Senior Enterprise Data Architect

Saul Ewing LLP; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision

401(k) retirement plan

Paid time off

Parental leave

Learning & development programs

Flexible spending accounts

Job summary

Saul Ewing LLP seeks a Senior Enterprise Data Architect to lead enterprise data architecture, governance, analytics, and platform engineering firmwide. This role shapes data strategy across finance, HR, CRM, and operations, governing data warehouses, ETL/ELT pipelines, and Azure cloud capabilities.

The candidate will drive data quality, metadata standards, and BI enablement, reporting, and collaboration with IT and business stakeholders while mentoring the team.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience in data architecture.
• 7+ years building enterprise data warehouses and analytics platforms.
• Expertise in SQL Server administration, data modeling, and ETL/ELT development.

Responsibilities

• Design and govern enterprise data architecture, data warehouse, and analytics platforms.
• Lead SQL Server administration, performance tuning, and DB design across systems.
• Develop dimensional models and enterprise data structures.
• Architect and implement ETL/ELT pipelines and API/data integrations.
• Evaluate Azure data technologies and cloud data platform capabilities.
• Establish data governance policies, metadata standards, and MDG practices.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to enable scalable BI across departments.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to IT teams.

Skills

Data architecture

SQL Server

Data governance

ETL/ELT pipelines

Azure Data

Stakeholder comms

Dimensional modeling

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS or related

Job description

Saul Ewing is seeking a Senior Enterprise Data Architect to serve as the firm's senior technical authority for enterprise data architecture, governance, analytics, and platform engineering. Reporting to the Director of Development Services, this individual will lead the strategic design and administration of the firm's SQL Server environments, enterprise data warehouse, ETL/ELT pipelines, and Azure cloud capabilities while establishing data governance standards and delivering scalable business intelligence solutions across financial, operational, HR, CRM, and practice management platforms firmwide.

Candidates must be able to commute to a Saul Ewing office two days per week.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Data Architecture & Platform Engineering

• Design and govern the firm's enterprise data architecture, including data warehouse, data integration, and analytics platforms
• Lead SQL Server environment administration, performance tuning, and database architecture across enterprise systems
• Develop and maintain dimensional data models, entity-relationship models, and enterprise data structures
• Architect and implement ETL/ELT pipelines, API integrations, and data feeds connecting core firm systems
• Evaluate and integrate Azure data technologies and cloud data platform capabilities into the firm's data strategy

Data Governance & Standards

• Establish and maintain authoritative system-of-record designations, data definitions, and metadata standards across the enterprise
• Implement and evolve master data management (MDM) practices, data ownership models, and data quality frameworks
• Define and enforce data governance policies in accordance with firm information security and compliance requirements
• Collaborate with stakeholders to ensure consistent, reliable data across financial, HR, CRM, and operational platforms

Reporting & Analytics Enablement

• Lead the strategy, design, and delivery of the firm's reporting platforms and business intelligence infrastructure
• Partner with firm leadership and department heads to translate business requirements into scalable data solutions
• Improve and expand access to reliable business information to support executive and operational decision-making
• Assess emerging data technologies and recommend adoption strategies aligned with the firm's long-term data roadmap

Collaboration & Technical Leadership

• Serve as the firm's senior technical resource on all enterprise data matters, acting as a trusted advisor to IT and business stakeholders
• Engage with vendors, system integrators, and professional services partners to evaluate and implement data solutions
• Document data architectures, integration specifications, and governance standards to support institutional knowledge
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship across the IT team on data-related disciplines

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS REQUIRED:

• Proven experience designing enterprise data warehouses using dimensional modeling methodologies (Kimball, Inmon, or hybrid)
• Demonstrated experience with ETL/ELT development, data pipeline architecture, and API-based system integrations
• Strong knowledge of data governance principles, master data management, metadata standards, and data quality practices
• Experience supporting enterprise systems spanning finance, HR, CRM, and operations within a professional services environment
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts for non-technical audiences

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field; equivalent professional experience will be considered
• 7+ years of progressive experience in enterprise data architecture, data engineering, or a closely related discipline
• Expert-level proficiency in Microsoft SQL Server administration, database design, and advanced T-SQL development

Preferred

• Experience in a legal, professional services, or similarly complex, multi-office organization
• Familiarity with legal technology platforms and practice management or financial management systems
• Microsoft Azure or other relevant cloud data platform certifications
• Experience with modern BI reporting platforms and analytics visualization tools
• Knowledge of information security frameworks and data privacy compliance practices

Saul Ewing fosters a people first environment and one of the ways this is displayed is through its generous benefits. The firm is committed to offering a wide range of benefits to its benefit eligible employees to achieve wellness in all aspects of life, including:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Flexible spending accounts (FSA)
• Health savings account (HSA)
• Generous paid time off
• 401(k) retirement savings plan
• Competitive salaries and year-end discretionary bonuses
• Paid leave options, including parental
• Saul Ewing University (learning and development programs taught by the firm's training department)
• Family formation benefits

COMPENSATION:

The pay for this position will be determined based on relevant skills, experience, education, external market data, internal equity, and other job-related factors. The anticipated pay range for this role is between $140,000 - $170,000