Lead Data Engineer

Lead Data Engineer

Cooley is seeking a Lead Data Engineer to join the Data Science & Engineering team.

Position summary: As the leading technology law firm in the world, Cooley is determined to become a leader in the digital practice of law. Reporting to the Director of Data Science and Engineering, the Lead Data Engineer will focus on designing, developing, and maintaining a data lake and scalable data pipelines and architectures in support of Cooley’s data-driven goals. This role will be instrumental in establishing the foundational data lake infrastructure and supporting downstream AI and analytics initiatives. Specific duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

 Position responsibilities:

• Design, develop, and implement scalable data pipelines to ingest, transform, and store structured and unstructured data
• Analyze, optimize, and tune existing data pipelines for performance, reliability, and efficiency
• Lead collaboration with stakeholders to understand business requirements and deliver technical solutions
• Implement and enforce data governance and security measures, including compliance with regulatory standards
• Apply expertise in data lakes to ensure robust data architecture.
• Lead troubleshooting and resolution of  issues related to data processing, performance, and system reliability
• All other duties as assigned or required

Skills and experience:

Required:

• After orientation at Cooley LLP, exhibit proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite, iManage and other firm applications
• Ability to work extended and/or weekend hours, as required
• Ability to travel, as required
• 5+ years of experience working with data lakes (e.g. Databricks, Unity Catalog, Delta Sharing, Auto Loader, Delta Live Tables, Snowflake) or similar data engineering platforms (e.g., Spark, Hadoop, Hive)
• Extensive experience with SQL Databases and programming languages
• Strong knowledge of data engineering concepts, ETL processes, and data architecture principles.
• Proficiency in Python / PySpark and SQL for data transformation and querying
• Experience with both structured and unstructured data and familiarity with cloud-based data storage solutions
• Ability to manage and optimize large-scale data environments for performance and reliability
• Familiarity with systems such as Salesforce
• Strong understanding of cloud computing principles
• Experience implementing and maintaining security measures and data governance standards

Preferred:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field
• Familiarity with data modeling, data warehousing, and governance
• Knowledge of RESTful APIs and their implementation
• Data Engineer certification or equivalent
• Exposure to machine learning and Generative AI concepts

Competencies:

• Comfortable assuming leadership roles in cross-functional, matrixed teams
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences
• Ability to influence and collaborate with multiple stakeholders across various departments (legal, IS, etc.)
• Exhibit analytical and critical thinking in day-to-day tasks
• Excellent problem-solving and communication skills with the ability to convey complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders

Cooley offers a competitive compensation and excellent benefits package and is committed to fair and equitable employment practices.

EOE.

The expected annual pay range for this position with a full-time schedule is $140,000 - $205,000. Please note that final offer amount will be dependent on geographic location, applicable experience and skillset of the candidate.

We offer a full range of elective benefits including medical, health savings account (with applicable medical plan), dental, vision, health and/or dependent care flexible spending accounts, pre-tax commuter benefits, life insurance, AD&D, long-term care coverage, backup care for children and/or adults and other parental support benefits. In addition to elective benefit options, benefited employees receive firm-paid life insurance, AD&D, LTD, short term medical benefits as well as 21 days of Paid Time Off (“PTO”) and 10 paid holidays each year. We provide generous parental leave and fertility benefits. New employees will attend a detailed benefit orientation to learn more about our many benefits and resources.