Director of Support Services

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation; Palo Alto (CA); Hybrid; USD 208,000 - 282,000; Full time

Job summary

Wilson Sonsini, the premier law firm serving technology and life sciences sectors, seeks a Director of Support Services to lead end-user support across 17 offices. You will own the outsourced Service Desk, deskside teams, and the Technical Training group, driving service quality, governance, and user-focused outcomes.

The ideal candidate will bring hands-on leadership, customer-first mindset, and proven success managing cross-location support operations with strong SLA discipline.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience in IT, business or related field.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in end user support leadership, including managed services and geographically dispersed teams.
• Experience with ServiceNow or equivalent ITSM platform.
• Experience in a law firm or professional services environment preferred.
• ITIL certification, Lean Six Sigma or related certifications a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day performance of the outsourced Service Desk and deskside support across 17 offices, ensuring SLAs and quality standards.
• Directly manage deskside support technicians across offices, ensuring coverage and timely response.
• Standardize support processes, ticket handling, and escalation paths for consistent quality.
• Use data and analytics to drive improvements in service delivery.
• Serve as escalation point for unresolved issues and drive rapid resolution.
• Build trusted relationships with attorneys and stakeholders and advocate for end-user needs.
• Oversee onboarding and technology enablement for new attorneys and professionals.
• Direct the Technical Training group, ensuring high-quality training content and delivery.
• Develop and execute clear communication strategies to engage employees around tech initiatives.
• Partner with leadership to identify training priorities tied to new technology rollouts.
• Drive governance, budgeting, and vendor management for support operations.
• Hire, coach, and develop high-performing support staff across locations.
• Set staffing and coverage models to match demand, including peak periods and after-hours.

Skills

End user support leadership

Vendor management

ITIL knowledge

Stakeholder communication

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in information technology, business administration, or a related field

Tools

ServiceNow

Job description

Wilson Sonsini is the premier legal advisor to technology, life sciences, and other growth enterprises worldwide. We represent companies at every stage of development, from entrepreneurial start-ups to multibillion-dollar global corporations, as well as the venture firms, private equity firms, and investment banks that finance and advise them. The firm has approximately 1,100 attorneys in 17 offices: 13 in the U.S., two in China, and two in Europe. Our broad spectrum of practices and entrepreneurial spirit allow exceptional opportunities for professional achievement and career growth.

The Director of Support Services owns end-user support services for the firm, with direct accountability for the outsourced Service Desk, deskside support technicians across the firm's 17 offices, the Technical Training group, and technical communications. This role is directly responsible for day-to-day support for all firm attorneys and business professionals, from first contact through resolution.

The ideal candidate is a hands‑on support services leader who prioritizes the end user experience and knows how to run a high volume, multi‑location support operation with discipline. This person combines strong operational leadership with a customer first mindset and excels at bringing resources together to execute shared goals.

This leader will maintain a customer focused delivery approach, operate with urgency, and prioritize responsiveness, quality, and consistency of support across every office. This position is available as hybrid or fully virtual work schedule.

Key Responsibilities

Service Desk & Deskside Support Operations Own day to day performance of the outsourced Service Desk, holding the vendor accountable to contracted SLAs, quality standards, and cost targets.

Directly manage deskside support technicians across the firm's 17 offices, ensuring consistent coverage, response times, and service quality regardless of location.

Standardize support processes, ticket handling, and escalation paths across the Service Desk and deskside teams so attorneys and business professionals receive the same quality of support in every office.

Use ticket data, reporting, and analytics to identify trends, reduce recurring issues, and drive support performance improvements.

Serve as the executive escalation point for support issues that are not resolved at first or second tier, driving them to resolution quickly.

Customer & Stakeholder Experience

Build and maintain strong, trusted relationships with attorneys, business professionals, and internal stakeholders, serving as a primary point of escalation and advocacy for support services.

Ensure high satisfaction with support services across the firm through proactive engagement, structured communication, and effective issue resolution.

Act as the voice of the end user internally, translating recurring support issues into concrete service gaps and improvement opportunities.

Oversee onboarding and technology enablement for new attorneys and business professionals so they are productive quickly.

Technical Training & Communications

Direct the Technical Training group, ensuring training content and outputs are high quality, professional, polished, and keep pace with the firm's technology needs.

Experience owning a technical training function, including curriculum development, content design, and delivery methods (in person, virtual, self service).

Responsible for the development and execution of comprehensive communication strategies and tactics to engage employees in support of business initiatives.

Provide oversight of technical communications, ensuring outages, deployments, technical changes, and known issues are communicated clearly and include the necessary related materials.

Partner with the Technical Training group to build resources that help fill gaps identified by Service Desk ticket trends.

Experience partnering with practice groups or firm leadership to identify training priorities tied to new technology rollouts.

