Lead Software Engineer

Job Title: Lead Software Engineer

Location: Chicago, IL only (hybrid, 3 days onsite / 2 remote)

Employment Type: Permanent, full-time (exempt)

Openings: 3 (new headcount)

Target Compensation: $122,900 to $169,000

About The Company Our client is a leading global law firm whose software engineering team builds enterprise workflow automation and AI-powered applications for its legal practices and business functions.

Job Summary The Lead Software Engineer takes technical ownership of full-stack applications built on React, .NET, Next.js and Azure. This is a hands-on leadership role: you will write and review code, set engineering standards, make architecture decisions, lead proofs of concept and mentor engineers. Current projects include enterprise workflow automation (billing, invoicing, HR notifications, M&A workflows, pricing automation), AI-powered litigation applications and converting internally built applications into enterprise-grade software.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead design and delivery of full-stack applications on .NET, React/Next.js and Azure, from architecture through production support.
• Set standards for code quality, testing, performance and security through code authorship and review.
• Lead technical planning, solution design and proofs of concept.
• Integrate GenAI capabilities including LLM features, RAG pipelines, semantic search and agentic workflows.
• Mentor engineers through pairing, design reviews and feedback.
• Partner with product managers, architects and business stakeholders.
• Own production reliability, observability and incident response; partner with DevOps on CI/CD and container platforms.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree preferred, or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of software engineering experience, as a current or recent Lead Software Engineer or a Senior Engineer with leadership responsibilities.
• 2-3+ years of technical leadership: mentoring, code reviews, technical planning, architecture and POCs.
• Full-stack: .NET (C#) and React or Next.js.
• Microsoft Azure: App Service, Container Apps/AKS, Azure SQL, Service Bus, Azure OpenAI; has built production applications in Azure from the ground up.
• System design, cloud architecture, REST/GraphQL APIs, microservices and distributed applications.
• SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Cosmos DB or similar; CI/CD with Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Workflow automation platforms such as n8n or Temporal.
• AI-assisted development tools such as Claude Code or Codex.
• Enterprise software development experience; production GenAI features.

Work Arrangement Chicago-based, hybrid with 3 days onsite per week. Final-round interview is onsite.

Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship, now or in the future.