Senior Business Intelligence Engineer

Sidley Austin LLP (IL LLP); Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 98,000 - 145,000; Full time

Job summary

Sidley Austin LLP seeks a Senior Analytics Engineer to lead recurring reporting and data processes across financial and HR domains, collaborating with Finance, Accounting, and HR. The role requires expert SQL analysis, end-to-end ownership of processes, and hands-on BI report development in Power BI, Tableau, or Cognos.

Experience in a law firm or professional services environment is a plus, with strong discretion handling sensitive data and clear documentation of procedures.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Data Analytics, Information Systems, Computer Science, Accounting, Finance, or related field.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience as a data analyst, reporting analyst, or in a similar role owning recurring operational data processes.
• Expert-level SQL analysis: read and unravel complex multi-table logic, nested views, and stored procedures, explain what they produce and why, write queries and safe modifications.
• Experience running recurring financial or operational close cycles (month-end, year-end) with hard deadlines.
• Exceptional attention to detail, with data validation, reconciliation, and correction.
• Proven ability to handle highly sensitive financial and personnel data with discretion.
• Report development experience with at least one enterprise BI platform such as Power BI, Tableau, or Cognos.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work with product managers, business analysts, and senior stakeholders.
• Ability to own long-running processes independently with minimal supervision.
• Strong diagnostic ability: trace root causes rather than patch symptoms.
• Demonstrated habit of documenting processes, decisions, and fixes in writing.

Responsibilities

• Own recurring operational reporting and data processes across firm financial and HR data domains, from daily validation through month-end and year-end close.
• Read, analyze, and understand complex SQL to explain how reported numbers are produced, diagnose discrepancies, and make targeted corrections.
• Monitor daily data validation reporting and coordinate with business analysts to fix discrepancies before month-end close.
• Execute month-end and year-end close activities, including reconciliations and year-end reporting deliverables.
• Prepare and distribute highly confidential deliverables for firm leadership with discretion.
• Develop and maintain reports in the firm's BI platforms (Power BI, Cognos) and support legacy Crystal reports.
• Translate organizational and system changes into data/report updates with product management.
• Trace data issues to source systems and coordinate with data engineering and system owners.
• Maintain documentation and step-by-step procedures for recurring processes.
• Respond to ad hoc analysis and data requests with fast, accurate turnaround.
• Reduce manual work through automation and improved queries.

Skills

SQL analysis

Data validation

Attention to detail

Communication

Problem solving

End-to-end ownership

Discretion with sensitive data

Education

Bachelor's degree in Data Analytics

Tools

Power BI

Tableau

Cognos

Crystal Reports

SSIS

Databricks

Azure SQL

Job description

The Senior Analytics Engineer leads the recurring reporting and data processes behind several of the firm's most important administrative functions. This role reports to the Business Intelligence Senior Manager and combines hands-on SQL analysis and report development, working with Finance, Accounting, and HR through the firm's product management team. The person in this seat runs processes with hard monthly and annual deadlines, keeps the underlying data accurate, and produces reporting that firm leadership relies on. Strong SQL analysis is the single most important qualification for this role: the ability to read and unravel complex existing SQL matters more than authoring new code. Experience in a law firm or professional services environment is a major plus, and hands-on report development in Power BI, Tableau, or Cognos is highly valued. The ideal candidate is meticulous, discreet with sensitive data, and comfortable owning processes end to end.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Own recurring operational reporting and data processes across firm financial and HR data domains, from daily validation through month-end and year-end close
• Read, analyze, and understand complex SQL (views, nested views, stored procedures) to explain how reported numbers are produced, diagnose discrepancies, and make targeted corrections where needed
• Monitor daily data validation reporting, investigate discrepancies such as conflicting HR records from upstream system changes, and apply corrections, judging which issues must be fixed before month-end close and which can wait; coordinate with the business analysts who track the same reports
• Execute month-end and year-end close activities, including reconciliations and year-end reporting deliverables
• Prepare and distribute highly confidential deliverables for firm leadership with complete accuracy and discretion
• Develop and maintain reports in the firm's BI platforms (Power BI, Cognos) and support remaining legacy Crystal reports
• Work with the firm's product management team to translate organizational and system changes, such as HRIS changes, into data and report updates
• Trace data issues back to their source systems and coordinate corrections with data engineering and system owners
• Maintain clear documentation and step-by-step procedures for all recurring processes so they can be run by others
• Contribute subject-matter knowledge to report modernization efforts, bring consultants up to speed on legacy reports, and validate converted outputs against existing reports
• Respond to ad hoc analysis and data requests from firm leadership and administrative departments with fast, accurate turnaround
• Reduce recurring manual work over time through automation, improved queries, or process changes

