Director of Engineering — Lead Modern Legal Tech (Hybrid)

Neolife Updates; Dallas (TX); Hybrid; USD 168,000 - 273,000; Full time

Job summary

DLA Piper, a globally recognized law firm, is seeking a Director, Engineering to anchor its enterprise technology initiatives in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. This full-time role sits at the intersection of software engineering and legal operations, offering a unique opportunity to shape how a major firm builds and scales its digital capabilities.

You will lead engineering execution, application development, and systems integration, drive platform modernization, and ensure security,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS, engineering, information systems, or related field; master's preferred.
• Certifications in cloud platforms, architecture, or technology leadership are a plus.
• At least 10 years in software engineering or application development; 5+ years in a senior leadership role.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for firmwide engineering teams across value streams.
• Set technical direction, standards, and practices for sustainability.
• Translate priorities into executable technology roadmaps with stakeholders.
• Lead continuous delivery, balancing innovation, stability, and debt reduction.
• Govern engineering metrics, platform health, and delivery outcomes.
• Ensure compliance with security, risk, governance, privacy standards.

Skills

Enterprise architecture

Strategic planning

Leadership

Executive communication

Risk management

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering/IS

Master's degree preferred

Certifications in cloud/architecture/leadership

Tools

Cloud platforms (AWS/Azure)

CI/CD tooling

Job description

DLA Piper, a globally recognized law firm, is seeking a Director, Engineering to anchor its enterprise technology initiatives. Based in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, this full-time role sits at the intersection of software engineering and legal operations, offering a unique opportunity to shape how a major firm builds and scales its digital capabilities.

Director, Engineering at DLA Piper: Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex

The Director, Engineering is responsible for leading the design, development, delivery, and modernization of enterprise technology solutions that enable the firm's legal and business operations. This role provides strategic and operational leadership for software engineering, application development, and systems integration. The leader in this position ensures that all solutions are secure, scalable, maintainable, and closely aligned with enterprise priorities.

Collaborating with value stream leadership, IT services leaders, and business stakeholders, this director translates business outcomes into executable technology roadmaps. The ultimate goal is to deliver high-quality capabilities that improve attorney productivity, enhance client experience, and support revenue growth and operational efficiency.

This role is accountable for engineering execution discipline, technical quality, delivery reliability, and the evolution of reusable engineering and platform capabilities that accelerate the firm's transition to a build-capable technology organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for engineering teams supporting firmwide legal and business capabilities across value streams.
• Set technical direction, architectural standards, and engineering practices to ensure operational sustainability.
• Partner with IT, legal operations, and business stakeholders to translate priorities into executable technology roadmaps.
• Lead continuous delivery efforts, balancing platform innovation, stability, technical debt reduction, and risk management.
• Establish and promote best practices including automation, CI/CD, observability, resiliency, testing, and reusable engineering capabilities.
• Manage engineering budgets, vendor relationships, consultant resources, and third-party development partners.
• Lead, develop, and retain engineering management and senior technical talent, including performance management and succession planning.
• Establish governance, metrics, and reporting for engineering performance, platform health, technical debt, and delivery outcomes.
• Ensure compliance with firm security, risk, governance, privacy, and data protection standards across all activities.

Desired Skills and Qualifications

Candidates should possess deep expertise in enterprise application architecture and modern development practices. Strong strategic planning skills in complex environments are essential, alongside robust people leadership and organizational development capabilities. Financial and vendor management, stakeholder partnership, executive communication, and risk management are also critical.

A Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field is required, with a Master's Degree preferred. Relevant certifications in cloud platforms, architecture, or technology leadership are a plus. Applicants need at least 10 years of progressive experience in software engineering or application development, including a minimum of five years in a senior leadership role overseeing multiple teams.

Compensation and Work Arrangement

The firm's expected hiring range for this position is $168,478 to $272,949, depending on the candidate's geographic market location, experience, and overall qualifications. DLA Piper offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance, as well as a 401(k) plan. This position can sit in any of the firm's U.S. offices and offers a hybrid work schedule, with the specific balance of remote and in-office work determined in coordination with the hiring manager.

Application Tips for Technology Leaders in Law Practice

When pursuing a senior engineering role within a top-tier law firm, demonstrating industry-specific awareness can set you apart:

• Highlight legal tech exposure: Emphasize any experience integrating or modernizing enterprise legal management (ELM) systems, contract lifecycle management (CLM) platforms, or document management systems like iManage and NetDocuments.
• Showcase platform modernization: Law firms are actively transitioning from legacy systems to cloud-native architectures. Detail your success leading CI/CD pipeline implementations, cloud migrations (AWS or Azure), and platform reliability initiatives.
• Emphasize security governance: The legal industry handles vast amounts of sensitive data. Spotlight your familiarity with zero-trust architectures, data loss prevention (DLP), and compliance frameworks relevant to client confidentiality and privacy standards.
• Demonstrate cross-functional communication: Translating complex technical roadmaps for non-technical stakeholders—such as practice group leaders and managing partners—is a daily reality in legal IT. Provide examples of executive-level communication and stakeholder alignment.

This role demands a candidate who is bold, exceptional, collaborative, and supportive. If you are ready to guide a build-capable technology organization in the legal sector, DLA Piper offers a meaningful environment to grow your career.