Senior Forward Deployed Engineer — Data & AI for Media

Databricks Inc.; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 182,000 - 250,208; Full time

Job summary

Databricks Inc. is seeking a Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to work with customers on data & AI challenges using the Databricks platform.

You will own the architecture, lead design decisions, and implement end-to-end systems spanning data engineering, AI, and application development. This is a hands-on, customer-facing role for builders who thrive at the intersection of technology and business impact. The ideal candidate combines engineering expertise with adaptability, curiosity, and a

Qualifications

• 6+ years experience in data engineering, data platforms & analytics, or software engineering.
• Working knowledge of two or more Cloud ecosystems (AWS, Azure, GCP) with expertise in at least one.
• Deep experience with distributed computing with Apache Spark and knowledge of Spark runtime internals.
• Familiarity with CI/CD for production deployments.
• Working knowledge of MLOps, ML/AI models and AI APIs.
• Design and deployment of production end-to-end data architectures and applications that combine data pipelines, ML/AI models, and user-facing interfaces.
• Experience with technical project delivery - managing scope, timelines and measurable outcomes, translating complex concepts into actionable solutions.
• Documentation and white-boarding skills.
• Experience working with enterprise clients and managing conflicts across a broad stakeholder range.
• Build skills in technical areas, and demonstrate curiosity, adaptability, and eagerness to explore new technologies which support deployment and integration of Databricks-based solutions to complete customer projects.
• Travel to customers 20% of the time.
• Databricks Certification.

Responsibilities

• Lead production solution delivery by building reference architectures, custom apps, and data ingestion and ML/AI model integration.
• Guide strategic customers through end-to-end design, build and deployment of data and AI applications.
• Bootstrap or implement customer projects which leads to successful adoption of Databricks.
• Own architecture and design decisions, ensuring secure, scalable solutions.
• Collaborate with engineering, project managers, architects, and customer teams to deliver engagements.
• Provide product and implementation feedback and guide rapid resolution of issues.
• Embed with customer teams from ICs to executives to understand challenges and deliver impact.
• Develop accelerators, frameworks, and best practices to scale impact across accounts.

Skills

Data engineering

Cloud ecosystems (AWS, Azure, GCP)

Apache Spark

CI/CD

MLOps

End-to-end data architectures

Enterprise client work

Documentation

Travel 20%

Databricks Certification

Education

Databricks Certification

Tools

Apache Spark

CI/CD tooling

Job description

Databricks Inc. is seeking a Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to work with customers on data & AI challenges using the Databricks platform.

You will own the architecture, lead design decisions, and implement end-to-end systems spanning data engineering, AI, and application development. This is a hands-on, customer-facing role for builders who thrive at the intersection of technology and business impact. The ideal candidate combines engineering expertise with adaptability, curiosity, and a