Education and/or Experience

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in Data Analytics, Information Systems, Computer Science, Accounting, Finance, or a related field
• A minimum of 5 years of experience as a data analyst, reporting analyst, or in a similar role owning recurring operational data processes
• Expert-level SQL analysis: the ability to read and unravel complex multi-table logic, nested views, and stored procedures, explain what they produce and why, write queries against them, and make targeted, safe modifications when needed
• Demonstrated experience running recurring financial or operational close cycles (month-end, year-end) against hard deadlines
• Exceptional attention to detail, with a track record in data validation, reconciliation, and correction
• Proven ability to handle highly sensitive financial and personnel data with discretion and sound judgment
• Report development experience with at least one enterprise BI platform such as Power BI, Tableau, or Cognis
• Excellent communication skills, comfortable working with product managers, business analysts, and senior administrative stakeholders
• Ability to own long-running processes independently, with minimal supervision
• Strong diagnostic ability: a track record of tracing an incorrect number through interconnected systems to root cause, rather than patching the symptom
• A demonstrated habit of documenting processes, decisions, and fixes in writing as the work happens

Preferred:

• Experience in a law firm or professional services environment is strongly preferred
• Familiarity with legal industry financial and HR systems, such as Elite 3E, Workday, or comparable platforms
• Experience with Crystal Reports, including maintaining or retiring legacy reports
• Report development experience across more than one BI platform (Power BI, Tableau, Cognis)
• Familiarity with SSIS or similar ETL and scheduled job frameworks, including troubleshooting failed or partial loads
• Exposure to confidential financial or HR data domains, such as payroll or compensation
• Familiarity with cloud data platforms such as Databricks or Azure SQL
• Experience documenting processes in a shared knowledge base such as Confluence
• Experience supporting report platform migrations or system transitions
• SQL performance tuning skills, such as reading execution plans, are a plus

Other Skills and Abilities: The following will also be required of the successful candidate

• Strong organizational skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Good judgment
• Strong interpersonal communication skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Able to work harmoniously and effectively with others
• Able to preserve confidentiality and exercise discretion
• Able to work under pressure
• Able to manage multiple projects with competing deadlines and priorities

#LI-KG2 #LI-Hybrid

Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship, now or in the future.

The target salary range for this role is: $98,300 - $145,000 if located in Illinois.

Salaries vary by location and are based on numerous factors, including, but not limited to, the relevant market, skills, experience, and education of the selected candidate.

Our compensation package also includes bonus eligibility and a comprehensive benefits program.

Benefits information can be found at Sidley.com/Benefits.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the Duties and Responsibilities above satisfactorily and meet the requirements.

The requirements listed above are representative of the minimum knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. If you need such an accommodation, please email [e-mail] (current employees should contact Human Resources).

Sidley Austin LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Sidley is an elite global law firm with a known reputation of deploying innovative strategies to achieve powerful results. Business professionals are essential to the firm’s ability to deliver the highest quality legal services to our clients. We are always looking for talented, motivated individuals who thrive in a performance-driven culture to join our team.

Sidley employs approximately 2,300 lawyers working with our clients in complex transactional, restructuring, crisis management, investigation, regulatory, and litigation matters.

Our 160 years of perspective and reach are truly global, supported by 21 offices strategically situated in key commercial, regulatory, and financial centers across the world.

Our lawyers and business professionals, fluent in more than 75 languages, possess the cultural awareness and cross-border legal acumen needed to bring clarity to a dynamic business landscape.