Senior Business Intelligence Engineer in Chicago, Illinois at Sidley Austin LLP

We are seeking a Senior Business Intelligence Engineer to design, develop, and maintain enterprise reporting and analytics solutions that drive data-informed decision-making across the organization. This role reports to the Manager of Business Intelligence Engineering and is responsible for translating complex business requirements into intuitive, high-quality dashboards, reports, and self-service analytics experiences.

This role prioritizes expertise in Microsoft Power BI, including data modeling, DAX, and the Power BI service, with the ability to work across technical and business teams. Experience with other enterprise BI platforms such as Tableau, Cognos, Looker, or Qlik is also valuable. The ideal candidate brings a modern analytics mindset, with experience connecting Power BI to cloud data platforms and enabling governed, scalable self-service analytics.

• Design, develop, and maintain dashboards, reports, paginated reports, and interactive visualizations primarily in Microsoft Power BI, with the ability to support content built in other enterprise BI tools (e.g., Tableau, Cognos) as needed.

• Build and optimize semantic models, data models, and calculated measures to support accurate, performant, and reusable analytics content.

• Partner with business stakeholders to gather requirements, define KPIs, and translate analytical needs into effective reporting solutions.

• Connect Power BI and other BI platforms to modern cloud data sources including Databricks, Snowflake, Azure SQL, or equivalent lakehouse and warehouse environments, using appropriate connectivity patterns (DirectQuery, Import, composite models, gateways).

• Develop and enforce data visualization standards, naming conventions, and best practices to ensure consistency and usability across the BI portfolio.

• Support the migration and modernization of legacy reporting platforms (e.g., IBM Cognos, Crystal Reports) to modern BI solutions.

• Implement row-level security, data governance policies, and access controls within BI platforms to ensure data protection and compliance.

• Collaborate with data engineering, data architecture, and governance teams to ensure BI solutions align with enterprise data strategy and standards.

• Enable self-service analytics by creating curated datasets, templates, and documentation that empower business users to explore data independently.

• Monitor and optimize report performance, data refresh schedules, and platform capacity to ensure a reliable end-user experience.

• Evaluate emerging BI tools, features, and technologies and provide recommendations that inform platform strategy and roadmap.

• Mentor junior analysts and team members on BI development best practices, data storytelling, and visualization design principles.

Education and/or Experience:
Required:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Analytics, or a related field.

• A minimum of 5 years of hands-on experience designing and delivering enterprise BI solutions.

• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Power BI (Power BI Desktop, Power BI Service, dataflows, paginated reports) is highly preferred. Experience with one or more additional enterprise BI platforms such as Tableau, Cognos, Looker, or Qlik is also acceptable, provided the candidate is willing and able to develop deep Power BI expertise.

• Strong skills in SQL and data querying across relational and cloud-native data sources.

• Hands-on experience building semantic models, calculated measures, and KPIs using DAX and Power Query (M); equivalent experience in Tableau (LOD expressions), Cognos, or MDX is also valued.

• Demonstrated ability to translate complex business requirements into clear, actionable analytics solutions.

• Familiarity with cloud data platforms such as Databricks, Snowflake, Azure Synapse, or equivalent.

• Strong understanding of data governance, security, and access control within BI environments.

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively across technical and non-technical audiences.

Preferred:

• Experience administering or working within the Power BI Service, including workspaces, deployment pipelines, capacity management (Premium / Fabric), and tenant settings.

• Familiarity with the broader Microsoft data and analytics ecosystem, including Microsoft Fabric, Azure Data Services, on-premises data gateways, and VNet data gateways.

• Microsoft certifications such as PL-300 (Power BI Data Analyst) or DP-600 (Fabric Analytics Engineer).

• Experience migrating or modernizing legacy reporting platforms (e.g., Cognos, Crystal Reports, SSRS) to modern BI solutions.

• Familiarity with embedded analytics, API-driven report distribution, or programmatic BI development.

• Experience with Agile or pod-based delivery models in a BI or analytics context.

• Exposure to data catalog or metadata management tools such as Collibra, Alation, or Unity Catalog.

• Experience supporting or enabling a BI Center of Excellence or analytics governance function.

• Industry experience in legal, financial services, or professional services is a plus.

• Experience with Databricks or similar Lakehouse platforms, including familiarity with SQL warehouses, Unity Catalog, and connecting BI tools to governed cloud data assets.

Other Skills and Abilities:
The following will also be required of the successful candidate:

• Strong organizational skills

• Strong attention to detail

• Good judgment

• Strong interpersonal communication skills

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

• Able to work harmoniously and effectively with others

• Able to preserve confidentiality and exercise discretion

• Able to work under pressure

• Able to manage multiple projects with competing deadlines and priorities

#LI-Hybrid
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The target salary range for this role is:

Salaries vary by location and are based on numerous factors, including, but not limited to, the relevant market, skills, experience, and education of the selected candidate. Our compensation package also includes bonus eligibility and a comprehensive benefits program. Benefits information can be found at Sidley.com/Benefits.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the Duties and Responsibilities above satisfactorily and meet the requirements. The requirements listed above are representative of the minimum knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. If you need such an accommodation, please email sidleytalentacquisition@sidley.com (current employees should contact Human Resources).

Sidley Austin LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer.