Knowledge Architect

The Knowledge Architect is responsible for the technical architecture, engineering, and ongoing operation of Pillsbury’s legal knowledge layer, including the Enterprise Knowledge Platform and its supporting tools and integrations. This role connects document repositories, matter profiles, and legal expertise databases to enterprise search and approved AI workflows, making legal work product discoverable, well organized, current, and accessible within the user’s permissions.

Working closely with Knowledge & Innovation, the architect combines hands-on platform configuration with development of integrations, document processing pipelines, and reusable retrieval services. The role determines when to use native capabilities and when to build extensions, and remains accountable for technical design, testing, and reliable operation across work delivered with IT, AI engineers, and vendors.

The Enterprise Knowledge Platform will provide the search and knowledge access layer. iManage  and other source systems remain authoritative, while governed indexes, extracted information, and retrieval services make their content reusable across the firm.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Technical Platform Ownership and Engineering

·       Own the firm-side technical architecture and delivery of the Enterprise Knowledge Platform and associated tools. Lead platform evaluation, configuration, technical backlog, release validation, and production performance.

·       Own the technical relationship with the selected platform provider. Diagnose issues, review vendor designs, manage escalations, and validate capabilities against the firm’s requirements and contracted scope.

·       Maintain architecture diagrams, version-controlled code and configuration, operating procedures, and monitoring. Diagnose failures across the platform and integrations, and coordinate recovery, capacity planning, and legacy search transition with IT and the vendor.

Source Integration and Document Extraction

·       Design, build, test, and maintain knowledge platform integrations with iManage and approved repositories, working with IT source-system owners. Configure supported connectors and develop integration code, extensions, or automation where needed.

·       Establish reliable processing for Word documents, PDFs, scanned content, and other approved formats. Validate text extraction, OCR, tables, document structure, and processing exceptions.

·       Define incremental ingestion, change detection, retry, and reconciliation processes. Track document identities and versions, and propagate deletions and access changes into indexes and derived content.

Metadata & Document Intelligence

·       Serve as a primary liaison between the Knowledge Management & Innovation team and assigned business units by participating in practice meetings, building strong attorney relationships, and supporting strategic practice initiatives.

·       Collaborate with practice leadership to identify and prioritize knowledge management, process improvement, and innovation opportunities, and develop actionable roadmaps aligned with business objectives.

·       Support the adoption of new tools, workflows, and knowledge resources by delivering training, developing user-friendly enablement materials, and gathering stakeholder feedback to support continuous improvement efforts.

·       Work collaboratively with cross-functional teams, including Knowledge Lawyers, Innovation Managers, Knowledge Engineers, IT, Legal Operations, Practice Management, Marketing & Business Development, and Learning & Development to implement integrated and effective solutions across the firm.

REQUIRED EDUCATION, KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE

·       Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business, Analytics, or a related field.

·       Minimum of five years of relevant professional experience in enterprise technology, knowledge management systems, or related technical environments.

·       Demonstrated experience implementing, managing, and optimizing enterprise search, knowledge management, or document management platforms, including troubleshooting, system maintenance, and continuous improvement.

·       Proficiency in developing, integrating, and maintaining technical solutions using APIs, scripting, or programming languages, with the ability to test, troubleshoot, and support ongoing functionality.

·       Strong understanding of document ingestion, metadata management, indexing, and information retrieval processes to support enterprise search and related applications.

·       Experience implementing and maintaining security protocols and access controls to protect sensitive enterprise information and ensure alignment with established permissions and security requirements.

·       Strong analytical, communication, and project management skills, with the ability to translate business requirements into effective technical solutions, evaluate design considerations, and collaborate with internal stakeholders, technical teams, and external vendors.

PREFERRED SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

·       Demonstrated technical ownership of a production enterprise search, knowledge, or document platform, including implementation, troubleshooting, and ongoing improvement.

·       Hands-on ability to build and maintain integrations or automation using APIs and a scripting or programming language. Able to test, debug, and support the solutions delivered.

·       Practical understanding of how document ingestion, metadata, and indexing make content usable in search and downstream applications.

·       Experience implementing access controls for sensitive enterprise information, working with security and source-system teams to preserve permissions.

·       Ability to translate stakeholder needs into technical solutions, explain design tradeoffs, and lead delivery across technical teams, vendors, and professional users.

The expected salary range for this position is $200,000- $250,000.  Final compensation will be determined based on several factors, including but not limited to, relevant experience, qualifications, skill set, and geographic location. Qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered for the position in accordance with the California Fair Chance Act

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

If you require an accommodation in order to apply for a position, please contact us at [email protected].