Data Scientist

Job Description

At K&L Gates, we are looking for smart, imaginative and hard-working people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and ideas to join us.  Perhaps our search for talented visionaries and your search for important and impactful work lead to the same place.

As a member of K&L Gates Information Technology Department, the Data Scientist will lead and implement the technology and analytical aspects of the firm's data function. This role involves developing data-driven strategies and focusing on AI solutions to enhance decision-making, reporting, and operational efficiencies. This position will also managing a high-performing team of Data Architects, Data Engineers, and Data Analysis.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS
The Data Scientist will report to the Director of Enterprise Application and work closely with the Global Information Technology Teams. Building strong relationships with direct reports, peer managers, directors, executives, and external vendors is essential. Additionally, the Data Scientist will collaborate with cross-functional teams from Business Development, Finance, HR, Reporting, and Records to ensure alignment and integration of data initiatives.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES
• Collaborates with the firm’s leadership and key stakeholders in all departments to help define the need, vision, strategy, and roadmap for the firm’s data initiatives.
• Launch and lead a high-performing data team to support and enhance business decision capabilities.
• Develop data-driven strategies to enhance operations, improve decision-making, optimize AI solutions, and boost business efficiency.
• Develop and enhance the firm's data infrastructure to be modern, flexible, and of industry-leading quality.
• Supervise the creation and maintenance of reliable data pipelines and workflows for the effective collection, storage, and analysis of data.
• Unite with Data Governance, Security, and IT Operations to enforce data governance, security, and privacy protocols on all data use and consumption.
• Participate and manage requirements gathering process – collect, review, analyze, evaluate, estimate, prioritize and document business requirements for supported initiatives and enterprise/team data projects.
• Design and implement data insight products and services that can be operationalized at scale, enabling other teams and departments to leverage them effectively.
• Ensure data science outputs are practical, cost-effective, and easy to integrate into daily business operations.
• Become a catalyst for change and adoption by collaborating with teams (E-Discovery, Legal Operations, Client Growth, Matter Planning, Finance, Knowledge and Innovations, IT) to embed data-driven practices into business processes.
• Drive innovation by supporting the product team in incorporating AI and machine learning in a data-first manner to automate legal processes and improve efficiency
• Collaborate with the other elements of the firm’s data function, including data discovery, knowledge, and data services to drive the firm’s data initiatives
• Effectively convey complex data science concepts and insights to non-technical stakeholders in a clear and actionable manner.
• Act as the main liaison between business units and other technical teams to ensure that the data strategy aligns with the overarching goals of the entire enterprise.
• Acts as technical owner of the solutions (applications / software / code / workflow / pipelines) by developing and recommending configuration options or coding best practices that adheres to industry security and best practices guidelines of assigned solutions.
• Advocates for solutions that prioritize system stability, reliability, and scalability, aligned with the firm's goals over individual client or user preferences.
• Owns the data discovery process. Identify, acquire, and integrate data sources (internal and external) to support analytics and other firm use-cases.
• Serves as the technical data owner for all the firm's data assets and collaborate with responsible parties to establish a unified data approach.
• Designs the data platform with the goal of creating a unified data ecosystem by including the pertinent data patterns and points from firm systems.
• Facilitates the enforcement of the firm’s data governance by designing systems and procedures to ensure enterprise-level compliance with data strategy.
• Develops automated data processing and analytics pipelines to ensure continuous updates and comprehensive analysis.
• Exemplify the principles of the Enterprise Applications Team, promoting a culture characterized by collaboration, innovation, adherence to enterprise processes, and a focus on achieving results.
• Participate as a member of the change control process, with the responsibility of reviewing and approving solution design, engineering, and code. Ensure that all solutions are stable, secure, compliant, and highly available, thereby enhancing the firm's business operations.
• Define team roles and responsibilities, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives.
• Recruit, train, and mentor a diverse data science team, including data engineers, data architects, data analysts, and other roles as deemed appropriate.
• Serve as a direct supervisor by offering mentoring, technical and social guidance, and both positive and constructive managerial feedback.
• Be a champion of career advancement by encouraging training, professional development, and participation in seminars.
• Serves on the Enterprise Applications Department Management team, reporting metrics, updating project statuses, creating work plans, assigning tasks, and managing incident and request queues.
• Supervise daily activities of direct reports, ensuring adherence to assigned work hours and monitoring compliance with all firm and department policies. Manage staffing coverage and on-call rotations, and review and process time logs and time off requests.
• In coordination with the immediate supervisor and human resources, participate in hiring processes, performance evaluations, counseling sessions, terminations, and other employee lifecycle events.