Support Operations Governance

Drive compliance with internal governance models and quality standards across all support teams.

Engage as a key stakeholder in the incident management process for support related outages affecting end users.

Set staffing, scheduling, and coverage models across offices and time zones to match support demand, including peak periods, offsite events and after‑hour needs.

Benchmark support operations against industry standards and implement best practices into the firm's support model.

Demonstrated accountability for a support services budget, including vendor contracts, staffing costs, and tooling expenses.

People Leadership

Hire, coach, and develop high performing support resources, fostering accountability and a continuous growth mindset across all teams.

Establish group expectations, workload balance, and coverage across offices that sustain team optimization and reliability.

Support talent development, succession planning, and effective workforce utilization across the support organization.

Identify and address knowledge and skill gaps within the teams.

Track record of setting team goals, performance standards, and accountability measures that improve service outcomes.

Requirements

Must be self-driven with a natural tendency to take ownership and independently execute work to completion.

Must have a positive can‑do attitude and proactively engage with leadership as an advocate for end users.

Proven experience directly managing multiple technical groups to produce exceptional support services across multiple locations and time zones.

Strong command of support operations fundamentals, including SLA management, ticketing systems, escalation models, and staffing/coverage planning.

Demonstrated success managing outsourced support vendors, including holding vendors accountable to contracted performance.

Experience identifying technical support and training gaps and implementing user‑facing solutions.

Familiarity with AI enabled support tooling and a track record of driving automation adoption within a support function.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with experience communicating support performance to senior stakeholders.

Strong leadership skills, including hiring, coaching, and performance management of support personnel.

Education & Experience

Education & Experience Bachelor's degree in information technology, business administration, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

8+ years of progressive experience in end user support leadership, including managed services and geographically dispersed support teams.

Experience with ServiceNow or equivalent ITSM platform.

Experience in a law firm or professional services environment preferred.

Track record of leading organizational change within a support or service delivery function.

Familiarity with legal industry applications preferred.

Accustomed to providing "white glove" support experience as standard practice.

ITIL certification, Lean Six Sigma or related certifications a plus.

Compensation

The primary location for this job posting is in Palo Alto, but other locations may be listed. The actual base pay offered will depend upon a variety of factors, including but not limited to the selected candidate’s qualifications, years of relevant experience, level of education, professional certifications and licenses, and work location.

The anticipated pay range for this position is as follows: Palo Alto, New York, San Francisco: $208,250 - $281,750 per year. Austin, Boston, Boulder, Century City, Delaware, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and all other locations: $187,850 - $254,150 per year.

The compensation for this position may include a discretionary year‑end merit bonus based on performance. We offer a highly competitive salary and benefits package. Benefits information can be found here.

Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE).

Wilson Sonsini is the premier legal advisor to technology, life sciences, and growth enterprises worldwide, as well as the venture firms, private equity firms, and investment banks that finance them.

We represent more than 300 public enterprises and 3,000 private companies in a wide range of today’s cutting‑edge industries, from AI and fintech to life sciences and mobility.

For more than 60 years, our attorneys and professional staff have created a unique working environment. With deep roots in the fast‑paced and innovative world of Silicon Valley, the firm fosters an entrepreneurial spirit and team‑oriented approach for all employees, providing professional and personal development opportunities and encouraging all departments to promote a stable and optimal work/life balance.

Wilson Sonsini is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce globally. We have built a culture in which employees of all backgrounds, viewpoints, and experiences are encouraged and empowered to achieve their maximum potential.

Our firm is consistently recognized among the top law firms in annual diversity rankings. For example, Wilson Sonsini ranked No. 2 among firms with more than 601 attorneys in Law360’s 2025 Diversity Snapshot. Additionally, in 2025, for the seventh consecutive year, Wilson Sonsini achieved Mansfield Plus Certification, and in 2026, for the sixth consecutive year, the firm achieved a top score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index.

We are also dedicated to enhancing the communities in which we live and work by providing legal services, financial support, and volunteer services to worthy agencies and individuals in need. In 2025, Wilson Sonsini attorneys and staff provided more than 80,500 pro bono hours, participated in 125 community service projects, and raised over $130,000 for charitable organizations and causes. In addition, the Wilson Sonsini Foundation contributed more than $2.35 million to 112 law‑related organizations and 129 community organizations in 2025.

Wilson Sonsini has 17 offices in 16 technology and business hubs worldwide. Austin, TX Boston, MA Boulder, CO Brussels, Belgium Century City, CA Hong Kong London Los Angeles, CA NewYork, NY Palo Alto, CA Salt Lake City, UT San Diego, CA San Francisco, CA Seattle, WA Shanghai (China) Washington, D.C. Wilmington, DE