Senior Data Application Engineer

Cooley AI•Washington, DC

3d•$220,000 - $250,000

About The Position

Cooley AI is seeking a Senior Data Application Engineer to join the Innovation team. Cooley AI is the wholly-owned subsidiary of Cooley LLP, serving as the frontier development arm of a leading technology law firm. Our mission is to integrate best-in-class technology practices into the legal domain, guiding our firm and the legal industry into the AI era. All Cooley AI employees are Cooley employees seconded to Cooley AI. As a leading technology law firm, Cooley is committed to pioneering the digital practice of law through modern data applications, automation, and Lakehouse-native tooling. The Senior Data Application Engineer will be instrumental in building and supporting interactive data applications on the firm’s Databricks platform. This role will empower users to access insights, workflows, and AI-powered capabilities more efficiently. Working closely with product owners and architects, the Senior Data Application Engineer will deliver intuitive, reliable, and secure data applications utilizing Databricks Appkit, AI-assisted development tools, and GitHub-based engineering practices.

Requirements

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.
Ability to travel, as required.
5+ years of experience directly applicable experience (e.g., data engineering, data application).
Experience with front-end development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript).
Familiarity with React, Vue, Angular or other modern JavaScript frameworks.
Basic SQL skills and understanding of relational databases.
Experience building or maintaining web applications, websites, or content-driven platforms.
Familiarity with using GitHub for version control, branching, and pull requests.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, or related discipline.
Experience with Python or another scripting language.
Exposure to Databricks, cloud platforms (Azure/AWS/GCP), or Lakehouse concepts.
Familiarity with REST APIs, JSON, and basic integration patterns.
Experience with VS Code or similar development environments.
Experience related to data engineering, analytics, or application development.
Experience with low-code/no-code automation tools.
Understanding of UI/UX principles and accessibility best practices.
Exposure to AI-assisted development, RAG workflows, or data-driven application design.

Responsibilities

Build and enhance interactive data applications using Databricks Appkit, AI-assisted coding tools (e.g., Claude Code), and optional local development in VS Code, following GitHub-based version control and pull-request workflows.
Implement UI components, data visualizations, and user-facing features that integrate seamlessly with Databricks data sources and Lakehouse-native APIs.
Support the development of internal tools that streamline workflows, improve data accessibility, and enhance user experience across legal and business teams.
Participate in code reviews, testing, and documentation to ensure application reliability, maintainability, and adherence to firm standards.
Troubleshoot application issues, perform root-cause analysis, and implement fixes under the guidance of senior engineers.
Maintain and update content-driven applications, ensuring accuracy, usability, and compliance with firm policies.
Contribute to internal documentation, user guides, and knowledge bases for supported applications.
Assist senior engineers in building and maintaining ingestion, transformation, and integration workflows on the Databricks platform.
Write SQL queries to retrieve, validate, and prepare data for use in data apps.
Monitor data jobs and application integrations, escalating issues when needed.
Support data quality efforts through validation checks, structured testing, and documentation updates.
Learn foundational concepts of Lakehouse architecture, Delta Lake, and Databricks-native development practice.
Work with Data Platform team members to understand data consumption patterns and ensure applications present information clearly and accurately.
Collaborate with Product Owners to translate business requirements into actionable development tasks and user stories.
Partner with Data Architects and platform teams to ensure applications align with governance, security, and architectural standards.
Engage with Technology, Security, and Legal stakeholders to ensure applications meet firm compliance and access-control requirements.
Participate in Agile ceremonies (standups, sprint planning, retrospectives) and contribute to team delivery commitments.
Communicate progress, blockers, and application updates to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Use AI-assisted development tools (e.g., Claude Code) to accelerate coding, documentation, and troubleshooting.
Support the development of lightweight automation workflows using Databricks, low-code/no-code tools, or API-based integrations.
Assist in preparing structured content and data for AI-driven tools, internal search experiences, and RAG-style applications.
Explore emerging Databricks capabilities and bring forward ideas for improving internal processes through automation or app development.
Stay current on trends in web development, data applications, and AI-assisted engineering.
All other duties as assigned or required.