ADDITIONAL DUTIES

EXPERIENCE SKILLS REQUIRED
• A minimum of a bachelor’s degree in computer science, statistics, applied mathematics, or a related field
• Ability to multi-task, lead and mentor engineers/developers, work under pressure, and handle interruptions while maintaining flexibility in work assignments.
• Aptitude to effectively communicate verbally, in writing, and interact with diverse personalities while maintaining a professional attitude.
• A minimum of 8+ years of demonstrated experience in data science or data engineering/architecture roles working in big data platforms.
• A minimum of 5+ years of experience working for a professional service organization with relevant people supervision and project management experience.
• Proven expertise in managing large-scale data projects, ideally within the technology sector or highly regulated industries such as finance or healthcare.
• Experienced in designing solutions that comply with global data handling and regulatory standards, including legal-specific standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, E-Discovery, and other regional privacy standards.
• Possess a level of excellence and familiarity with data modeling tools such as Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, or other industry leaders.
• Deep knowledge of the legal industry, especially in areas such as legal financial systems, legal analytics, and legal operations.
• Demonstrated knowledge working with a wide range of cloud technologies, preferably in in the Microsoft/Azure stack.
• Proven track record in overseeing cross-functional projects that encompass engineering, data engineering, and operational business units
• Advanced knowledge of KCS (Knowledge Center Support) methodology
• Possesses applicable industry certifications in Data Science/Engineering, such as the DP-100 (Microsoft Azure Data Scientist Associate) and DP-203 (Microsoft Azure Data Engineer Associate)
• Experience in influencing and collaborating with multiple departments/business units to drive successful outcomes
• Expertise and familiarity with distributed systems and organizational structures.

ADDITIONAL ABILITIES REQUIRED
• Flexibility to work scheduled nights and weekends, as needed.
• Effectively present ideas, projects, problems, or solutions verbally and in writing to medium-sized groups, and lead meetings when needed.
• Ability to work on/with a team where other members can be in different offices and/or time zones.
• Ability to travel, as required
• After orientation, exhibit proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite, iManage and other firm applications
• This job operates in an office setting and is largely sedentary, requiring the routine use of a computer and other standard office equipment.
• Manual dexterity required for typing, reaching and lifting of small objects, and operating office equipment.
• Frequent computer, video conferencing, and telephone use at workstation up to eight hours at a time.
• Capability to work at fast pace with unscheduled interruptions.
• Stay updated on technologies to improve configurations, troubleshoot issues, find root causes, and resolve them independently.
• Ability to perform job functions in an office setting or suitable remote working location.

Compensation Salary $143,000 - $286,000

The compensation salary for this position will be determined during the interview process and will vary based on multiple factors, including but not limited to prior experience, relevant expertise, current business needs, and market factors.

In accordance with the Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act, qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered.

ABOUT THE FIRM

K&L Gates is a fully integrated global law firm with lawyers located across five continents in more than 40 offices. We have experienced dramatic growth in the past decade and now rank among the largest U.S. based law firms in the world.  We take pride in constantly striving for innovation, imagination and an entrepreneurial spirit. We come up with big ideas and then roll up our sleeves to get the job done, guiding our clients through their most complex issues in a variety of industry sectors and across multiple regions of the world. 

The industry recognition the firm has garnered emanates from the foundation of a global community aligned on behalf of our clients. The people at K&L Gates are committed to working together to create a legacy for each other, the firm, our clients, and the communities in which we serve. We thrive in an inclusive and socially conscious environment that embraces diversity and takes a holistic approach to the career evolution of all our professionals.

For more information or to view other job opportunities, please click here to go back to our careers page.

Notice: We participate in E-Verify in certain Firm locations for purposes of verifying employment eligibility.

BENEFITS

K&L Gates offers our personnel a comprehensive suite of benefits to help meet your needs now and in the future. Depending on your eligibility, options for full-time personnel include:

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

The Firm is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of the Firm that employment decisions shall be based on merit, qualifications and competence. Employment practices will not be influenced or affected by virtue of a person’s race (including traits associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles such as afros, braids, locks, and twists), religion, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, gender, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, familial status, domestic violence victim status, military and veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. This policy governs all aspects of employment including, without limitation, recruiting, hiring, compensation, benefits, promotion, assignment, and dismissal. In addition, it is the Firm’s policy to provide an environment that is free of prohibited harassment of any kind including, without limitation, that which is based on sex, race, age, disability, ethnic background, or any other category protected by law (including the categories listed above). The Firm complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please contact askHR@klgates.com.