IT Director - ASCENDING

IT Director

Onsite, New York City

Direct Hire

About the Role

We are seeking a practical, business-aligned technology leader to manage, modernize, and secure a multi-office technology environment, including New York headquarters and coordination with a branch in Irvine, California. This role combines hands-on legal workflow automation, vendor oversight, strategic partner management, and clear communication, all with a service-oriented mindset. The ideal candidate will operate with an agile, approachable, high-touch, and cost-conscious approach, bringing technology innovation and efficiency to the firm.

Key Responsibilities

• Technology Leadership & Operations
  • Lead and support the day-to-day management and continuous improvement of core legal technology systems, including cloud document management, practice management platforms, Microsoft 365, endpoints, and collaboration tools.
  • Act as a business analyst to define requirements, set priorities, and identify effective application solutions.
• Vendor & Partner Management
  • Oversee external software engineering and integration partners to build, refine, and maintain legal API workflows and client-facing automations.
  • Collaborate with Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) to uphold stringent cybersecurity standards and ensure regulatory compliance.
  • Develop and maintain technology standards, user documentation, runbooks, and onboarding/offboarding processes in partnership with external vendors.
  • Oversee IT contracts, vendor billing, software licensing, and technology spend to ensure efficiency and budget adherence.
• Innovation & Modernization
  • Evaluate, implement, and support practical low-code and AI-driven tools to streamline administrative processes, document generation, and legal workflows.
  • Identify inefficiencies, outdated systems, and opportunities for modernization, driving improvement projects from conception through completion.
• Team & Stakeholder Management
  • Manage and hold accountable both internal and external technical teams to facilitate quick ticket resolution and maintain high user satisfaction across multiple offices.
  • Clearly communicate with both technical vendors and non-technical stakeholders, translating complex technical concepts into accessible language for all user groups.

Required

• Proven experience in IT leadership or application management, ideally within a law firm or professional services setting.
• Past experience with IT Infrastructure as well as Application experience required.
• Demonstrated success in selecting, managing, and holding accountable diverse external IT delivery partners, cloud hosts, and third-party vendors.
• Strong business analysis and workflow automation experience, particularly with legal or professional applications.
• Solid understanding of cybersecurity practices and experience working with MSSPs.
• Excellent communication skills with demonstrated ability to bridge technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience with Intune and associated tools
• Hands-on experience with modern cloud-based systems (e.g., Microsoft 365), legal or document management platforms, and collaboration/endpoint solutions.

• Experience driving low-code, AI, or workflow automation projects.
• Comfortable working across organizational boundaries and time zones.
• Experience managing technology budgets and cost optimization initiatives.