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

Databricks; Virginia Beach (VA); Remote; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Databricks is seeking a GenAI-focused engineer on the AI Forward Deployed Engineering team to help customers build and productionize GenAI applications. You will own end-to-end deployments and serve as a trusted technical advisor across domains, shaping outcomes with customers and Databricks innovations.

The role emphasizes collaboration with engineering, product, and developer relations, plus opportunities to present at conferences and influence the product roadmap.

Qualifications

• Experience building GenAI applications, including RAG and multi-agent systems.
• Expertise deploying production-grade GenAI applications with evaluation/optimizations.
• Hands-on data science experience with pandas, scikit-learn, PyTorch, etc.
• Experience deploying ML on AWS/Azure/GCP and collaborating across teams.
• Graduate degree in a quantitative field; passion for collaboration and AI value.

Responsibilities

• Develop cutting-edge GenAI solutions using the latest Databricks AI research.
• Own production rollouts of GenAI applications for clients and internal use.
• Serve as trusted technical advisor to customers across domains.
• Present at Data + AI Summit and other venues; influence product roadmap.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with product and engineering teams.

Skills

GenAI applications

RAG

Multi-agent systems

Text2SQL

Fine-tuning

AWS/Azure/GCP

Pandas

PyTorch

Production deployments

Education

Graduate degree in quantitative discipline

Tools

Databricks Intelligence Platform

Apache Spark

Python

AWS

Azure

GCP

Job description

Location & Eligibility

Due to federal contract requirements and client site access obligations, U.S. government secret clearance are required to access classified information. 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.

Team

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. 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.

This role can be remote.

Responsibilities

• 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.

Qualifications

• Experience building GenAI applications, including RAG, multi‑agent systems, Text2SQL, fine‑tuning, etc., 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.) 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)

Compensation

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. Local Pay Range$

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 and Perks

At Databricks, we strive to provide comprehensive benefits and perks that meet the needs of all of our employees.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

At Databricks, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone can excel.

Equal‑Opportunity Statement

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.

Export‑Controlled Technology

If access to export‑controlled technology or source code is required for performance of job duties, it is within Employer's discretion whether to apply for a U.