Sr. Director, AI Finance & Legal Transformation
Sr. Director, AI Finance & Legal Transformation
The Role
You will own the strategy and execution of AI integration across SharkNinja's finance organization (FP&A, accounting, internal audit, tax, investor relations) and legal organization (contract management, IP, regulatory compliance, litigation support).
Multiple AI projects are already in flight across both functions. The challenge is not ambition -- it is that these efforts run in parallel without a single person connecting them, sequencing them, and driving them to completion. You will be that person: the dedicated, full-time owner who sits above individual projects, connects the dots, and surfaces the opportunities the teams are too close to see.
You will be measured on adoption, speed, and measurable business impact. You report directly to the VP, Chief of Staff to the CEO, with a dotted line to the CFO and CLO.
What You Will Do
Strategy & Integration
Own the AI transformation roadmap across the full finance and legal functions, identifying overlaps, dependencies, and consolidation opportunities
Sequence and prioritize ruthlessly: drive each initiative to completion before starting the next
Build and lead a team of AI Fellows embedded directly into finance and legal teams
Finance
Accelerate forecast automation, consolidating commercial forecasting across Americas, Global, and EMEA into a single AI-powered path from prototype to production
Partner with Internal Audit to fast-track AI adoption in audit and controls, reducing remediation timelines on material weaknesses
Activate AI opportunities across accounting -- from automating data entry and reconciliation to larger process redesign
Legal
Accelerate AI-powered contract review, IP portfolio management, and regulatory compliance monitoring to reduce cycle times, outside counsel dependency, and manual exposure tracking
Build legal intelligence and knowledge retrieval systems that make institutional legal knowledge accessible and actionable across the organization
Evaluate the legal tech landscape and make build-vs-buy decisions that compound in value -- prioritizing platforms SharkNinja owns over vendor lock-in
Drive production readiness for Legal's existing AI prototypes, moving working tools from proof-of-concept to enterprise-grade platforms
Execution
Translate AI capabilities into practical solutions that finance and legal professionals actually use
Drive behavioral change across teams with varying levels of AI fluency
Establish success metrics and report measurable outcomes to executive leadership
Coordinate with external partners (PwC, Oracle) to avoid duplication and ensure AI initiatives complement existing efforts
Who You Are
Required
10+ years in AI/ML, finance transformation, legal operations, or technology-driven change management
Strong technical fluency in AI/ML, with hands-on experience deploying enterprise LLM platforms (Claude, ChatGPT): you can evaluate tools, assess platforms, and hold your own in technical discussions with engineers and data scientists
Deep understanding of enterprise finance operations (FP&A, accounting, audit, controls, ERP systems) and working knowledge of corporate legal operations (contract lifecycle, IP, compliance)
Proven track record leading large-scale transformation in complex, multi-stakeholder environments
Ability to bridge technical and business: you can tell IT what to build and tell the CFO or CLO what outcome it delivers
Decisive, action-oriented, and comfortable in ambiguity where speed matters more than perfection
Experience productionalizing AI prototypes from proof-of-concept to enterprise-grade tools with proper back-end infrastructure, particularly in environments where customized platforms are already in flight
Strongly Preferred
Experience deploying AI across finance or legal at scale, not just pilots
Familiarity with SOX compliance, material weakness remediation, CLM platforms, or e-discovery tools
Background in Legal Engineering, Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE), or comparable roles that combine production-grade software development with domain-specific legal workflow design
Additional Requirements
Travel required (domestic and international)
On-site at Boston HQ in Needham, MA or New York / Miami office full-time
Why This Role Matters
SharkNinja's CEO has made AI transformation a top company priority. Finance and Legal are where that transformation becomes measurable: faster forecasting cycles, fewer manual touches, stronger controls, faster contract turnaround, and capacity redirected to the work that matters most. Multiple projects are already underway. What is missing is the person who owns the full picture, drives each one to the finish line, and makes sure the pieces add up to more than the sum of their parts.
Salary and Other Compensation: The annual salary range for this position is displayed below. Factors which may affect starting pay within this range may include geography/market, skills, education, experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.
The Company offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements: medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts (HSA) with company contribution, 401(k) retirement plan with matching, employee stock purchase program, life insurance, AD&D, short-term disability insurance, long-term disability insurance, generous paid time off, company holidays, parental leave, identity theft protection, pet insurance, pre-paid legal insurance, back-up child and eldercare days, product discounts, referral bonus program, and more.
Pay Range
$225,000—$275,000 USD