Senior Manager of Applied AI Engineering

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 190,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP seeks a Senior Manager, Applied AI Engineering to lead and grow its AI engineering function in New York. The role combines hands-on AI application development, architectural leadership, and cross-team collaboration to deliver secure, scalable AI-powered workflows and integrations for legal and business operations.

The ideal candidate has 7–10 years in software and at least 1–2 years deploying production AI solutions, with strong Python and cloud experience.

Qualifications

• Minimum 7–10 years of hands-on software engineering or related tech leadership experience.
• 1–2 years building/ deploying production AI-enabled applications, incl. generative AI.
• Strong programming background with Python and APIs, cloud platforms, databases.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Applied AI Engineering function and establish its technical direction and standards.
• Manage and develop engineers and technical specialists.
• Collaborate with PMO, Innovation, and business stakeholders to identify AI opportunities and roadmap.

Skills

Software engineering

Solution architecture

Leadership

Python

Cloud platforms

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, information systems, or related field

Tools

APIs

Databases

AI technologies

Job description

OVERVIEW

The Senior Manager, Applied AI Engineering will play a key leadership role in establishing and growing the Firm's Applied AI Engineering function. This position offers an opportunity to help shape how Cravath develops and deploys innovative AI solutions that enhance legal workflows, improve business operations, and create meaningful value across the Firm.The Senior Manager will lead a team responsible for designing, developing, and delivering AI-powered applications, intelligent workflows, automations, and integrations. Combining hands-on technical expertise with strong leadership and product thinking, this individual will help translate emerging AI capabilities into practical, secure, and scalable solutions.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Key Responsibilities

• Builds and leads the Applied AI Engineering function, helping establish its technical direction, engineering standards, development practices, and long-term capabilities;
• Manages, mentors, and develops a growing team of engineers and technical specialists;
• Partners with the Firm’s PMO, Innovation, legal practices, business stakeholders, and other IT teams to identify and evaluate AI opportunities, assess technical feasibility, develop solution concepts, and contribute to the Firm's AI roadmap and project prioritization;
• Leads the architecture, design, development, and deployment of AI-enabled applications, agentic workflows, automations, and integrations supporting the Firm's legal and business operations;
• Maintains a hands-on role in technical discovery, prototyping, architecture, code review, and solving complex engineering challenges while providing leadership and direction to the team;
• Develops reusable AI services, integration capabilities, evaluation frameworks, and engineering patterns that accelerate development and support solutions across the Firm;
• Evaluates emerging AI technologies, models, platforms, and development approaches, recommending opportunities to build, integrate, or extend capabilities based on business value, technical feasibility, and risk;
• Collaborates closely with Information Security, Enterprise Applications, Data Engineering, Infrastructure, and other technology teams to ensure solutions integrate effectively with the Firm's environment and meet its standards for security, confidentiality, reliability, and maintainability;
• Establishes practices for AI solution quality, testing, monitoring, performance, cost management, and responsible use, including appropriate human oversight and safeguards;
• Guides the technical lifecycle of AI solutions, from initial development through production deployment, ongoing enhancement, and support, working with business and IT stakeholders to establish appropriate long-term ownership and operational arrangements;
• Fosters a culture of innovation, collaboration, experimentation, and continuous improvement while maintaining the engineering discipline required in a sophisticated legal environment; and
• Performs additional duties and special projects, as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

Qualifications

• Minimum of 7-10 years of hands-on experience in software engineering, solution architecture, or related technology disciplines in large enterprise environments, including 3+ years managing software engineers and demonstrated leadership of complex technical initiatives;
• At least 1-2 years’ experience building and deploying production AI-enabled applications, including generative AI solutions, retrieval-augmented generation, AI agents, and related technologies;
• Strong hands-on engineering background, including Python or comparable programming languages, APIs, cloud platforms, databases, enterprise integrations, and modern software development practices;
• Demonstrated ability to lead and mentor technical professionals, manage competing priorities, and deliver complex solutions in collaboration with multidisciplinary teams;
• Strong product-oriented thinking, problem-solving skills, and the ability to translate business needs into practical technical solutions;
• Understanding of enterprise security, data privacy, AI governance, and the challenges of deploying AI in environments with sensitive information;
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work effectively with senior leaders, technical teams, and nontechnical stakeholders;
• Experience in a law firm, professional-services organization, or other complex enterprise environment is preferred but not required;
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, information systems, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience; and
• Availability to work additional hours, as needed.

This position is located in our New York office, and currently has a hybrid work schedule, but that is subject to change. The estimated salary range for this position is $190,000 to $230,000. The actual salary offered will be based on a wide range of factors, including relevant skills, training, experience, education, and where applicable, licensure or certification obtained. Market and Firm factors are also considered. In addition to base salary and discretionary bonus(es), we offer a generous employee benefits package including, but not limited to, paid time off, medical, dental, vision care, 401(k) and substantial health club discounts.