About Kirkland & Ellis At Kirkland & Ellis, we don't just meet the standard for legal excellence - we set it. Our culture is built on teamwork, ingenuity and an unwavering commitment to continuous growth. We tackle the most sophisticated legal challenges with bold ideas and innovative solutions, powered by the exceptional experience and ambition of our 7,000+ people, including 4,000+ attorneys, across 23 offices worldwide. Our dedicated professionals share our lawyers' commitment to excellence and show up each day to do meaningful work that helps drive global business, investment and innovation forward.
What You'll Do Are you passionate about optimizing cutting-edge legal technology and driving seamless system performance in a fast-paced, high-impact environment?
As a Senior Application Engineer I, you'll play a critical role within the Technology team's Litigation & Practice Delivery function, ensuring advanced legal applications are configured, integrated, and operating at peak performance. You'll collaborate closely with internal stakeholders and external vendors to enhance e-discovery and litigation technology solutions, enabling teams to work more efficiently and effectively. This is an opportunity to serve as a trusted technical expert, influence system strategy, and help shape how technology supports complex legal work.
- Advanced Solution Configuration: Partner with the Litigation Practice Technology team to design and configure sophisticated application solutions that meet evolving business needs.
- Systems Integration Leadership: Lead the integration of data across cloud and on-premises environments into Software as a Service (SaaS) platform, ensuring seamless data flow and usability.
- Vendor Collaboration: Build strong relationships with technology vendors, providing guidance to align tools with organizational standards and maximize performance.
- Technical Support Excellence: Deliver Level 3 application support and take ownership of resolving complex Level 2 issues, ensuring minimal disruption to business operations.
- System Enhancements: Oversee upgrades, migrations, and system improvements, ensuring alignment with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Governance & Compliance: Uphold strict security, governance, and compliance standards across all supported applications.
- Documentation & Knowledge Management: Develop and maintain clear, comprehensive documentation for system configurations, integrations, and troubleshooting processes.
- Subject Matter Expertise: Act as a go-to expert for litigation technology projects, providing insight and direction to cross-functional teams.
- Operational Support Leadership: Support day-to-day operations, including participation in an on-call rotation with senior team members.
What You'll Bring- Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent hands-on experience.
- Experience: 8+ years of experience in advanced application support, configuration, or innovation-focused technical roles.
- Technical Expertise: Strong knowledge of e-discovery platforms (e.g., Relativity Server, RelativityOne, Reveal Cloud, Brainspace), as well as familiarity with emerging AI (Artificial Intelligence) and automation technologies.
- Integration Skills: Experience with Application Programming Interface (API) integration, data integration, Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) processes, and tools such as Microsoft SQL, Linux, REST APIs, and PowerShell scripting.
- Problem Solving & Judgment: Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot complex technical challenges and make sound decisions in fast-moving environments.
- Communication & Collaboration: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to build strong relationships across technical and non-technical teams.
- Organization & Drive: Highly self-motivated, detail-oriented, and skilled at managing multiple priorities while maintaining quality and accuracy.
- Leadership & Influence: Ability to guide stakeholders, mentor others, and contribute to a culture of teamwork, accountability, and continuous improvement.
If you're excited to elevate legal technology, solve complex challenges, and make a measurable impact as a Senior Application Engineer I, we'd love to hear from you!
Compensation The base salary range below represents the low and high end of the salary range for this position in Chicago. This range may differ based on your geographic location and cost of living considerations. At Kirkland & Ellis, we consider compensation more than just a base salary. We offer an exceptional range of flexible benefits including comprehensive healthcare, paid time off, and retirement. We also offer personal support and tailored learning and development opportunities all designed to help you realize your full potential both in life and at work.
Compensation Range:
Chicago: $133,000 - $166,000
How to Apply Thank you for your interest in Kirkland & Ellis LLP. To complete an application and submit your resume, please click "Apply Now."
Don't meet every job requirement? That's okay! If you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't perfectly fit every qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right person for this role or others at Kirkland.
Equal Employment Opportunity All employment decisions, including the recruiting, hiring, placement, training availability, promotion, compensation, evaluation, disciplinary actions, and termination of employment (if necessary) are made without regard to the employee's race, color, creed, religion, sex, pregnancy or childbirth, personal appearance, family responsibilities, sexual orientation or preference, gender identity, political affiliation, source of income, place of residence, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, marital status, military veteran status, unfavorable discharge from military service, physical or mental disability, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law. #LI-Hybrid #LI-SM1