Lead Developer - Data, AI, & Wealth Tech Platforms - Chicago, IL

Job Details: Job Location: Chicago IL Madison Ave

• Chicago, IL, Position Type: Full Time, Salary Range: $130000.00 - $180000.00Salary, Help Build the Data Foundation Powering the Future of Wealth Management Savant is growing quickly, and with that growth comes an opportunity to simplify how advisors access information, technology, and insights. As our Lead Developer, Data, AI & Wealth Technology Platforms, you will lead the design and development of the enterprise data platform that connects Savant's wealth management ecosystem to Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Fabric. This role will play a critical part in helping the firm unify data across platforms, improve information accessibility, enable advanced analytics, and support future AI initiatives. This is a senior, hands-on technical leadership role for an experienced data engineer who enjoys solving complex problems, influencing architecture decisions, mentoring developers, and building production-grade solutions that drive measurable business impact. Your work will help bring together client, portfolio, planning, tax, compliance, and operational data into a trusted enterprise platform that allows advisors and business partners to make better decisions and serve clients more effectively. You will join Savant's Data Science & AI team and play an important role in executing a platform strategy directly tied to the firm's long-term growth objectives.

What You'll Do

Design, build, deploy, and support enterprise-grade data pipelines within Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Fabric. Integrate wealth management and enterprise platforms including Tamarac, e. Money, Salesforce Financial Services Cloud, tax planning applications, AI notetaking tools, vendor systems, and internal business applications.

Develop API-based and file-based ingestion patterns utilizing REST APIs, SFTP, vendor extracts, and near-real-time data feeds. Design and maintain curated, analytics-ready datasets using dimensional modeling, Data Vault, and other appropriate methodologies. Establish data quality controls, reconciliations, monitoring, alerting, and service-level expectations.

Ensure secure and compliant movement of enterprise data through implementation of governance, lineage, access management, and retention strategies. Prepare structured and unstructured data assets that support analytics, reporting, machine learning, and AI use cases. Evaluate architectural alternatives and make technical decisions that balance scalability, performance, reliability, and maintainability.

Partner with Business Intelligence, Analytics, Compliance, Wealth, and Technology teams to translate business needs into technical solutions. Lead technical design reviews, troubleshoot complex issues, identify root causes, and guide solution implementation. Collaborate with offshore team members and external partners to support project delivery and platform operations.

Continuously improve platform reliability, documentation, engineering standards, and operational support practices. Leadership Expectations This is a hands-on technical leadership position. While the role does not currently have direct reports, the Lead Developer is expected to provide technical leadership across both onshore and offshore development teams consisting of experienced engineers and developers.

Success in this role requires the ability to: Guide architecture and solution design decisions. Establish engineering standards, best practices, and development patterns. Review code, technical designs, and implementation approaches. Troubleshoot and resolve complex production and integration issues. Mentor developers and elevate the overall technical capabilities of the team.

Drive technical execution while remaining hands-on in solution delivery. This position is not solely focused on project coordination. The successful candidate will possess the technical depth and practical experience necessary to serve as a trusted technical leader and subject matter expert. A couple things to note about our Lead Developer position: Position location: Candidates must currently reside within 50 miles of a Savant office in the Chicago, Illinois area.

Preferred office locations include Lincolnshire, downtown Chicago, and Rockford. Work model: This is a hybrid position requiring approximately one day per week in the office for collaboration, connection, and relationship-building. Schedule: The overall schedule offers flexibility. Because this role supports offshore teams, occasional early-morning or evening collaboration may be required.

Team structure: This position is part of the Data Science & AI team and reports to the Director. Leadership: The role does not currently have direct reports, but technical leadership, mentoring, ownership, and sound decision-making are expected. Impact: Success will be reflected in reliable and monitored pipelines, faster platform integrations, stronger access to trusted data, and improved support for advisor, analytics, and AI use cases.

: Must-Have Qualifications To be considered for this position, candidates must possess experience in the following areas: Microsoft Fabric Data Engineering Strong hands-on experience designing, building, and supporting production data engineering solutions within Microsoft Fabric. Candidates should have practical experience across ingestion, transformation, orchestration, modeling, monitoring, and operational support.

Tamarac Data Experience Direct experience working with Tamarac datasets and integrations. Candidates should have a foundational understanding of Tamarac data structures, data relationships, reporting requirements, and downstream business use cases. Python & Py. Spark Intermediate to advanced proficiency developing production data pipelines and data engineering solutions using Python and Py.

Spark. Technical Leadership Demonstrated experience providing technical leadership, guiding engineering teams, making architecture decisions, reviewing solutions, and mentoring developers in a production environment. Required Qualifications Eight or more years of hands-on data engineering, data platform, or analytics engineering experience.

Proven Microsoft Fabric implementation experience in a production environment. Experience working directly with Tamarac data and associated wealth management datasets. Strong Python and Py. Spark development experience. Deep experience with Microsoft Azure data technologies and cloud-based data platforms. Experience designing, building, and supporting enterprise-scale data pipelines.

Experience creating reliable, scalable, monitored, and supportable data solutions. Strong SQL skills and data modeling experience. Experience integrating enterprise platforms through APIs, file exchanges, and modern data integration patterns. Ability to explain architectural decisions, evaluate tradeoffs, and take ownership of production outcomes.

Strong communication and collaboration skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Qualifications

While not required, the following experience would be highly beneficial: Experience supporting artificial intelligence, machine learning, or advanced analytics initiatives. Experience preparing structured and unstructured data for AI applications. Experience with semantic search, vector databases, embeddings, or retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).

Experience with AI orchestration or agent frameworks such as CrewAI, Lang. Graph, Microsoft Agent Framework, or similar technologies. Experience working with e. Money, Salesforce Financial Services Cloud, tax planning platforms, or related wealth technology solutions. Experience within wealth management, financial services, investment management, or RIA environments.

What Sets Savant Apart Collaborative, integrated model across advisory, tax, and planning—no silos Growth-oriented firm, offering meaningful opportunities for career development and long-term impact Values-driven culture, grounded in excellence, integrity, lifelong learning, respect, growth, and servant leadership Majority employee-owned, giving our team a shared stake in our long-term success Our Total Rewards At Savant, we invest in our people, supporting both their well-being and long-term growth.

We take a market-based approach to compensation. The expected base salary range for this role in the Chicago market is $130,000 to $180,000. Actual compensation is determined on an individual basis and considers factors such as relevant experience, skills, qualifications, geographic location, and market conditions. This role may also be eligible for additional incentive compensation based on responsibilities and performance.

Core Benefits (Effective Day One): Medical, dental, and vision coverage with multiple plan options Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Company-paid life insurance, AD&D, and disability coverage Financial & Long-Term Rewards: 401(k) with company match (Roth and Traditional options) Team-based incentive opportunities and recognition program Time Away & Flexibility: Generous paid time off, plus at least 10 paid holidays Annual “Savantiversary” day Summer Hours (shorter work weeks during the summer) Parental leave, personal leave, and other life-event suppor Well-Being & Everyday Perks: Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Wellness reimbursements (e.

g., gym memberships) Flexible “Dress for Your Day” approach We’re happy to share more details about our benefits and total rewards during the hiring process. Take your career to new heights, apply today! All applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.

We are not accepting unsolicited resumes from agencies and/or search firms for this job posting. The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of the incumbent in this position.

Any combination of equivalent education and work experience will be considered. Savant Capital LLC, is an Equal Opportunity Employer