Director - Product Management, Data & AI

Burtch Works; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Burtch Works in Chicago, IL, is seeking a Director of Product Management for Data & AI to lead a strategic portfolio and drive value through advanced analytics and AI-enabled solutions.

You will partner with Engineering, Design, and Data Governance to identify high-impact use cases, guide product development from concept through deployment, and build a high-performing team with executive presence and influence.

Qualifications

• Mastery of product management fundamentals including user research, roadmaps, backlogs, and agile delivery.
• Experience partnering with Engineering, Design, and Data Governance to build scalable products.
• Strong executive presence with excellent communication and influence across leadership.
• Ability to drive product culture and translate business needs into technical specs.

Responsibilities

• Define the product vision and roadmap for Data & AI initiatives aligned with enterprise strategy.
• Lead discovery, prioritize use cases, and guide end-to-end AI product development.
• Build and coach a high-performing team, driving collaboration across functions.
• Present progress to senior leadership and manage stakeholder expectations.

Skills

Product strategy

Roadmaps & backlog management

User research

Agile delivery

Executive presence

Cross-functional leadership

Data governance collaboration

Influence without authority

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, or related discipline

Job description

Director, Product Management – Data & AI

Location:

Chicago, IL (hybrid)

About The Company

We are a premier global professional services firm with a distinguished history spanning over 150 years. Our organization is recognized for implementing creative strategies to deliver exceptional results for clients across sophisticated transactional, restructuring, crisis management, investigatory, regulatory, and dispute resolution matters. With a truly international footprint supported by strategically positioned offices in major commercial and financial hubs worldwide, our professionals bring deep cross-border expertise and cultural fluency to navigate today's complex business environment. We prioritize quality, strategic insight, and efficiency while building enduring client relationships that enable us to understand business objectives and deliver outcomes that surpass expectations.

Job Summary

This role represents a unique opportunity to transform organizational operations through data and artificial intelligence enablement. The Director of Product Management for Data & AI will function as a strategic leader within our Data & AI division. This senior product executive will collaborate directly with professionals across the organization to identify high-value use cases, assess emerging AI technologies and platforms, and spearhead the creation of both custom AI solutions and strategic integrations of premier external tools. Reporting to the Senior Director of Product Management, this position will guide a team and work across functions to launch innovative products that generate significant business value. The ideal candidate demonstrates extensive product management expertise combined with outstanding executive presence and influence capabilities, supported by a distinguished track record of successfully delivering data and AI-powered solutions from concept through implementation.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Product Planning & Vision: Establish and maintain the product vision, strategic direction, and development roadmap for a designated portfolio of Data & AI initiatives, ensuring coordination with enterprise data strategy and organizational priorities. Convert sophisticated requirements into concrete, valuable product programs that deliver impact across the organization. Advocate for product-centric methodologies throughout the firm, partnering with stakeholders to transition from traditional project-based approaches toward durable, scalable product frameworks.
• Product Discovery & Implementation: Collaborate with professionals and business functions to comprehend their workflows, challenges, and opportunities where data and AI can create meaningful value. Guide discovery initiatives to identify and confirm high-impact use cases, employing proven product management methodologies including user research, A/B experimentation, prioritization models, and incremental delivery approaches. Curate and advance the Data & AI product pipeline, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives, user requirements, and technical viability.
• Team Leadership & Growth: Recruit, coach, and nurture an exceptional team while cultivating an environment of partnership, responsibility, ongoing development, and results focus. Establish transparent goals, deliver consistent mentorship and constructive feedback, and build a workplace that inspires and acknowledges excellent performance. Exemplify product management excellence and act as a strategic advisor to the team on sophisticated challenges.
• AI Technology Assessment & Product Creation: Assess available AI tools and platforms to determine organizational fit, examining capabilities, constraints, security considerations, and integration requirements. Oversee complete product development cycles for proprietary AI solutions, from discovery and design through development, launch, and refinement. Formulate strategic build-versus-buy recommendations, weighing innovation potential, time-to-value, investment, and long-term sustainability.
• Cross-Functional Partnership & Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate effectively with Engineering, Design, and Data Governance organizations to guarantee smooth execution of superior solutions that satisfy business requirements and technical excellence standards. Develop robust partnerships with practice leaders and executive leadership, functioning as a reliable consultant and maintaining clear, honest communication about expectations. Create and present persuasive updates to senior leadership and cross-functional collaborators, demonstrating strong executive presence. Shape decision-making processes and foster agreement among varied stakeholder communities, skillfully managing complexity and conflicting priorities with tact and strategic insight. Align with other product teams throughout the organization to promote consistency, integration, and unified direction.
• Product Culture Development & Capability Enhancement: Advance the implementation of product management best practices and philosophies across the organization, helping to establish a product-focused culture. Educate stakeholders on product thinking, user-centered design principles, and iterative delivery frameworks. Bridge technical and business perspectives by converting complex technical concepts into accessible business terminology and translating business requirements into technical specifications, ensuring effective communication across all audiences.

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, or related discipline.
• Experience: Minimum 10 years of professional experience with at least 5 years focused on product management and 5+ years in leadership positions. Documented success guiding products from concept through launch while achieving quantifiable business results in sophisticated, multi-stakeholder environments.
• Skills: Comprehensive mastery of product management fundamentals including user research methodologies, roadmap creation, backlog administration, prioritization techniques, and agile delivery frameworks. Substantial experience partnering with Engineering, Design, and Data Governance functions to develop scalable, high-caliber products. Exceptional executive presence with refined communication and presentation abilities; capacity to command attention and influence executive leaders. Verified ability to influence without formal authority and build credibility across all organizational levels, from individual contributors to C-suite leadership. Experience cultivating product management culture within organizations, evolving from traditional project-based models to sustainable product thinking. Robust analytical and critical thinking skills with ease operating in uncertain environments and making evidence-based decisions.
• Personal Attributes: Intellectually curious approach with inclination toward challenging existing practices, pursuing ongoing improvement, and investigating innovative approaches. Exceptionally organized, initiative-taking, and internally driven; capable of balancing competing demands and tight timelines while sustaining clarity and concentration. Ability to maintain confidentiality and demonstrate sound judgment. Exhibits ownership mentality, accountability, and reliable follow-through. Adaptable and goal-focused, with capacity to manage complexity and produce results in dynamic, fast-moving environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (Master's or MBA) in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, or related area.
• Background in evaluating, integrating, and deploying AI-powered tools and solutions.
• Understanding of contemporary data platforms, data-as-a-product frameworks, and enterprise-scale data environments.
• Familiarity with legal industry or professional services sector.
• Track record working with distributed teams across multiple locations and using agile methodologies.