Director of Enterprise Data Management & Engineering

Faegre Drinker is a firm designed for clients and designed for you. We understand that our people are critical to our success and we are committed to investing in our paraprofessional, administrative and operations professionals. We are always looking for talented, service-focused individuals to join our flexible and high-performing culture. With technology tools and resources that support our hybrid work environment, our colleagues enjoy a culture of learning, support for work and personal goals, opportunities to give back to our communities, and competitive benefits and rewards programs. At Faegre Drinker, you will have the opportunity to share your expertise within and across teams and contribute to our success.

Job Description Summary:

Faegre Drinker has an opportunity for a Director of Enterprise Data Management and Engineering to work within our Technology & Innovation department in our New York City, Philadelphia, or Washington D.C. office. You will be part of a dynamic team dedicated to serving as the senior technical leader responsible for the hands-on design, implementation, and ongoing operation of the firm's enterprise data program. This position will work with other talented individuals who share a passion for doing great work in the best interest of our clients.

Job Description:

What you would do:

• Leads the buildout and operationalization of the firm’s enterprise data lake on Databricks, applying a Bronze/Silver/Gold medallion architecture (including Delta Lake and Unity Catalog) across data ingestion, transformation, and consumption
• Oversees the buildout of scalable data foundations, including data integration, warehouse capabilities, storage and compute optimization, experimentation environments, and vendor-supported engineering models
• Establishes the architecture, standards, and reference patterns that govern how raw data is progressively refined into curated, trusted, and AI-ready data products
• Ensures the data lake is designed for security, matter-level data isolation, and privilege-aware access controls appropriate to a professional services environment
• Oversees and actively contributes to data engineering, data pipeline development, and orchestration using Databricks-native tooling (such as Delta Live Tables and Workflows) and cloud data integration services
• Designs, builds, and maintains scalable, reliable ingestion and transformation pipelines across structured and unstructured firm data sources. Integrates data from Finance (Elite 3e), HR (Workday), DMS (iManage), and CRM (Legal 360), and other enterprise systems into the data lake
• In collaboration with the CTIO, defines (and then independently executes) the firm’s enterprise data, analytics, and data products roadmap aligned to business priorities, practice needs, client expectations, and the firm’s technology strategy
• Establishes the operating model for intake, prioritization, delivery, adoption, and support of data and analytics initiatives, with clear governance, ownership, metrics, and risk controls
• Evaluates and manages strategic data platform and service vendors, balancing speed, capability, economics, and long-term platform fit
• Leads the design and delivery of executive-level dashboards, operational reporting, and self-service analytics, delivered in Microsoft Power BI (the firm’s business intelligence platform of choice), that drive firm decision-making
• Supports the CTIO in establishing data governance, data quality, and metadata management standards across all firm data domains and then independently oversees same
• Leads and develops a high-performing multidisciplinary team spanning data engineering, analytics, business intelligence, data governance, and data product management
• Contributes as a technical data resource to the Catalyst Studio, the firm’s shared engineering and automation build team, which is owned by the Senior Director of Innovation
• Special projects and other duties as assigned

What is expected:

• Strong analytical, problem-solving and diplomacy skills.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively in a virtual environment (e.g., via phone, web/videoconference)
• Ability to concentrate on tasks, make decisions and work calmly and effectively in a high-pressure, deadline-oriented environment
• Demonstrated ability to use good judgment in taking initiative while asking for direction or clarification and consulting others, as appropriate
• Willingness to be flexible with time and adjust to a changing work environment
• Ability to build and maintain positive relationships, both internally and externally, while maintaining a client service orientation in a collaborative environment
• Ability to use sound judgment and discretion in dealing with highly confidential information
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, organize and accurately prioritize work, be detail-oriented, understand when urgency is required and use good judgment in varied situations

What we offer:

• Flexible working environment for work-life success
• Opportunity to participate in firm-sponsored volunteer events
• Wellness programming with personalized content and activities
• Professional environment and the opportunity to work with experts at the top of their fields
• Variety of health plan options, as well as dental, vision and 401(k) plans
• Generous paid time off

The anticipated initial annual salary range for someone who is hired into this position is $251,400 – $293,300.

Actual initial salary may be above or below the above-identified range and will be based on the relevant skills, training, experience, and other job-related factors, including the location where the position is filled, in all cases consistent with applicable law.  This is an exempt role and the initial salary range listed above is just one component of Faegre Drinker's total compensation and benefits package for professional staff, which includes, but is not limited to, a discretionary bonus; life, health, accident, and disability insurance; and a 401(k) plan.

What is required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, or a related technical discipline; or equivalent years of professional experience.
• Minimum of 10+ years of leadership and management experience in technology and data within a complex professional services, legal, or similarly regulated environment, including a demonstrated history of developing team members professionally
• Proven, hands-on experience building and operating cloud-based data lake and data platform environments, with experience on Databricks (the firm’s selected data platform) strongly preferred, including direct application of medallion architecture (Bronze/Silver/Gold), Delta Lake, and Unity Catalog
• Extensive, demonstrated hands-on experience designing, building, and operating production-grade data pipelines is a key requirement of this role, including data ingestion, transformation, orchestration, and integration across enterprise source systems
• Deep expertise in data governance frameworks, data quality, metadata management, and master and reference data management
• Hands-on experience delivering analytics and reporting products, including executive dashboards, operational reporting, and self-service BI, with deep, hands-on expertise in Microsoft Power BI, the firm’s business intelligence platform of choice, including data modeling, DAX, and enterprise report and dashboard delivery
• General familiarity with AI/ML and enterprise automation platforms (e.g., UiPath), and an understanding of how curated, AI-ready data products support AI platform use cases
• Deep, demonstrable command of the data security and privacy obligations specific to this role’s data domain, including data security and privilege risk, matter-level data isolation, and privilege-aware access controls; data governance and privacy frameworks; PII handling and data classification; and encryption and access management within the Databricks data lake (including Unity Catalog governance)
• Strong understanding of applicable confidentiality and privacy obligations and the implications of operating in a risk-sensitive, privilege-aware legal environment

Apply now if you are ready to join the Faegre Drinker team!

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, national origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, veteran or military status, or any other characteristic made unlawful by applicable federal, state or local laws. Equal employment opportunity will be extended to all persons in all aspects of employment, including retirement, hiring, training, promotion, transfer, compensation, benefits, discipline and termination.