Databricks Specialist

First Focus; Muntinlupa; Hybrid; PHP 1,339,000 - 2,009,000; Full time

Job summary

First Focus in Manila is seeking a Databricks Specialist to translate complex business needs into scalable data and AI solutions. You’ll work across Azure Databricks, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog and Microsoft Azure, collaborating with Finance, Sales and Demand Planning to deliver real value.

The role combines deep technical work with business-facing communication, requiring strong Python, PySpark and SQL skills and a solid grasp of enterprise data architectures. Hybrid work is available in Manila.

Qualifications

• Extensive hands‑on experience with Azure Databricks in enterprise environments.
• Strong Microsoft Azure expertise.
• Expert-level Python, PySpark and SQL, including complex query and workload optimisation.
• Solid experience with Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, Databricks SQL, Jobs/Workflows and Spark.
• Proven ability to optimise Databricks performance, scalability and cloud costs.
• Experience designing and integrating REST APIs using Azure API Management.
• Strong knowledge of Azure networking and infrastructure, including VNets, Private Link, Private Endpoints, DNS, firewalls and secure connectivity.
• Experience integrating Databricks with AI applications, LLMs, AI agents or enterprise platforms.
• Strong understanding of OAuth 2.0, Microsoft Entra ID, managed identities, service principals, RBAC and secrets management.
• Significant Business Analysis experience, including stakeholder workshops, requirements gathering, process analysis, data mapping and translating business needs into technical solutions.
• Experience working with business functions such as Finance, Sales, Demand Planning, Forecasting or FP&A.
• Excellent troubleshooting skills and the ability to communicate technical concepts without requiring everyone else to learn Python first.

Responsibilities

• Designing and building enterprise data solutions using Azure Databricks, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog and Microsoft Azure.
• Understanding business requirements with Finance, Sales, Demand Planning and Forecasting stakeholders.
• Developing production-grade solutions using Python, PySpark and SQL, including complex data transformations and scalable pipelines.
• Optimising Spark workloads, SQL queries, compute resources, storage and data layouts for performance and cost.
• Building and integrating APIs using REST services and Azure API Management.
• Connecting data with AI, integrating Databricks with LLM applications, AI agents and other enterprise systems.
• Designing secure Azure architectures, including private networking, VNets, Private Endpoints, managed identities, Entra ID and RBAC.
• Troubleshooting slow Spark jobs and Azure networking issues, then deploying and documenting solutions.
• Owning end-to-end delivery from requirements to production optimisation.

Skills

Azure Databricks

Python

PySpark

SQL

Azure

REST APIs

Tools

Delta Lake

Unity Catalog

Databricks SQL

Jobs/Workflows

Spark

Azure API Management

VNets

Private Endpoints

Job description

Love Databricks? Speak fluent business? Occasionally dream in SQL? We're looking for a seriously capable Databricks Specialist to join First Focus and help turn complex business problems into clever, scalable data and AI solutions. And when we say specialist, we mean someone who knows their way around Azure Databricks, Python, PySpark and SQL, not someone who watched a 20-minute YouTube tutorial and updated their LinkedIn headline. You'll be working across Databricks, Microsoft Azure, APIs, AI integrations and enterprise data architecture, building solutions that actually make a difference. But here's the twist. We also need someone who understands the business side of technology. Someone who can sit down with Finance, Sales or Demand Planning teams, work out what they're trying to achieve, translate that into a technical solution, and then roll up their sleeves and build it. If you can explain a complex data architecture to a Finance Manager without making their eyes glaze over, you're already doing better than most of us. And with hybrid working in Manila, you'll hopefully spend a little less time negotiating with EDSA traffic and a little more time enjoying your merienda.

A little about Us

We're Australia's #1 MSP , with nearly 500 people across Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. We've been growing for more than 15 years, helping businesses get more from technology without making everything unnecessarily complicated. We're big enough to offer exciting projects, serious technical challenges and genuine career opportunities, but still small enough to remember that our people are humans, not ticket numbers. We believe in giving smart people the freedom to do great work, supporting them when things get tricky, and recognising them when they deliver. No unnecessary politics. No endless meetings about scheduling other meetings. Just good people doing meaningful work.

What you’ll actually be doing

This isn't a role where you'll spend your days moving data from Column A to Column B and calling it digital transformation. You'll be:

• Designing and building enterprise data solutions using Azure Databricks, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog and Microsoft Azure.
• Getting under the hood of business requirements , working with Finance, Sales, Demand Planning and Forecasting stakeholders to understand processes, data and desired outcomes.
• Developing production-grade solutions using Python, PySpark and SQL, including complex data transformations and scalable pipelines.
• Making Databricks run beautifully , optimising Spark workloads, SQL queries, compute resources, storage and data layouts for performance and cost.
• Building and integrating APIs using REST services and Azure API Management (APIM).
• Connecting data with AI , integrating Databricks with LLM applications, AI agents and other enterprise systems.
• Designing secure Azure architectures , including private networking, VNets, Private Endpoints, managed identities, Entra ID and RBAC.
• Troubleshooting the genuinely tricky stuff , from slow-running Spark jobs to mysterious Azure networking issues that apparently worked perfectly yesterday.
• Owning solutions from start to finish , including requirements, architecture, development, testing, deployment, documentation and production optimisation.

You’ll work closely with business stakeholders, developers, data engineers, AI specialists and cloud infrastructure teams.

What we’re looking for

We're after someone with deep technical expertise, strong analytical thinking and the confidence to work directly with business stakeholders. The essentials:

• Extensive hands‑on experience with Azure Databricks in enterprise environments.
• Strong Microsoft Azure expertise .
• This one really is essential.
• Expert-level Python, PySpark and SQL , including complex query and workload optimisation.
• Solid experience with Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, Databricks SQL, Jobs/Workflows and Spark .
• Proven ability to optimise Databricks performance, scalability and cloud costs.
• Experience designing and integrating REST APIs using Azure API Management .
• Strong knowledge of Azure networking and infrastructure , including VNets, Private Link, Private Endpoints, DNS, firewalls and secure connectivity.
• Experience integrating Databricks with AI applications, LLMs, AI agents or enterprise platforms .
• Strong understanding of OAuth 2.0, Microsoft Entra ID, managed identities, service principals, RBAC and secrets management .
• Significant Business Analysis experience , including stakeholder workshops, requirements gathering, process analysis, data mapping and translating business needs into technical solutions.
• Experience working with business functions such as Finance, Sales, Demand Planning, Forecasting or FP&A .
• Excellent troubleshooting skills and the ability to communicate technical concepts without requiring everyone else to learn Python first.

We know that's quite a list.