Senior Architect, Databricks

West Monroe; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 205,000 - 234,000; Full time

Job summary

West Monroe in Los Angeles is seeking a Senior Architect to lead data and AI initiatives across industries, focusing on Databricks, big data strategy, and AI modernization.

You will design data pipelines, collaborate with data science and engineering teams, drive governance, and coach consultants while working in a hybrid schedule.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional experience with 3+ years of Databricks experience
• 8+ years of prior consulting experience
• Strong Databricks expertise: architecture, optimization, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, orchestration, security and governance
• Experience architecting and deploying AI/ML or Generative AI solutions in enterprise environments
• Hands-on with LLM ecosystems and frameworks such as OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, LangChain, MLflow, or Databricks Mosaic AI
• Knowledge of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), vector databases, embeddings, prompt engineering, and AI orchestration patterns
• Familiarity with AI governance, model lifecycle management, responsible AI, and security considerations
• Experience integrating AI capabilities into data platforms, analytics solutions, or customer-facing apps
• Knowledge of standard Big Data methodologies and best practices
• Commitment to inclusion and diversity, willing to travel 30-50% and hybrid in-office 1–2 days/week

Responsibilities

• Design data flows and processing pipelines for analysis with Spark on Scala, Storm, Flume, Sqoop
• Design data structures for ingestion and reporting tailored to use cases
• Provide data management guidance on requirements, architecture, mapping and governance
• Collaborate with data science and engineering to productionize AI workloads
• Establish best practices for AI data readiness, feature engineering and monitoring
• Lead AI modernization discussions including semantic layers, vector databases, AI agents, and retrieval systems
• Evaluate emerging AI technologies and recommend fit-for-purpose tooling
• Guide and coach consultants and perform code reviews
• Coordinate with data source owners to ensure analytics platform integration
• Address data integrity issues and ensure governance
• Attend meetings with business and technical stakeholders to drive development

Skills

Databricks

AI/ML

LLM ecosystems

Data engineering

Cloud deployments

Data governance

Big data concepts

Leadership

Tools

Spark (Scala)

Databricks Delta Lake

Unity Catalog

Workflow orchestration

OpenAI/Azure OpenAI

LangChain

Job description

Are you ready to make an impact? West Monroe is seeking a Senior Architect to join our thriving Technology and Experience Practice. This is an excellent opportunity to work with clients developing Big Data strategy and roadmaps with emphasis on Databricks, while gaining exposure to a variety of industries including Healthcare, Financial Services, Insurance, and Utilities.

Responsibilities

• Design data flow and processing pipelines for analysis using modern toolsets such as Spark on Scala, Storm, Flume, Sqoop
• Design data structures for ingestion and reporting, specific to use case and technology
• Provide data management expertise to our clients in evaluating requirements and developing data architecture and performing platform selection and design. Data management includes appropriate structuring, stewardship of data, semantics/syntax of data attributes, coding structures, and mapping schemes
• Collaborate with data science and engineering teams to productionize machine learning and Generative AI workloads within modern cloud ecosystems
• Establish best practices for AI data readiness, feature engineering, model monitoring, observability, and governance
• Lead technical discussions around AI-enabled modernization strategies including semantic layers, vector databases, AI agents, and knowledge retrieval systems
• Evaluate emerging AI technologies and recommend fit-for-purpose tooling aligned to client objectives, scalability, security, and compliance requirements
• Guide and coach consultants, share best practices, perform code reviews
• Coordinate activities with data source application owners to ensure integration with analytics platform and source systems
• Ensure that data integrity issues are addressed
• Liaise and attend meetings necessary to perform duties and aid business and technical development

Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional experience and 3+ years of expeirence with Databricks
• 8+ years of prior consulting experience
• Very strong technical expertise in Databricks, including architecture, performance optimization, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, workflow orchestration, security, governance, and cloud-native data engineering best practices
• Experience architecting and deploying AI/ML or Generative AI solutions within enterprise environments
• Hands‑on experience with LLM ecosystems and frameworks such as OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, LangChain, Semantic Kernel, MLflow, or Databricks Mosaic AI
• Knowledge of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), vector databases, embeddings, prompt engineering, and AI orchestration patterns
• Familiarity with AI governance, model lifecycle management, responsible AI principles, and enterprise security considerations
• Experience integrating AI capabilities into data platforms, analytics solutions, or customer-facing applications
• Knowledge of standard methodologies, concepts, best practices, and procedures within a Big Data environment
• A commitment to inclusion and diversity, and openness to new ideas and perspectives
• Travel requirements up to 30 to 50%
• Hybrid role: 1 to 2 days a week in office

Based on pay transparency guidelines, the salary range for this role can vary based on your proximity to one of our West Monroe offices (see table below). Information on our competitive total rewards package, including our bonus structure and benefits is here. Individual salaries are determined by evaluating a variety of factors including geography, experience, skills, education, and internal equity.

Employees (and their families) are covered by medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance. Employees are able to enroll in our company’s 401k plan, purchase shares from our employee stock ownership program and be eligible to receive annual bonuses. Employees will also receive unlimited flexible time off and ten paid holidays throughout the calendar year. Eligibility for ten weeks of paid parental leave will also be available upon hire date.

Seattle or Washington, D.C.

$199,100—$223,400 USD

Los Angeles

$205,400—$234,100 USD

New York City or San Francisco

$215,200—$244,700 USD

A location not listed above

$183,800—$212,800 USD

Other consultancies talk at you. At West Monroe, we work with you.

We’re a global business and technology consulting firm passionate about creating measurable value for our clients, delivering real-world solutions. The combination of business and technology is not new, but how we bring them together is unique. We’re fluent in both. We know that technology alone is not the answer, but how we apply it is. We rely on data to constantly adapt and solve new challenges. Actions that work today with outcomes that generate value for years to come.

At West Monroe, we zero in on the heart of the opportunity, getting to results faster and preparing people for what’s next. You’ll feel the difference in how we work. We show up personally. We’re right there in the room with you, co‑creating through the challenges. With West Monroe, collaboration isn’t a lofty promise, but a daily action. We work together with you to turn vision into clear action with lasting impact.

West Monroe is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer

We believe in treating each employee and applicant for employment fairly and with dignity. We base our employment decisions on merit, experience, and potential, without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, religion, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic prohibited by federal, state or local law. To learn more about diversity, equity and inclusion at West Monroe, visitwww.westmonroe.com/inclusion. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in our recruiting process, please inquire by sending an email to [e-mail].

Please review our company disclosures regarding use of artificial intelligence during the hiring process. West Monroe uses the BrightHire platform to record live interviews so our team can capture notes more accurately, stay focused on the conversation, and continually improve our interview process. You can review our privacy notice for more information about this process and how recordings are used. If you have any questions, reach out to [e-mail].

If you are based in California, we encourage you to read West Monroe’s Notice at Collection for California residents, provided pursuant to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and linkedhere.