Director of Infrastructure

At Kirkland & Ellis, we don’t just meet the standard for legal excellence — we set it. Our culture is built on teamwork, ingenuity and an unwavering commitment to continuous growth. We tackle the most sophisticated legal challenges with bold ideas and innovative solutions, powered by the exceptional experience and ambition of our 7,000+ people, including 4,000+ attorneys, across 24 offices worldwide. Our dedicated professionals share our lawyers’ commitment to excellence and show up each day to do meaningful work that helps drive global business, investment and innovation forward.

About the role

As Director of Infrastructure, you will report to the Chief Information Officer and lead the strategy, delivery, and continuous improvement of the technology platforms that support more than 7,000 attorneys and business professionals across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Leading a global team of approximately 60 professionals through six functional leaders, you will oversee a diverse infrastructure portfolio spanning data centers, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, enterprise networks, telecommunications, collaboration platforms, databases, storage, compute, and identity management.

This is a highly visible leadership opportunity for a technology executive who can balance long-term strategy with operational excellence. You will partner closely with Information Security, Applications, and senior business leaders to strengthen resilience, modernize critical platforms, enable Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption, and ensure the secure delivery of world-class technology services in a fast-paced, client-focused environment.

Responsibilities

• Shape Infrastructure Strategy: Define and execute a multi-year infrastructure roadmap that supports business growth, client service excellence, operational efficiency, and AI-enabled innovation.
• Lead Modernization Initiatives: Drive cloud adoption, network transformation, unified communications initiatives, automation programs, and enterprise technology modernization efforts.
• Enable Enterprise AI: Partner with technology and security leaders to establish the infrastructure, governance, identity, data, and network foundations required for Microsoft 365 Copilot and other AI-driven solutions.
• Deliver Reliable Global Services: Ensure 24/7 availability, performance, scalability, and service quality across infrastructure platforms that support business-critical operations worldwide.
• Drive Operational Excellence: Champion Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practices across change, incident, problem, and configuration management while improving monitoring, automation, and service reliability.
• Lead Through Critical Events: Act as the senior escalation point during major outages, cybersecurity incidents, and recovery efforts, coordinating cross-functional teams to restore services and minimize business impact.
• Oversee Core Technology Domains: Provide leadership across cloud and data center operations, networks, telecommunications, messaging and collaboration, storage, databases, backup and recovery, and Identity and Access Management (IAM).
• Strengthen Risk and Resilience: Lead Disaster Recovery (DR) strategy, testing, ransomware preparedness, recovery capabilities, and infrastructure governance to support security, compliance, and client expectations.
• Manage Investment and Vendor Partnerships: Oversee infrastructure budgets, technology investments, vendor relationships, contract negotiations, sourcing strategies, and cost optimization initiatives.
• Develop High-Performing Teams: Coach and inspire a global organization of infrastructure professionals, building leadership capability, succession plans, technical expertise, and a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Influence Executive Stakeholders: Communicate infrastructure strategy, operational performance, technology risks, and investment priorities clearly to senior leadership and business partners.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience. Advanced degrees and certifications such as ITIL, Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), or Project Management Professional (PMP) are a plus.
• 15+ years of progressive enterprise infrastructure experience, including at least seven years leading managers and multidisciplinary teams within large, globally distributed environments.
• Demonstrated success managing complex hybrid environments spanning cloud and on-premises technologies at enterprise scale.
• Proven experience delivering large-scale cloud migrations, data center consolidations, network modernization programs, or unified communications transformations.
• Strong command of ITIL-based service delivery practices, operational governance, and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Experience managing substantial technology budgets, optimizing costs, negotiating contracts, and governing strategic vendor relationships.
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear business recommendations and build alignment across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through high-pressure incidents, cybersecurity events, and recovery scenarios with sound judgment and decisiveness.
• Experience in a law firm, consulting organization, Big Four firm, or other highly client-focused, confidentiality-driven environment is preferred.
• A track record of earning trust, influencing through credibility, and handling sensitive information with discretion and professionalism.

Pay

The base salary range below represents the low and high end of the salary range for this position in Chicago. This range may differ based on your geographic location and cost of living considerations.

Chicago: $308,000 - $385,000

Benefits

At Kirkland & Ellis, we consider compensation more than just a base salary. We offer an exceptional range of flexible benefits including:

• Comprehensive healthcare
• Paid time off
• Retirement benefits
• Personal support and tailored learning and development opportunities designed to help you realize your full potential both in life and at work