Job Description:

Director of Engineering - Epiq AI Labs

Location: NYC (Hybrid -- 4 days/week in-office)
Team: Epiq AI Labs / Advanced AI Platform

Epiq AI Labs is the innovation and engineering hub behind Epiq's next-generation AI platform for corporate legal departments and global law firms. We operate as a startup within a global organization focused on agentic AI systems, knowledge-driven reasoning, and enterprise-scale corporate simulations. We are:

• Fast, experimental, and product-obsessed
• Highly collaborative, low-bureaucracy, deeply technical
• Backed by the resources, data access, and distribution scale of a global ALSP

We are building foundational AI systems -- intelligent agents, reasoning engines, knowledge kernels, and structured workflows -- that transform how litigation, investigations, compliance, and corporate knowledge work gets done.

Our culture is 100% startup: high autonomy, high trust, rapid iteration, and a team that genuinely enjoys working together.

About You

You lead from the front. You write code, architect systems, unblock teammates, and set a standard of excellence others naturally follow. You are ambitious, hard-working, and thrive in high-ownership environments. You want to help build something big and transformative. You want startup speed with real resources. You value the rare combination of agility + scale that Epiq AI Labs offers. You care deeply about people and engineering culture. You enjoy mentoring, coaching, and helping engineers grow into the best versions of themselves. You are a builder at heart. Even as a leader, you appreciate staying close to the code and solving hard technical problems.

If you want to help shape both the architecture and the team that builds the future of legal AI, this role is for you.

About the Role

This is a high-impact role where you will work directly with the founding team to build the platform and define the engineering culture.

The role is highly hands-on, especially in the first year:

• Initially You will ship production code frequently while also beginning to mentor, review, coordinate, and support the team.
• As the team scales Your leadership responsibilities-hiring, planning, coaching, stakeholder alignment-will expand as the engineering team grows.
• Long term: move toward broader organizational leadership as expansion continues.

You will work in person 4 days/week in our Midtown Manhattan office, collaborating shoulder-to-shoulder with engineers, scientists, and product leaders.

What You'll Do

Hands-On Engineering

• Ship high-quality production code weekly
• Lead the design and implementation of core backend, full-stack, and AI-adjacent systems
• Dive deep into performance, architecture, reliability, and system-level issues
• Establish best practices around testing, observability, workflows, and code quality
• Serve as technical backbone and unblocker for the engineering team

Engineering Leadership & People Management

• Ramp up new engineers, helping them become productive quickly
• Mentor engineers across levels and help them grow in technical depth and autonomy
• Conduct code reviews, design reviews, and architecture sessions
• Support and amplify the team's accomplishments with leadership and cross-functional partners
• Scale the team: define roles, run interviews, build hiring pipelines, and onboard candidates

Cross-Functional Ownership

• Work closely with researchers, product managers, designers, and leadership
• Translate product vision into technical execution plans
• Partner with legal experts and clients to understand workflows and turn them into system capabilities
• Own delivery for engineering milestones across multiple product surface areas

Qualifications

Required

• 6+ years of professional experience as a software engineer
• 3+ years of recent experience managing or leading engineers
• Experience working at a start-up
• Strong technical depth in backend, full-stack, distributed systems, or AI systems
• Excellent communicator: clear, organized, proactive, and able to translate between technical and non-technical contexts
• Comfort in high-velocity environments with significant ownership
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science or related field

Nice to Have

• Experience in a startup or scale-up engineering environment
• Experience with large-scale production Python and React codebases
• Exposure to ML/AI systems, data pipelines, or agentic architectures
• Experience building high-performance teams or coaching senior engineers
• Interest or background in legal-tech, enterprise workflows, or knowledge systems.

#LI-KS1

The Compensation range for this role is 250,000 to 300,000.00 USD 0annually and may be eligible for an annual bonus.

Your specific salary will be determined based on several factors:

• Location-based market rate for the role
• Your abilities in relation to the job specification
• Performance during screening and interview
• Pay parity with the wider team in the considered location

Further details about the package will be provided during the initial screening call with the Talent Acquisition Team.

Click here to learn about Epiq's Benefits.

Epiq Leadership Compass

Enterprise Decision Making

Applies deep business and financial insight to guide strategic decisions, resource allocation, and thought leadership.

• Use financial and market expertise for long-term direction
• Build strategic partnerships
• Promote a customer-first mindset
• Allocate global resources for innovation and growth

Cultivates a Growth Mindset

Fosters innovation through curiosity, smart risk-taking, and adaptability-aligning change with strategy for lasting impact.

• Promote curiosity and forward-thinking
• Build a culture of innovation through partnerships
• Drive innovation to meet client needs
• Lead innovation with a clear vision
• Align innovation with market trends

Builds Talented Teams

Builds and develops inclusive, high-performing teams aligned to strategic goals for exceptional talent and business results.

• Focus on employee engagement
• Build a strong talent pipeline

Fosters Relationships & Collaboration

Builds trust and alignment through open communication, shared goals, and strong partnerships to drive collective success.

• Build trust-based partnerships
• Nurture long-term relationships
• Remove collaboration barriers
• Celebrate cross-team success

Engages & Influences

Inspires action and alignment through clear communication, purposeful influence, and a compelling vision.

• Use storytelling to build buy-in
• Align communication with organizational goals
• Guild alignment through strong engagement

Maximizes Performance

Sets and reinforces performance standards that drive results, ensure accountability, and align with Epiq's goals.

• Use data to identify improvement opportunities
• Make informed decisions
• Align team goals with boarder strategy
• Empower teams to manage their own goals
• Translate vision into clear priorities
• Prepare for disruptions with strong change management