Senior Software Engineer, Legal — CoCounsel Forward Deployed Engineering
Software Engineering, Legal · Full-time
Ann Arbor, MI, USA
USD 109k-203k / year
Posted on Jul 22, 2026
Are you a hands-on engineer who wants to build the next generation of legal AI solutions from the ground up?
Thomson Reuters is hiring a Senior Software Engineer (Legal) on our CoCounsel Forward Deployed Engineering team. In this role, you will help design, build, and deploy bespoke AI solutions for law firms and corporate legal departments, turning architectural direction into robust, production-ready systems that legal professionals can trust.
You'll work closely with AI engineers and cross-functional partners to deliver high-impact solutions that shape how legal work gets done.
About the Role
In this opportunity as a Senior Software Engineer (Legal), you will:
Act as the connective interface between legal professionals — both customer-facing legal teams and internal legal subject matter experts — and the engineering team, anticipating and interpreting their needs, identifying and delivering solutions that leverage the right technologies, while establishing strong, ongoing customer relationships.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams and AI engineers, breaking down customer requirements into work the team can execute, and continuously updating your knowledge of state-of-the-art development tools, AI techniques, and legal technology trends.
Develop software solutions by studying information needs, conferring with legal users, investigating problem areas, and following the software development lifecycle — from system specifications through documentation and demonstration.
Write clean, secure code to established specifications, managing technical debt and building scalable solutions through DevOps practices, Infrastructure as Code, and robust unit testing (TDD).
Evaluate non-deterministic AI outputs for legal accuracy, relevance, and reliability, applying advanced legal prompt/loop engineering to optimize AI solution performance in partnership with legal and product teams.
Mentor and guide junior software engineers through code reviews, advice, coaching, and training on modern technologies, including legal-domain AI applications, while leading routine projects using Agile/Scrum methodologies.
Deliver end-to-end technical solutions for multiple products or complex projects for legal clients, leading routine projects with manageable risks and resources, and solving complex problems with minimal guidance.
Work in a hybrid capacity from an assigned office location, with occasional (and rare) travel to customer sites as needed.
About You
You're a fit for the role of Senior Software Engineer (Legal) if your background includes:
A JD or formal legal training, or equivalent depth of experience in a legal practice environment, with fluency in legal terminology from working directly within or alongside legal teams.
5+ years of software engineering experience, with proficiency in Python and a track record of building production-grade software.
Strong understanding of AI/LLM evaluation methodologies, along with strong prompt engineering skills — the ability to design, iterate, and optimize LLM prompts for specialized legal domain tasks.
Excellent communication skills, with the ability to engage credibly with both lawyers and engineers on technical and legal concepts alike.
Comfort working independently, navigating ambiguity, and presenting at client workshops or knowledge-sharing sessions in a fast-paced environment.
A growth mindset and adaptability in a rapidly evolving technology landscape, with the ability to mentor others using Agile/Scrum methodologies.
Experience with legal platforms or SaaS solutions is a plus.
#LI-LP2
This posting is for proactive recruitment purposes and may be used to fill current openings or future vacancies within our organization.
What’s in it For You?
- Hybrid Work Model: We’ve adopted a flexible hybrid working environment for our office-based roles while delivering a seamless experience that is digitally and physically connected.
- Flexibility & Work-Life Balance: Flex My Way is a set of supportive workplace policies designed to help manage personal and professional responsibilities, whether caring for family, giving back to the community, or finding time to refresh and reset. This builds upon our flexible work arrangements, including work from anywhere for up to 8 weeks per year, empowering employees to achieve a better work-life balance.
- Career Development and Growth: By fostering a culture of continuous learning and skill development, we prepare our talent to tackle tomorrow’s challenges and deliver real-world solutions. Our Grow My Way programming and skills-first approach ensures you have the tools and knowledge to grow, lead, and thrive in an AI-enabled future.
- Industry Competitive Benefits: We offer comprehensive benefit plans to include flexible vacation, two company-wide Mental Health Days off, access to the Headspace app, retirement savings, tuition reimbursement, employee incentive programs, and resources for mental, physical, and financial wellbeing.
- Culture: Globally recognized, award-winning reputation for inclusion and belonging, flexibility, work-life balance, and more. We live by our values: Obsess over our Customers, Compete to Win, Challenge (Y)our Thinking, Act Fast / Learn Fast, and Stronger Together.
- Social Impact: Make an impact in your community with our Social Impact Institute. We offer employees two paid volunteer days off annually and opportunities to get involved with pro-bono consulting projects and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives.
- Making a Real-World Impact: We are one of the few companies globally that helps its customers pursue justice, truth, and transparency. Together, with the professionals and institutions we serve, we help uphold the rule of law, turn the wheels of commerce, catch bad actors, report the facts, and provide trusted, unbiased information to people all over the world.
Our use of AI within the recruitment process Thomson Reuters utilizes Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our global recruitment process. Unless you opt-out, our AI system will assess the information provided by you and compare it to the requirements listed for the role, and present the result to our recruitment personnel for further review. The AI system acts as a supporting tool, but there is always a human making the decision if you will be considered for the role.
In the United States, Thomson Reuters offers a comprehensive benefits package to our employees. Our benefit package includes market competitive health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance programs, as well as a competitive 401k plan with company match. In addition, Thomson Reuters offers market leading work life benefits with competitive vacation, sick and safe paid time off, paid holidays (including two company mental health days off), parental leave, sabbatical leave. These benefits meet or exceeds the requirements of paid time off in accordance with any applicable state or municipal laws. Finally, Thomson Reuters offers the following additional benefits: optional hospital, accident and sickness insurance paid 100% by the employee; optional life and AD&D insurance paid 100% by the employee; Flexible Spending and Health Savings Accounts; fitness reimbursement; access to Employee Assistance Program; Group Legal Identity Theft Protection benefit paid 100% by employee; access to 529 Plan; commuter benefits; Adoption & Surrogacy Assistance; Tuition Reimbursement; and access to Employee Stock Purchase Plan.Thomson Reuters complies with local laws that require upfront disclosure of the expected pay range for a position. The base compensation range varies across locations.

