AI Engineer – Forward Deployed Engineering (AI FDE), U.S. Public Sector (FederalFocus)

Databricks; Richmond (VA); On-site; USD 182,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Databricks Inc. is building an AI Forward Deployed Engineering team in the DC metro area with periodic on-site collaboration. We deliver GenAI solutions to customers, shaping priorities and enabling production deployments.

The role partners with engineering, product, and developer relations to drive impactful AI applications, with travel every 4–8 weeks.

Qualifications

• Experience building GenAI applications, including RAG, multi-agent systems, Text2SQL, fine-tuning.
• Expertise deploying production-grade GenAI apps with evaluation and optimization.
• Hands-on data science experience with pandas, scikit-learn, PyTorch, etc.
• Experience deploying ML on AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• Graduate degree or equivalent practical experience in a quantitative field.
• Ability to communicate technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• Willingness to travel to see customers every 4–8 weeks.

Responsibilities

• Develop cutting-edge GenAI solutions using Databricks AI research.
• Own production rollouts of GenAI applications for customers.
• Serve as a trusted technical advisor across domains.
• Present at conferences and influence product roadmap.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to align priorities with product and engineering teams.

Skills

GenAI applications

RAG

multi-agent systems

Text2SQL

fine-tuning

HuggingFace

LangChain

DSPy

production deployments

AWS

Azure

GCP

communication skills

Education

Graduate degree in a quantitative discipline

Tools

HuggingFace

LangChain

DSPy

PyTorch

pandas

scikit-learn

Job description

PLEASE NOTE: Due to federal contract requirements and client site access obligations, U.S. citizenship and eligibility for a U.S. government secret clearance are required to access classified information. The position is based in the Washington, D.C., Maryland, or Virginia metropolitan area and includes periodic on‑site work and client collaboration. Candidates with an active Secret or higher clearance are strongly encouraged to apply.

The AI Forward Deployed Engineering (AI FDE) team is a highly specialized customer‑facing AI team at Databricks. We deliver professional services engagements to help our customers build and productionize first‑of‑its‑kind AI applications. We work cross‑functionally to shape long‑term strategic priorities and initiatives alongside engineering, product, and developer relations, as well as support internal subject matter expert (SME) teams. We view our team as an ensemble: we look for individuals with strong, unique specializations to improve the overall strength of the team. This team is the right fit for you if you love working with customers, teammates, and fueling your curiosity for the latest trends in GenAI, LLMOps, and ML more broadly.

The impact you will have

• Develop cutting‑edge GenAI solutions, incorporating the latest techniques from Databricks AI research to solve customer problems
• Own production rollouts of consumer and internally facing GenAI applications
• Serve as a trusted technical advisor to customers across a variety of domains
• Present at conferences such as Data + AI Summit, recognized as a thought leader internally and externally
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with the product and engineering teams to influence priorities and shape the product roadmap

What we look for

• Experience building GenAI applications, including RAG, multi‑agent systems, Text2SQL, fine‑tuning, etc., with tools such as HuggingFace, LangChain, and DSPy
• Expertise in deploying production‑grade GenAI applications, including evaluation and optimizations
• Extensive years of hands‑on industry data science experience, leveraging common machine learning and data science tools, i.e. pandas, scikit‑learn, PyTorch, etc.
• Experience building production‑grade machine learning deployments on AWS, Azure, or GCP
• Graduate degree in a quantitative discipline (Computer Science, Engineering, Statistics, Operations Research, etc.) or equivalent practical experience
• Experience communicating and/or teaching technical concepts to non‑technical and technical audiences alike
• Passion for collaboration, life‑long learning, and driving business value through AI
• [Preferred] Experience using the Databricks Intelligence Platform and Apache Spark to process large‑scale distributed datasets
• Willing to travel once every 4-8 weeks to see customers (as needed)

Pay Range Transparency

Databricks is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The pay range(s) for this role is listed below and represents the expected salary range for non‑commissionable roles or on‑target earnings for commissionable roles. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to job‑related skills, depth of experience, relevant certifications and training, and specific work location. Based on the factors above, Databricks anticipates utilizing the full width of the range. The total compensation package for this position may also include eligibility for annual performance bonus, equity, and the benefits listed above. For more information regarding which range your location is in visit our page here.

Local Pay Range$182,000-$250,208 USD

About Databricks

Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 20,000 organizations worldwide - including adidas, AT&T, Bayer, Block, Mastercard, Rivian, Unilever, and 70% of the Fortune 500 - rely on the Databricks Data + AI Platform to build and scale data and AI apps, analytics and agents. Headquartered in San Francisco with 30+ offices around the globe, Databricks offers a unified platform that includes Genie, Lakebase, Agent Bricks, Lakeflow, Lakehouse, and Unity Catalog. To learn more, follow Databricks on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, and Instagram.

Benefits

At Databricks, we strive to provide comprehensive benefits and perks that meet the needs of all of our employees. For specific details on the benefits offered in your region click here.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

At Databricks, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone can excel. We take great care to ensure that our hiring practices are inclusive and meet equal employment opportunity standards. Individuals looking for employment at Databricks are considered without regard to age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio‑economic status, veteran status, and other protected characteristics.

Compliance

If access to export‑controlled technology or source code is required for performance of job duties, it is within