Senior Databricks Architect - Cloud Data Modernization

Cognizant; Sacramento (CA); Remote; USD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Cognizant seeks an experienced Databricks Architect to lead the design and implementation of enterprise data modernization initiatives using the Databricks Lakehouse on AWS. The role focuses on large-scale data migration, governance, and scalable ELT/ETL pipelines.

The ideal candidate has 12+ years in data engineering/architecture, 5+ years in Databricks architecture, and strong skills in Spark, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, Python, and SQL. Insurance domain experience is a plus.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of Data Engineering/Data Architecture experience.
• 5+ years of hands-on Databricks Architecture experience.
• Strong expertise in Databricks Lakehouse, Apache Spark/PySpark, Delta Lake, Databricks Workflows, and Unity Catalog.
• Proficient in Python and SQL; AWS Cloud experience (S3, IAM, networking, security).
• Experience with data governance, security, and enterprise data models.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement enterprise-scale Databricks Lakehouse architecture.
• Lead data modernization and migration programs from legacy platforms to Databricks.
• Architect ELT/ETL pipelines using Databricks, Spark, Delta Lake, and Python.
• Define governance, security, lineage, and metadata management strategies.
• Provide architecture guidance for cloud-native solutions on AWS.
• Collaborate with business, analytics, and engineering teams to define data strategies.
• Establish best practices for data quality, monitoring, and cost optimization.
• Create architecture standards, reference architectures, and technical documentation.
• Mentor data engineers and technical leads throughout development lifecycle.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and AI/ML capabilities within Databricks ecosystem.

Skills

Databricks Lakehouse

Apache Spark

Python

SQL

AWS Cloud

Data governance

Stakeholder management

Cloud architecture

Tools

Databricks

Terraform

Snowflake

Job description

Cognizant seeks an experienced Databricks Architect to lead the design and implementation of enterprise data modernization initiatives using the Databricks Lakehouse on AWS. The role focuses on large-scale data migration, governance, and scalable ELT/ETL pipelines.

The ideal candidate has 12+ years in data engineering/architecture, 5+ years in Databricks architecture, and strong skills in Spark, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, Python, and SQL. Insurance domain experience is a plus.