Eligible office location(s) for this role include one or more of the following: New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and/or Irvine, CA; McLean, VA; Washington, DC. The base compensation range for the role in any of those locations is $109,000 USD - $203,000 USD.
For any eligible US locations, unless otherwise noted, the base compensation range for this role is $94,900 USD - $176,300 USD.
For Ontario, Canada, the base compensation range for this role is $105,000 CAD - $155,000 CAD.

Base pay is positioned within the range based on several factors including an individual’s knowledge, skills and experience with consideration given to internal equity. Base pay is one part of a comprehensive Total Reward program which also includes flexible and supportive benefits and other wellbeing programs.
This role may also be eligible for an Annual Bonus based on a combination of enterprise and individual performance.

About Us
Thomson Reuters informs the way forward by bringing together the trusted content and technology that people and organizations need to make the right decisions. We serve professionals across legal, tax, accounting, compliance, government, and media. Our products combine highly specialized software and insights to empower professionals with the data, intelligence, and solutions needed to make informed decisions, and to help institutions in their pursuit of justice, truth, and transparency. Reuters, part of Thomson Reuters, is a world leading provider of trusted journalism and news.
We are powered by the talents of 26,000 employees across more than 70 countries, where everyone has a chance to contribute and grow professionally in flexible work environments. At a time when objectivity, accuracy, fairness, and transparency are under attack, we consider it our duty to pursue them. Sound exciting? Join us and help shape the industries that move society forward.
As a global business, we rely on the unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences of all employees to deliver on our business goals. To ensure we can do that, we seek talented, qualified employees in all our operations around the world regardless of race, color, sex/gender, including pregnancy, gender identity and expression, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, citizen status, veteran status, or any other protected classification under applicable law. Thomson Reuters is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer providing a drug-free workplace.
Thomson Reuters makes reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities, including veterans with disabilities, and for sincerely held religious beliefs in accordance with applicable law. If you reside in the United States and require an accommodation in the recruiting process, you may contact our Human Resources Department at HR.Leave-Expert@thomsonreuters.com. Disability accommodations in the recruiting process may include things like a sign language interpreter, making interview rooms accessible, providing assistive technology, or other relevant accommodations. Please note this email is not intended for general recruitment questions and we will promptly respond to inquiries regarding accommodations. More information on requesting an accommodation here.
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More information about Thomson Reuters can be found on thomsonreuters.com