Technology Database Engineer

About Cooley:

Working at Cooley provides an opportunity for collaboration, challenge, and reward. We are all part of one firm dedicated to maintaining a diverse workplace that values and celebrates differences. The unique abilities and perspectives of every individual at Cooley create a rewarding workplace and are key to what makes us Cooley. Our people-first culture philosophy and firmwide commitment to inclusion and wellness are central to our success and the driving forces behind our global growth. Our cooperative spirit is the trademark of the Cooley culture, and every employee in every department is instrumental to the success of the firm. Cooley is devoted to continually advancing our standing as one of the world’s greatest law firms, and we believe part of that is achieved when we live up to the promise of making our firm a great place to work.

Position summary:

Cooley Technology embraces a culture of customer service excellences, and all members of the department are expected to move this agenda forward. To that end, the Technology Database Engineer is expected to recognize that we are here at Cooley as a service organization first and foremost and will be evaluated on this requirement equal in importance to the technical or operational responsibilities outlined later in this document. This role requires a service-oriented mindset, high sense of ownership of the problems and requests assigned, focus on managing and resolving issues in a timely fashion, establishing, and maintaining communication with technology customers to keep them updated with status of their requests, initiating, and performing changes on the production systems and proactively escalating any issues that cannot be resolved within the established timeframes.

The Technology Database Engineer serves as the administrator, technical expert, and subject matter expert (SME) for the firm's enterprise database platforms and other enterprise applications across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments. This role is responsible for the administration, performance, security, and lifecycle management of SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, and related data platforms, while supporting application integrations, cloud services, and business-critical systems. Working closely with application owners, infrastructure teams, vendors, and business stakeholders, the Technology Database Engineer ensures database environments are secure, reliable, scalable, and aligned with firm objectives. The role also provides expertise in database architecture, data integration, cloud connectivity, AWS data transfers with Qlik, and the operational management of enterprise database and application ecosystems. Specific duties include, but are not limited to the following:

Position responsibilities:

• Serve as the technical owner, database administrator, and Technical Subject Matter Expert (Technical SME) for the firm's enterprise database platforms, data services, and database-dependent business applications across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments.
• Administer and support Microsoft SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, Elite/3E application servers, SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), Power BI, Qlik, Contract Express, Cooley GO, financial systems, and other business-critical database and reporting platforms.
• Manage all aspects of database administration, including installation, configuration, security, performance tuning, capacity planning, high availability, backup and recovery, patching, upgrades, migrations, and ongoing platform optimization.
• Serve as the firm's technical expert for database architecture, SQL Server technologies, cloud database services, data integration, reporting platforms, and application interoperability.
• Design, implement, and support database integrations, application connectivity, data synchronization, reporting services, and AWS data transfer solutions with Qlik and other enterprise platforms.
• Partner with business stakeholders, developers, infrastructure teams, vendors, and application owners to deliver secure, scalable, and reliable database and application solutions.
• Serve as the Tier 3 escalation point for complex database, reporting, application, performance, availability, and integration-related issues, providing advanced troubleshooting and root cause analysis.
• Lead database and application implementations, upgrades, migrations, modernization initiatives, decommissioning projects, and production releases, including planning, testing, deployment, and post-implementation support.
• Coordinate vendor support, maintenance activities, support escalations, platform enhancements, and lifecycle management while ensuring database environments meet security, compliance, availability, and business continuity requirements.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation, operational procedures, runbooks, standards, and disaster recovery plans; evaluate emerging technologies and recommend improvements that enhance platform reliability, efficiency, and long-term strategy.
• 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
• 4+ years of hands-on experience administering Microsoft SQL Server and supporting database-driven enterprise applications in on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments
• Experience administering Microsoft SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, Windows Server, IIS, and related database technologies
• Experience designing, implementing, and supporting highly available database environments, including storage, networking, backup and recovery, disaster recovery, and business continuity solutions
• Strong knowledge of SQL Server architecture, database design, data modeling, relational database concepts, and logical and physical database schema design
• Proficiency in T-SQL, stored procedures, database security, access controls, backup and recovery methodologies, and SQL Server high-availability technologies, including Always On Availability Groups (AOAG)
• Experience with database performance monitoring, troubleshooting, capacity planning, optimization, and performance tuning
• Experience implementing and supporting database integrations, ETL processes, data synchronization, application connectivity, and data movement across enterprise platforms
• Experience administering and supporting reporting and analytics platforms, including SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), Power BI, Qlik, or similar technologies
• Ability to participate in after-hours maintenance, production support activities, and critical incident response as required

Preferred:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Microsoft SQL Server, Azure Database, Azure, or related technical certifications
• Experience supporting Azure cloud services, Azure SQL Database, hybrid database environments, and cloud-based data integrations
• Experience supporting enterprise applications such as Elite/3E, Contract Express, iManage, Inprotech, litigation support systems, eDiscovery platforms, financial systems, legal technology platforms, or other database-driven business applications
• Experience with database monitoring and administration tools such as SQL Sentry, SolarWinds, Redgate, or similar technologies
• Experience leading database upgrades, migrations, modernization initiatives, server decommissioning projects, and platform lifecycle management activities
• Prior law firm, professional services, or other highly regulated enterprise environments, with strong technical documentation and operational runbook development experience

Competencies:

• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills with the ability to identify root causes and deliver effective solutions
• Customer-focused with a commitment to delivering high-quality service and building trusted relationships. Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with technical and non-technical audiences
• Strong collaboration and interpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively across teams, departments, and vendor organizations
• Demonstrates accountability, ownership, sound judgment, and a results-oriented approach to work.
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and adapt to changing business needs
• Self-motivated and able to work independently while contributing positively to team success.
• Demonstrates professionalism, integrity, reliability, and a commitment to continuous learning and improvement

Reporting to this position: No direct reports.

Skills

Design, Planning, Technology Expertise, Data Synchronization, Database Systems, AWS, Data Integration, Database Architectures, Database Administration, Financial Systems, Database Reporting, Performance Tuning, Capacity Planning, Lead implementation, Deployment, Enterprise Database System Administration