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

Job DetailsJob Location: Chicago IL Madison Ave - Chicago, IL 60606Position Type: Full TimeSalary Range: $130,000.00 - $180,000.00 Salary a { text-decoration: none; color: #464feb; } tr th, tr td { border: 1px solid #e6e6e6; } tr th { background-color: #f5f5f5; } Savant is growing quickly, and with that growth comes an opportunity to simplify how our advisors access information, technology, and insights.   As our Lead Developer, Data, AI & Wealth Technology Platforms, you will help transform a fragmented ecosystem of systems into a unified, trusted data platform that supports scale, enables artificial intelligence, and improves the advisor experience. You will design and build the data infrastructure connecting Savant’s wealth technology ecosystem to our Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Fabric environment.   This is a hands-on senior role for someone who enjoys solving complex problems, making thoughtful architectural decisions, and building production systems that people rely on. Your work will help bring client data, portfolio insights, tax planning, compliance information, and AI-powered intelligence together in ways that allow advisors to spend less time navigating systems and more time serving clients.   You will join Savant’s Data Science & AI team and play an important role in building a platform directly connected to the firm’s long-term growth strategy.   In this role, you can expect to focus in the following areas: Design, build, deploy, and support enterprise-grade data pipelines within Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Fabric. Integrate wealth management and enterprise platforms, including Tamarac, eMoney, Salesforce Financial Services Cloud, tax planning applications, AI notetaking tools, vendor systems, and internal data sources. Develop API-based and file-based ingestion patterns using REST APIs, SFTP, vendor extracts, and near-real-time data feeds. Create curated, analytics-ready datasets using dimensional modeling, Data Vault, or other appropriate modeling approaches. Establish data quality standards, reconciliations, monitoring, service-level expectations, and automated alerting. Design secure and compliant data movement practices, including lineage, access controls, governance, and retention. Prepare structured and unstructured data for artificial intelligence and machine learning initiatives. Build and support vectorized content pipelines, semantic search, and retrieval-augmented generation workflows. Partner with Business Intelligence, Wealth, Compliance, Platform, Analytics, and other stakeholders to translate business needs into scalable technical solutions. Evaluate architectural options, make technical decisions, and take ownership of solutions from initial design through production support. Mentor other team members and provide technical leadership, even though this position does not currently have direct reports. Collaborate with offshore team members, which may occasionally require early-morning or evening meetings across time zones. Continuously improve platform reliability, scalability, documentation, and operational support practices.   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. Qualifications a { text-decoration: none; color: #464feb; } tr th, tr td { border: 1px solid #e6e6e6; } tr th { background-color: #f5f5f5; } The Lead Developer position typically requires the following qualifications:   At least eight years of hands-on data engineering experience. Approximately two or more years of applied artificial intelligence or advanced analytics engineering experience involving real-world implementations. Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. Deep hands-on experience with Microsoft Azure. Experience limited to AWS or Google Cloud Platform will not meet the needs of this position. Production experience building and supporting end-to-end data pipelines in Microsoft Fabric. Proven experience integrating complex enterprise platforms through production data pipelines. Strong SQL and Python skills. Experience with Spark or PySpark is highly valued. Experience designing data solutions for reliability, scale, monitoring, and ongoing operational ownership. Applied experience with several of the following: Retrieval-augmented generation Prompt engineering Multi-agent architectures Agent memory patterns Re-ranking Semantic search and vector retrieval Context augmentation Human-in-the-loop patterns Workflow or model routing Chunking strategies for retrieval pipelines Experience with agentic frameworks such as CrewAI, Microsoft Agent Framework, or LangGraph. Ability to collaborate effectively with technical and nontechnical partners across multiple business functions. Ability to explain architectural decisions, identify tradeoffs, and take ownership of production outcomes.   Preferred, but not required: Experience working with wealth management or financial services data. Experience integrating platforms such as Tamarac, eMoney, Salesforce Financial Services Cloud, tax planning software, and AI notetaking tools. Because of the hands-on nature of this role, candidates must have practical Microsoft Azure experience and applied AI or advanced analytics experience beyond courses, workshops, demonstrations, or theoretical proofs of concept. What Sets Savant Apart A collaborative, integrated model: Our advisory, tax, planning, and supporting teams work together to provide comprehensive guidance to clients. A growth-oriented firm: Savant’s continued growth offers meaningful opportunities for professional development and long-term impact. A values-driven culture: Our work is grounded in excellence, integrity, lifelong learning, respect, growth, and servant leadership. Shared long-term success: As a majority employee-owned organization, our team members have a shared stake in the firm’s future.   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   a { text-decoration: none; color: #464feb; } tr th, tr td { border: 1px solid #e6e6e6; } tr th { background-color: #f5f5f5; } 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