLC, change management, and operational readiness. • Establish and maintain integration patterns and data flows across core platforms (APIs, batch, middleware), supporting reporting, auditability, and downstream finance/procurement or records-management dependencies. • Drive strong engineering discipline: configuration standards, code quality, peer review, automated testing where applicable, environment management, and release governance. • Ensure embedded controls across workflows: approvals, access management, segregation of duties, evidence capture, and traceability aligned to audit and regulatory expectations. • Lead a small team of technical resources, providing coaching, prioritization, and delivery oversight; foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement. • Manage vendors/partners as needed: solution selection support, implementation oversight, SLA/service performance, roadmap alignment, and cost management. • Provide transparent, executive-ready reporting on platform health, delivery status, risks/issues, dependencies, and remediation plans QUALIFICATIONS: 10+ years of progressive technology experience, including significant hands-on delivery experience supporting Legal systems and governance platforms in a complex environment. Experience in complex, regulated financial services; alternative asset management experience strongly preferred. Bachelor’s degree required; Computer Science/Engineering background preferred. Strong written and verbal communication skills; proven ability to influence and collaborate across senior business and technology stakeholders. Demonstrated people leadership experience (direct management and/or leading teams through delivery and operations). Experience Required Strong engineering fundamentals and hands-on delivery experience, including: SQL (required), data analysis/troubleshooting, and comfort navigating complex process and data flows Experience with at least one general-purpose language (e.g., Python, Java, C#, JavaScript) and common integration approaches (REST APIs, services, batch) Working knowledge of SDLC, testing strategies, release/change management, and production support Experience implementing and supporting Legal and related risk platforms, including one or more of: Matter management / e-billing ecosystems (e.g., SimpleLegal, Passport, Apperio or similar) Legal Entity Management (e.g., GEMS or similar) CLM platforms (e.g., Icertis, Ironclad or similar) Intake and/or TPRM tooling (e.g., Zip and comparable tools) Experience with integrations and data/reporting enablement, including monitoring, data quality, and reconciliation practices. Demonstrated ability to deliver secure, audit-ready solutions with robust traceability, workflow transparency, and evidence retention. Proven ability to lead small teams and deliver results through a mix of direct technical contribution and team oversight. Vendor/SI management experience is a plus. Preferred Qualifications Familiarity applying automation and/or AI-enabled capabilities to legal operations (e.g., document classification, summarization, clause extraction, intake triage), with a strong governance and controls mindset. Experience establishing platform standards and scalable operating models (configuration governance, release discipline, support/runbooks). Strong process mapping and documentation skills (e.g., Lucidchart) to support requirements clarity and stakeholder alignment. General Requirements Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, manage competing priorities, and deliver high-quality outcomes. Strong ownership mindset with disciplined execution and attention to detail. Comfortable operating in ambiguity and translating evolving business needs into durable technical solutions. Collaborative, service-oriented approach; able to build credibility with Legal stakeholders and partner effectively across Corporate Technology. Willingness to flex hours as needed to support global stakeholders and production needs. Reporting Relationships Compensation The anticipated base salary range for this position is listed below. Total compensation may also include a discretionary performance-based bonus. Note, the range takes into account a broad spectrum of qualifications, including, but not limited to, years of relevant work experience, education, and other relevant qualifications specific to the role. $225,000 - $250,000 The firm also offers robust Benefits offerings. Ares U.S. Core Benefits include Comprehensive Medical/Rx, Dental and Vision plans; 401(k) program with company match; Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA); Healthcare Savings Accounts (HSA) with company contribution; Basic and Voluntary Life Insurance; Long-Term Disability (LTD) and Short-Term Disability (STD) insurance; Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and Commuter Benefits plan for parking and transit. Ares offers a number of additional benefits including access to a world-class medical advisory team, a mental health app that includes coaching, therapy and psychiatry, a mindfulness and wellbeing app, financial wellness benefit that includes access to a financial advisor, new parent leave, reproductive and adoption assistance, emergency backup care, matching gift program, education sponsorship program, and much more. There is no set deadline to apply for this job opportunity. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the search is no longer active.