Product Design Senior Manager

Sidley Austin; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 141,000 - 211,000; Full time

Job summary

Sidley Austin LLP is seeking a Senior Product Design Manager to lead design for AI-enabled legal platforms. You will drive discovery, define product direction, and partner with product and engineering to deliver high-quality experiences across complex workflows.

You will mentor the Product Design team, establish UX/UI standards, and advance AI-driven discovery and prototyping to accelerate learning and align priorities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience in design-related field.
• Minimum 8 years in product design and leading initiatives from discovery to delivery.
• Experience designing complex enterprise products and multiple workflows.

Responsibilities

• Lead discovery and problem framing with stakeholders to translate findings into product direction.
• Develop deep understanding of complex business domains and workflows to prioritize opportunities.
• Model end-to-end workflows including roles, handoffs, rules, and information dependencies.
• Translate strategy into coherent end-to-end experiences and measures of success.
• Partner with Product Management and Engineering to shape roadmaps and requirements.
• Lead iterative prototyping and evaluation with Engineering to de-risk delivery.
• Drive design standards across interaction, information architecture, and visuals.
• Define success metrics using research, usability testing, analytics and feedback.
• Manage and develop Product Design team through coaching and performance reviews.
• Advance AI-enabled design practices and align stakeholders on investments.

Skills

Product design leadership

Discovery & framing

Stakeholder collaboration

UX UI design

AI-enabled design

Communication

Prioritization

Education

Bachelor's in Design / HCI / PM or related field

Job description

The Product Design Senior Manager leads product design for complex, AI-enabled legal products and platforms, translating business needs and product strategy into clear product direction and high-quality user experiences. This role leads work from discovery and problem framing through product definition, prototyping, delivery, and iteration, partnering closely with Product Management, Engineering, and business stakeholders to address complex workflows and deliver meaningful business and user outcomes. The Senior Manager also leads and develops Product Design talent, establishes high standards for UX and UI quality, and advances AI-enabled approaches that improve the speed and effectiveness of product discovery, validation, and delivery.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Lead discovery and problem framing with stakeholders to understand business processes, user needs, constraints, decision points, and opportunities and translate findings into actionable product direction.
• Develop deep understanding of complex business domains and workflows to identify root problems, challenge assumptions, and prioritize opportunities based on business and user needs.
• Model complex systems and end-to-end workflows, including roles, handoffs, business rules, exceptions, dependencies, information architecture, and decision points, to inform effective product solutions.
• Translate product strategy and ambiguous business problems into product concepts, desired outcomes, priorities, and coherent end-to-end experiences.
• Partner with Product Management and Engineering to shape product priorities, roadmaps, requirements, tradeoffs, and delivery decisions within established product and business strategy.
• Lead iterative prototyping and evaluation of product concepts, partnering with Engineering to test assumptions, assess feasibility, compare alternatives, and reduce delivery risk.
• Lead product design through delivery and iteration, establishing and maintaining high standards for product thinking, interaction design, information architecture, visual design, and overall user experience.
• Define measures of product and experience success and use research, usability testing, product signals, analytics, and user feedback to evaluate outcomes and inform ongoing product decisions.
• Manage and develop Product Design team members by setting expectations, delegating ownership, managing performance, providing feedback and coaching, and supporting professional development.
• Advance AI-enabled design practices and communicate product direction and recommendations to stakeholders, using emerging AI, research, and prototyping capabilities to accelerate learning while building alignment around priorities, tradeoffs, and proposed investments.

Education and/or Experience:

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Product Management, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• A minimum of 8 years of experience in product design or related roles, including demonstrated experience leading product design initiatives and teams through discovery, definition, prototyping, delivery, and iteration.
• Experience designing complex enterprise products, workflows, or platforms involving multiple personas, handoffs, business rules, exceptions, and information dependencies.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze ambiguous business problems, develop domain knowledge, challenge assumptions, evaluate competing approaches, and translate findings into effective product solutions.
• Experience partnering with Product Management, Engineering, and business stakeholders to inform product direction, requirements, feasibility, priorities, tradeoffs, and delivery decisions.
• Demonstrated experience managing and developing design professionals, including setting expectations, delegating work, providing feedback and coaching, and managing performance.
• Experience applying AI-enabled tools and approaches to product design, research, prototyping, or product development.
• Strong communication and influence skills, with the ability to articulate product rationale, recommendations, tradeoffs, and outcomes to stakeholders at multiple organizational levels.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and exercise sound judgment in a fast-moving environment.
• Portfolio demonstrating product thinking, problem framing, workflow and systems design, prototyping, validation, interaction and visual design, and measurable product or user outcomes.

Preferred:

• Experience in a professional services environment, such as legal, financial services, accounting, or consulting.
• Experience designing or leading AI-enabled products, workflows, or platforms.
• Product Management experience, training, or relevant certification.
• Experience establishing or scaling design standards, design systems, or shared product patterns.
• Experience using product analytics, UX metrics, and qualitative feedback to evaluate outcomes and inform product priorities.
• Hands‑on experience with AI-enabled and code-based prototyping tools.

Other Skills and Abilities:

• Strong organizational skills

• Strong attention to detail

• Good judgment

• Strong interpersonal communication skills

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

• Able to work harmoniously and effectively with others

• Able to preserve confidentiality and exercise discretion

• Able to work under pressure

• Able to manage multiple projects with competing deadlines and priorities

Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship, now or in the future

The target salary range for this role is:

$141,400 - $211,200 if located in Illinois or Texas.

Salaries vary by location and are based on numerous factors, including, but not limited to, the relevant market, skills, experience, and education of the selected candidate. Our compensation package also includes bonus eligibility and a comprehensive benefits program. Benefits information can be found at Sidley.com/Benefits.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the Duties and Responsibilities above satisfactorily and meet the requirements. The requirements listed above are representative of the minimum knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. If you need such an accommodation, please email [e-mail] (current employees should contact Human Resources).

Sidley Austin LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer.