Open Position

Enterprise Applications Engineer – Aderant & Legal Technology Systems

Status

Exempt

Title

Enterprise Applications Engineer – Aderant & Legal Technology Systems​

Reports To

Chief Technology Officer

Department

Information Technology

Location

Remote

Salary

$145,000 - $165,000
Click Here to Apply

Position Requirements

The ideal candidate is a client-focused, technically versatile professional who combines deep expertise in Aderant Sierra with a broad understanding of legal technology ecosystems and underlying systems infrastructure. They bring a solutions-first mindset to both the design and engineering of enterprise financial application environments as well as the day-to-day administration of those systems. They can successfully navigate the broader challenges of systems integration, workflow optimization, and infrastructure stability. This individual exercises sound independent judgment to design, troubleshoot, and resolve complex issues across financial applications, databases, integrations, and infrastructure, while minimizing disruption to attorneys and professional staff — and while successfully driving the long-term architecture and continuous improvement of the technology platforms. With strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills, they effectively bridge the gap between client firms, IT, and vendor partners, translating business needs into practical, lasting technical solutions with the highest standards of accuracy and confidentiality.

This role demands an individual who is not only an Engineer by title but an inventive force within a fast moving startup environment. The ideal candidate is an out of the box thinker who can dissect complex issues, uncover root causes, and craft practical, elegant solutions. Beyond problem solving, this person will have the creative license and autonomy to help architect, expand, and refine the company’s core platform and will shape foundational systems, influence technical direction, and build scalable infrastructure that supports rapid growth.

Position Overview

The Enterprise Applications Engineer is a key, technical resource supporting the Information Technology function. This individual serves as the primary technical authority for Aderant Sierra and the broader legal technology ecosystem across Federate’s portfolio of law firm clients, with a primary focus on the Aderant platform and its integration with both Federate’s systems and client firms’ systems. This role operates as an engineer with a primary focus on design, integrations, reporting, automation, customization, and troubleshooting the underlying infrastructure that supports the Aderant Sierra platform, while also providing day-to-day administration and user support. When appropriate, the Enterprise Applications Engineer will engage with Federate clients to gather requirements, clarify goals, and troubleshoot issues related to system disruptions or project work.
As an Enterprise Applications Engineer, this role is focused on building, integrating, and maintaining the large-scale software applications that employees and client firms rely on, while also engaging with the overall IT infrastructure, hardware, and networks to ensure that all technology works together seamlessly. The position blends the software-centric responsibilities of an applications engineer with the infrastructure-centric responsibilities of a systems engineer and is accountable for the full scope of both disciplines as they relate to Aderant and the broader legal technology stack.

Unlike a traditional in-house IT role, this position supports multiple law firm clients simultaneously, requiring the ability to context-switch across firm environments while maintaining a high standard of accuracy, confidentiality, and responsiveness. This position plays a critical role in maintaining data integrity across financial platforms, designing and supporting the infrastructure those platforms run on, ensuring seamless integrations between Aderant and third-party applications such as ECFX, ProvisionHub, iTimekeep, etc., and supporting the reporting and analytics needs of the Finance and Accounting teams. This engineer translates business needs into actionable technical solutions and advocates on behalf of clients in vendor relationships. The role is deeply embedded in the legal technology ecosystem and is expected to grow in scope as Federate’s client base expands.

Responsibilities & Duties

The main responsibility of the Enterprise Applications Engineer is to design, build, and optimize both the underlying infrastructure and the day-to-day operations of the Aderant Sierra platform, primarily related to the following:

System Administration & Performance Management
Design, evaluate, and troubleshoot the infrastructure supporting Aderant Sierra and related financial systems, including servers, virtualization, connectivity, and network architecture. Administer and support Aderant Sierra environments across multiple client firms, including configuration, job monitoring, and issue resolution. Conduct routine health checks, capacity planning, and performance optimization across application and infrastructure layers. Evaluate new features and legal tech capabilities, recommending improvements aligned to client needs. Maintain strict separation of client environments to ensure data integrity and confidentiality.

User Account & Access Management
Manage user accounts, roles, and permissions across Aderant Sierra and integrated systems. Handle onboarding and offboarding, coordinating access provisioning with client HR and IT teams. Ensure access controls and compliance standards are consistently enforced.

Helpdesk & End-User Support
Act as the primary contact for Aderant Sierra support issues. Troubleshoot and resolve application, workflow, data, and infrastructure issues; escalate to vendors as needed. Provide timely updates to stakeholders. Deliver user training, documentation, and proactive guidance tailored to each client’s workflows.

Workflow Mapping, Customization & Process Improvement
Partner with clients to map financial and operational workflows, identify gaps, and improve efficiency. Design, configure, and customize Aderant Sierra to meet business needs. Document configurations, architecture, and changes for continuity. Design and implement automation to reduce manual effort and increase accuracy.

System Updates, Release Management & Feature Rollouts
Plan, test, and deploy system updates, patches, and configuration changes with minimal disruption. Lead UAT and quality assurance efforts, including unit-level and regression testing to verify requirements. Manage feature rollouts, including communication, training, and post-launch support. Monitor the Aderant roadmap and maintain environments within vendor support standards. Create release documentation describing changes included in new releases.

Integrations, Reporting & Automation
Design and support integrations between Aderant Sierra and third-party platforms (e.g., ECFX, Intapp, ProvisionHub). Develop and maintain SQL queries, stored procedures, and database objects. Build notifications, reports and dashboards using SSRS and Power BI. Execute ETL processes and support data migrations for onboarding and system transitions. Engage with Aderant application development teams on current infrastructure projects, evaluating existing solutions and providing recommendations.

Vendor Liaison & Client Advocacy
Serve as the main point of contact between clients and technology vendors. Represent client needs in escalations and product discussions, translating technical details into clear guidance. Maintain strong vendor relationships to ensure timely issue resolution. Evaluate third-party solutions and recommend options based on business value.

Infrastructure Stability & Application Architecture
Design, deploy, and evaluate infrastructure supporting financial systems, including servers, connectivity, and network architecture. Provide effective and timely solutions to complex server, storage, network, and application performance and availability issues. Collaborate with IT teams on scalability, reliability, and redundancy. Contribute to application architecture, integrations, and data flow design from the ground up.

In addition to being the designated technical resource for Aderant Sierra, familiarity and support of other law firm apps is required. The Enterprise Applications Engineer will collaborate with Federate IT leadership on technology roadmaps, systems planning, and the evaluation of new platforms and tools for the legal technology stack. This individual will manage multiple projects, resources, and tasks concurrently; help guide clients from design and planning through prototyping and launch; and facilitate critical integration projects and processes. Responsibilities include participating in client onboarding initiatives, new system implementations, and cross-client process improvement efforts, as well as contributing to change management, user enablement, training, and internal documentation to support Federate’s growing service delivery capabilities. Responsibilities may be added, modified, or changed at management discretion.

Essential Skills & Capabilities

  • Deep working knowledge of Aderant Sierra (or Aderant Expert), including system configuration, module support, user administration, and front-end and back-end customization.
  • Strong systems engineering foundation, including working knowledge of Windows Server and/or Linux environments, virtualization platforms (e.g., VMware, Nutanix), Active Directory, networking, and cloud architecture (e.g., AWS, Azure) as they relate to financial application performance, connectivity, and scalability.
  • Strong Microsoft SQL Server proficiency, including the ability to write and optimize complex queries, stored procedures, views, and scripts for data retrieval, reporting, automation, and troubleshooting.
  • Experience designing and supporting financial systems integrations, including data flows and APIs between Aderant and third-party platforms such as ECFX, Intapp, ProvisionHub (TransferHub), etc.
  • Solid understanding of legal billing operations and financial workflows, including prebills, time entry, expense management, collections, and electronic billing (e-billing).
  • Experience developing and maintaining financial and operational reports using SSRS; Power BI for dashboards and data visualization strongly preferred.
  • Ability to perform ETL activities, including data migration, validation, and reconciliation across financial platforms.
  • Scripting and automation experience (e.g., PowerShell, Python, Bash) to support deployment, integration, and systems engineering tasks.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to investigate root causes across application, database, and infrastructure layers.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts clearly to non-technical stakeholders across client Finance, Accounting, and firm leadership.
  • Ability to manage concurrent priorities and context-switch across multiple client environments with accuracy and professionalism.
  • High degree of professionalism, discretion, and ability to handle sensitive financial and client data with strict confidentiality across multiple law firm environments.

Required Qualifications

  • Minimum of 5–7 years of hands-on experience supporting and engineering enterprise financial applications, with direct experience in Aderant Sierra or Aderant Expert strongly required.
  • Prior experience working in a law firm, legal managed services, or professional services environment is required.
  • Demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft SQL Server, including T-SQL scripting, query optimization, stored procedures, and database troubleshooting.
  • Proven experience supporting financial workflows in a legal setting, including billing, time entry, expense management, and financial reporting.
  • Experience designing, coordinating, and executing system upgrades, patches, and configuration changes in collaboration with vendors and IT leadership.
  • Experience designing, maintaining, and troubleshooting integrations and data flows between enterprise platforms and third-party applications including API-based integrations.
  • Ability to develop and maintain SSRS reports and data extracts to support Finance and management reporting needs.
  • Working knowledge of server environments, virtualization, networking, and application infrastructure as they relate to financial application stability and scalability.
  • Strong interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to serve as a liaison between client stakeholders, IT teams, external vendors, and firm leadership.
  • Proven reliability, sound judgment, and the ability to manage sensitive financial information across multiple client environments with the utmost confidentiality.
  • Availability for occasional after-hours, evening, or weekend support as system maintenance and client operational needs require.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Finance, Accounting, or a related field; equivalent professional experience will be considered.
  • Hands-on experience with Aderant-integrated applications, including iTimekeep, File-Opening (Paperless Billing, Intake, or Conflicts), BillBlast, Expenses and PreBill Viewer.
  • Familiarity with Aderant Design Studio, DocuDraft, and Expert Administration tools.
  • Experience with Power BI, including data modeling, dataset management, workspace administration, and dashboard development.
  • Knowledge of ETL processes, data migration strategies, and data governance principles within financial systems environments.
  • Familiarity with legal practice management workflows, including matter management, new business intake, and conflicts processes.
  • Exposure to cloud-based financial systems, SaaS application administration, or Microsoft cloud platforms including Microsoft Entra, Exchange Online, and SharePoint.
  • Experience with enterprise virtualization platforms such as Nutanix or VMware as they relate to financial systems infrastructure.
  • Familiarity with Power Apps or Power Automate for workflow automation and data capture solutions.
  • Software development or customization experience (e.g., HTML, CSS, XML, ASP.NET, JavaScript frameworks) for adapting applications to changing business requirements.
  • Scripting experience in PowerShell, Python, or similar languages for automation and systems integration tasks.
  • Relevant industry certifications such as Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator, CompTIA Security+, AWS Certified SysOps Administrator, or equivalent are a plus.

Physical & Mental Capabilities

Ability to work on a computer for extended periods, including typing, navigating financial system interfaces, executing SQL queries, designing and reviewing infrastructure configurations, and operating remote support and ticketing platforms. Must demonstrate the ability to be resourceful in diagnosing root causes across complex, multi-layered financial technology and infrastructure environments and making sound judgments under pressure. Must effectively prioritize a dynamic workload with competing demands across multiple client engagements, maintain focus and composure in a fast-paced environment, and take ownership of issues from identification through resolution. Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly and professionally — both verbally and in writing — to client Finance, Accounting, IT colleagues, and firm leadership at all levels. Must maintain strict confidentiality and exercise discretion when handling sensitive financial, client, and firm data at all times. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.

Benefits at Federate Inc.

  • Competitive salary
  • Health, dental, and vision insurance
  • Retirement savings plan
  • Paid time off and holidays
  • Professional development opportunities

About Federate Inc.

Our Vision
Small and mid-size law firms deserve access to the same caliber of back-office support that Big Law firms enjoy, without sacrificing autonomy in the practice of law.

Our Mission
To transform the legal industry by bringing efficiency, innovation, and strategic thinking to the forefront of legal support services.

How We Operate
Our responsive, experienced team can assist with everything to support your practice, including IT, HR, Finance & Accounting, and Practice & Administrative Support.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Federate Legal Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.