Technology and Engineering Product Lead, Legal

Overview

Ares’ success has been driven by our people and our culture. Our team is guided by core values – Collaborative, Responsible, Entrepreneurial, Self-Aware, Trustworthy – and our purpose to be a catalyst for shared prosperity and a better future. We are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive work environment where high-performance talent of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can build careers within this exciting and growing industry.

Product Lead, Legal Systems

Department: Technology – Corporate Technology (Legal, Risk & Compliance Technology)
Reports to: Head of Legal Risk and Compliance Product
Location: New York, NY

Ares is seeking a Product Lead, Legal Systems to join Corporate Technology. This role will shape and execute the product strategy and roadmap for technology capabilities supporting Ares’
Legal and related GRC workflows—driving scalable, secure, and audit-ready solutions that improve operational efficiency, transparency, and stakeholder experience.

The ideal candidate is a Legal Systems subject matter expert with experience in a complex environment—ideally from a large alternative asset manager
, large law firm
, and/or consulting background supporting sophisticated legal operations. This leader will partner closely with Legal leadership, cross-functional stakeholders, and technology delivery teams to define priorities, translate business needs into actionable roadmaps, and deliver measurable outcomes. Familiarity with the legal and private funds ecosystem is important, including Legal Entity Management
, GRC platforms (e.g., Archer),
matter management
, eDiscovery
, and tools/workflows supporting side letters
, the private funds lifecycle
, and related governance processes.

Experience with
low-code platforms and strong process/solution documentation skills (e.g.,
Lucidchart
) are strongly preferred.

PRIMARY FUNCTIONS AND ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Own the product strategy and roadmap for the Legal Systems portfolio, aligning priorities with Legal leadership, enterprise objectives, and Corporate Technology direction.
• Serve as the primary technology partner to Legal stakeholders—building trusted relationships, shaping demand, and translating business goals into clear product capabilities and measurable outcomes.
• Provide subject matter leadership across core Legal and GRC workflows, including intake/triage, matter management, entity governance, eDiscovery enablement, and controls/issue management.
• Drive discovery and definition activities: process mapping, end-user journey mapping, requirements elicitation, user stories, acceptance criteria, and prioritization—leveraging Lucidchart and clear documentation standards.
• Lead and coordinate delivery across the full product lifecycle: design, build oversight, testing/UAT, release management, change management, training, adoption tracking, and post-launch support.
• Coordinate cross-platform dependencies and roadmap sequencing with other product owners and platform teams to ensure end-to-end outcomes across Legal, Risk, Compliance, Finance, and Data.
• Partner with Enterprise Architecture, Security, and Data teams to ensure solutions align with enterprise standards for resiliency, identity/access controls, privacy, data governance, records retention, and auditability.
• Define and maintain platform governance: prioritization processes, backlog management, release discipline, documentation, and operational readiness standards.
• Manage vendor relationships and delivery partners as needed, including selection support, roadmap alignment, implementation oversight, and service performance management.
• Provide executive-ready communications and reporting: roadmap progress, risks/issues, dependencies, KPIs, and clear decision points with recommendations.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 10+ years of experience in technology product management, business analysis, or delivery leadership supporting Legal systems and/or GRC platforms in financial services or similarly complex environments.
• Bachelor’s degree required; technology background preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to influence across senior stakeholders and…