Databricks Engineer

Quantum Technologies. LLC; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Quantum Technologies. LLC seeks a senior Databricks architect to lead adoption, implementation, and optimization of the Databricks Lakehouse platform across data pipelines, analytics, and AI initiatives.

You will collaborate with data engineering, data science, analytics, and infrastructure teams to design scalable solutions and troubleshoot complex issues.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience in IT/CS/related field.
• 7+ years in Data Engineering or Architecture with at least 4+ years in the Databricks ecosystem.
• Proven Unity Catalog implementation with row- and column-level security and cross-workspace governance.
• Deep, low-level Apache Spark tuning expertise and Photon engine optimization.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and optimization of end-to-end Databricks solutions across data pipelines and AI initiatives.
• Architect, build, and maintain scalable data ingestion, transformation, and orchestration pipelines using Spark, Delta Live Tables, and Auto Loader.
• Identify and resolve Spark, cluster, and SQL bottlenecks while implementing cost optimization and auto-scaling strategies.
• Enforce Databricks best practices for security, governance, and Unity Catalog across environments.
• Support data science and ML teams by implementing MLflow, Vector Search, and generative AI capabilities on Databricks.
• Provide root cause analysis and escalation support for production workloads.
• Mentor data engineers and developers through training and internal centers of excellence.
• Design integrations between Databricks and cloud platforms, ETL, BI tools, data catalogs, and orchestration systems.
• Implement monitoring, logging, alerting, and dashboards for Databricks workloads.

Skills

Python

Scala

SQL

Spark tuning

Delta Lake

Unity Catalog

MLflow

Vector Search

Terraform

CI/CD

GitHub Actions

Databricks

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent in IT/CS/related field

Tools

Databricks CLI

Databricks Asset Bundles (DABs)

Azure DevOps

GitHub Actions

Job description

US Citizen, Green Card, H-1B, OPT-EAD, CPT, Other

Work Authorization: US Citizen, Green Card, OPT-EAD, CPT, H-1B, H4-EAD, Other

Job Summary:

This position serves as the principal technical authority for the Databricks Lakehouse platform within the organization. The successful candidate will drive the adoption, implementation, and optimization of Databricks across data pipelines, analytics, and artificial intelligence initiatives. This role requires collaboration with cross-functional teams including data engineering, data science, analytics, and infrastructure to design robust, scalable solutions and troubleshoot complex technical issues.
Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the design, implementation, and optimization of end-to-end solutions on Databricks, including Unity Catalog, Delta Lake, Databricks SQL, Workflows, Jobs, and Mosaic AI.
• Architect, build, and maintain scalable data ingestion, transformation, and orchestration pipelines using Databricks tools such as Spark, Delta Live Tables, and Auto Loader.
• Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks in Spark jobs, clusters, and SQL queries while implementing cost optimization and auto-scaling strategies.
• Establish and enforce Databricks best practices for security, data governance, compliance, and Unity Catalog implementation.
• Support data science and machine learning teams by implementing MLflow, Feature Store, Vector Search, and generative AI capabilities on Databricks.
• Provide root cause analysis and rapid resolution for complex technical issues as the escalation point for production workloads.
• Mentor data engineers, analysts, and developers through training sessions, documentation, and the creation of internal centers of excellence.
• Design seamless integrations between Databricks and cloud platforms, ETL tools, BI tools, data catalogs, and orchestration systems.
• Implement robust monitoring, logging, alerting, and dashboarding for Databricks workloads using native and external tools.
• Evaluate new Databricks features and roadmaps to recommend adoption strategies that drive business value.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Administration, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• 7+ years in Data Engineering or Architecture, with at least 4+ years dedicated exclusively to the Databricks ecosystem.
• Proven track record implementing Unity Catalog from scratch, including row- and column-level security and cross-workspace governance.
• Deep, low-level Apache Spark tuning expertise (e.g., managing data skew, optimizing shuffles, utilizing Adaptive Query Execution, caching strategies, and Photon engine optimization).
• Hands-on experience building production-grade Generative AI or LLM applications using Databricks Mosaic AI, Vector Search, and MLflow.
• Advanced proficiency in Python, Scala, and SQL optimized specifically for distributed computing environments
• Production experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Terraform to deploy and manage Databricks workspaces, clusters, and permissions.
• Experience setting up secure network topologies for Databricks, including Private Link/VPC Peering , encryption keys (BYOK), and IP access lists.
• Strong background in CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, GitLab) using Databricks Asset Bundles (DABs) or Databricks CLI.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Databricks Certified Solutions Architect or Databricks Certified Data Engineer Professional.
• Databricks Certified Machine Learning Professional.
• Cloud Architecture certification, such as AWS Certified Solutions Architect or Azure Solutions Architect Expert.

We are an equal opportunity employer. All aspects of employment including the decision to hire, promote, discipline, or discharge, will be based on merit, competence, performance, and business needs. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, citizenship/ immigration status, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.