Senior AI Engineer

Kforce Inc; Englewood (CO); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision insurance

HSA and FSA

401(k)

Paid time off

Life and disability insurance

Job summary

Kforce Inc. in Englewood, CO seeks a Senior AI Platform Ops Engineer to lead design, onboarding, and optimization of an enterprise AI platform built on Databricks and AWS.

You will scale cloud data platforms, enable AI/ML capabilities, and set governance standards across the organization. The role requires deep Databricks expertise, strong data engineering skills, and a track record of mentoring engineers while shaping platform architecture and automation initiatives.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in Platform/Data/Cloud engineering or related field.
• At least 3 years hands-on Databricks administration in production.
• Extensive experience with Unity Catalog, Delta Lake, cluster management, and Databricks job orchestration.
• Strong programming in Python, SQL, and PySpark.
• Experience designing scalable data pipelines and cloud AI infrastructure.
• Working knowledge of AWS services (IAM, S3, VPC).
• Experience with Infrastructure-as-Code tools (Terraform).
• Solid data governance, metadata management, and enterprise security practices.
• Excellent communication and mentoring of engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead onboarding of teams, users, and data domains onto an enterprise Databricks platform.
• Design integrations between data sources and cloud AI platforms.
• Deploy and support Databricks-native AI capabilities and agent frameworks.
• Architect and maintain Unity Catalog governance, metadata standards, and data lineage.
• Develop platform cost attribution and resource optimization strategies.
• Build and optimize scalable data pipelines using Python, SQL, and PySpark.
• Contribute to IaC and CI/CD deployment processes using Terraform and related tools.
• Provide technical leadership, conduct design reviews, and establish platform best practices.
• Partner with cross-functional engineering teams to deliver scalable, secure AI platform solutions.

Skills

Python

SQL

PySpark

Databricks Admin

Unity Catalog

Data governance

Cloud architecture

Mentoring

Tools

Terraform

GitLab

Databricks

Job description

Responsibilities

Kforce has a client in Englewood, CO that is seeking a Senior AI Platform Ops Engineer. Summary: The Senior AI Platform Ops Engineer will lead the design, onboarding, and optimization of an enterprise AI platform built on Databricks and AWS. This is a senior-level, hands-on engineering role focused on scaling cloud data platforms, enabling AI and machine learning capabilities, and establishing technical standards across the organization. The ideal candidate has deep Databricks expertise, strong data engineering experience, and a proven ability to mentor engineers while driving platform architecture, governance, and automation initiatives.

• Lead the onboarding of new teams, users, and data domains onto an enterprise Databricks platform
• Design and implement integrations between enterprise data sources and cloud-based AI platforms
• Deploy and support Databricks-native AI capabilities, including modern AI/ML services and agent frameworks
• Architect and maintain Unity Catalog governance, metadata standards, data classification, and lineage
• Develop and oversee platform cost attribution and resource optimization strategies
• Build and optimize scalable data pipelines using Python, SQL, and PySpark
• Contribute to Infrastructure-as-Code and CI/CD deployment processes using Terraform and related tools
• Provide technical leadership, mentor engineers, conduct design reviews, and establish platform best practices
• Partner with cross-functional engineering teams to deliver scalable, secure, and reliable AI platform solutions

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in Platform Engineering, Data Engineering, Cloud Engineering, or a related field
• At least 3 years of hands-on Databricks administration in a production environment
• Extensive experience with Unity Catalog, Delta Lake, cluster management, and Databricks job orchestration
• Strong programming skills in Python, SQL, and PySpark
• Experience designing scalable data pipelines and cloud-based AI infrastructure
• Working knowledge of AWS services, including IAM, S3, and VPC
• Experience with Terraform or other Infrastructure-as-Code tools
• Strong understanding of data governance, metadata management, and enterprise security best practices
• Excellent communication skills with experience leading technical discussions and mentoring engineering teams

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Databricks Asset Bundles and CI/CD pipelines
• Experience with Databricks AI capabilities such as Mosaic AI, Genie, or similar AI platforms
• Knowledge of LLM applications, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), vector search, and AI agent frameworks
• Experience with GitLab or similar DevOps tooling
• Databricks certifications in Data Engineering, Platform Administration, or Machine Learning
• Familiarity with FinOps, cloud cost optimization, and usage reporting
• Experience supporting enterprise-scale or regulated environments

The pay range is the lowest to highest compensation we reasonably in good faith believe we would pay at posting for this role. We may ultimately pay more or less than this range. Employee pay is based on factors like relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, location, performance, union contract and business needs. This range may be modified in the future.

We offer comprehensive benefits including medical/dental/vision insurance, HSA, FSA, 401(k), and life, disability & ADD insurance to eligible employees. Salaried personnel receive paid time off. Hourly employees are not eligible for paid time off unless required by law. Hourly employees on a Service Contract Act project are eligible for paid sick leave.

Note: Pay is not considered compensation until it is earned, vested and determinable. The amount and availability of any compensation remains in Kforce's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified in its discretion consistent with the law.

This job is not eligible for bonuses, incentives or commissions.

Kforce is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status, or disability status.