Senior Data Architect, Legal Operations

Apple • Cupertino, CA

6d

About The Position

Imagine what you could do here. At Apple, new ideas have a way of becoming great
products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. Bring passion and
dedication to your job and there's no telling what you could accomplish. Are you
passionate about building data foundations that power intelligent systems and
strategic decision-making? Do you thrive at the intersection of data
architecture, governance, and enterprise transformation? Can you translate
complex data challenges into elegant, scalable solutions? The Applied Data
Science team within Legal Operations is building the data foundation that powers
AI and analytics for a global legal organization. We're transforming how legal
work gets done — and it starts with trusted, connected data. The Principal Data
Architect leads the Data Management Office (DMO) and owns the data architecture
vision that makes AI accurate and analytics reliable.

The Senior Data Architect owns the data architecture vision for Legal Operations
and leads the Data Management Office. You will design and implement the semantic
layer, unified data model, and data governance frameworks that make data
trusted, connected, and ready for AI and analytics consumption. This role
combines strategic architecture leadership with hands-on technical work and team
leadership.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Information Systems, or related field (or equivalent experience); Master's degree preferred
• 10+ years of experience in data architecture, data engineering, or related fields, with at least 4 years in a senior architecture or leadership role
• Deep expertise in enterprise data architecture including data modeling, dimensional modeling, data lake design, and ETL/ELT patterns
• Strong experience with cloud data platforms, particularly Snowflake
• Proficiency in SQL and Python for data engineering, transformation, and automation
• Experience with data integration and transformation tools (dbt, Fivetran, or similar)
• Experience designing and implementing entity resolution, master data management, or data quality solutions
• Proven experience leading and mentoring data teams
• Excellent communication skills — able to translate data architecture concepts for technical and non-technical audiences

Nice To Haves

• Experience building data architectures for legal tech or legal operations environments
• Familiarity with legal systems including matter management, CLM, eBilling, or document management systems
• Experience with semantic layer technologies (dbt Semantic Layer, Cube, AtScale), knowledge graphs (Neo4j), or ontology design
• Understanding of how data architecture enables AI/ML systems, including RAG, embeddings, vector databases, and context management
• Experience with data observability and quality tools (Monte Carlo, Great Expectations, or similar)
• Knowledge of data privacy, compliance, and governance frameworks relevant to legal data

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees