Senior Solutions Architect - Pre-Sales Leadership NEW

The Briefed; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 219,000 - 301,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare & Wellbeing

401(k) retirement plan

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Databricks in Seattle is seeking a Senior Solutions Architect to lead enterprise engagements, shaping technical strategy and platform adoption. You will manage executive relationships, own architecture roadmaps, and guide large-scale migrations and lakehouse implementations.

You will mentor junior architects and drive technical win strategies across multi-cloud deployments, emphasizing real-time data processing and ML/AI platforms.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive experience in solutions architecture or senior customer-facing tech roles.
• Expert-Level coding with Python, SQL, Spark/PySpark; live coding assessment will be required.

Responsibilities

• Drive end-to-end technical strategy for strategic enterprise accounts.
• Own senior-level technical relationships with C-suite stakeholders.
• Architect and guide multi-workload platform implementations (real-time streaming, lakehouse, ML/AI).
• Mentor junior Solutions Architects (L3–L5) on depth, presentation, and use case prioritization.
• Develop technical win strategies and displacements against legacy platforms.
• Lead cross-functional account pods with DSAs, SSAs, SI partners, and PMs.

Skills

Python

SQL

Spark/PySpark

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in CS/Engineering

Tools

Databricks Platform

Job description

Databricks is the Data and AI company. Over 20,000 organizations worldwide—including 70% of the Fortune 500—rely on the Databricks Data + AI Platform to build and scale data and AI applications, analytics, and autonomous agents.

As a Senior Solutions Architect (Sr. SA), you will serve as an expert-level technical leader responsible for the organization's most complex enterprise customer engagements. Combining deep technical mastery, strategic account planning, and executive influence, you will drive platform consumption strategy, establish trusted advisor relationships with C-level stakeholders, and own long-term enterprise architecture roadmaps. Senior SAs have a declared technical archetype—a recognized specialization (e.g., real-time architectures, ML/AI platforms, data governance, or large-scale migrations)—that serves as a force multiplier across field teams, while coaching junior SAs and leading competitive displacements against legacy and emerging data platforms.

Key Responsibilities

• Enterprise Consumption & Technical Strategy: Drive the end-to-end technical strategy for strategic enterprise accounts—aligning complex architecture decisions with business outcomes to accelerate platform adoption and consumption growth.
• Executive Technical Advisory: Own senior-level technical relationships (VPs, CTOs, CDOs, and C-level executives), serving as a trusted advisor on modern enterprise data and AI transformation.
• Complex Architecture Ownership: Architect and guide multi-workload platform implementations—including enterprise-wide legacy migrations, real-time streaming architectures, lakehouse design patterns, and enterprise-grade ML/AI platforms.
• Archetype Specialization & Mentorship: Maintain recognized expert depth in a declared technical archetype; mentor junior Solutions Architects (L3–L5) on technical depth, presentation skills, and use case prioritization.
• Competitive Positioning: Develop and execute technical win strategies to position Databricks effectively against incumbent database warehouses and emerging cloud platform competitors.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Orchestrate cross-functional account pods—partnering with Dedicated Solutions Architects (DSAs), Specialist SAs (SSAs), System Integrator (SI) Partners, and Product Management to unblock enterprise adoption.
• Thought Leadership & Field Enablement: Contribute to field engineering enablement through customer workshops, whitepapers, technical blogs, open-source contributions, and industry conference presentations.

Requirements

Pre-Sales Architecture & Technical Depth

• 8+ years of progressive experience in solutions architecture, principal engineering, technical pre-sales leadership, or senior customer-facing technical roles.
• Expert-Level Coding Proficiency: Hands-on mastery in Python, SQL, and Spark / PySpark (candidates must complete live coding assessments and a hands-on platform build during the interview process).
• Enterprise Data Architecture Mastery: Deep architectural knowledge of high-throughput distributed systems, real-time streaming engines, lakehouse design patterns, data governance frameworks, and multi-cloud platform architectures.
• Databricks Platform Expertise: Expert-level knowledge of the Databricks platform (or equivalent deep expertise in competing platforms combined with a proven ability to ramp rapidly).
• Declared Technical Archetype: Recognized technical depth in a specific area such as real-time architectures, ML/AI platform deployment, data governance, large-scale migrations, or industry vertical solutions.
• Executive Presence & Strategy: Track record of communicating with and influencing Director, VP, and C-suite stakeholders on long-term data strategy and business ROI.
• Competitive Displacements: Demonstrated success driving complex technical evaluations, proofs-of-concept (POCs), and competitive displacements against legacy data platforms.
• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a quantitative discipline (or equivalent practical experience).

Preferred Qualifications

• Official Databricks Certifications (Data Engineer Professional, ML Professional, or Solutions Architect Champion).
• Prior pre-sales or engineering experience at major data and AI platforms (e.g., Databricks, Snowflake, AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft).
• Published technical thought leadership (engineering blogs, open-source contributions, conference speaking engagements).
• Industry vertical domain expertise (e.g., Financial Services, Healthcare/Life Sciences, Retail/CPG, Media).

Selection & Interview Process

1. Recruiter Screen
2. Hiring Manager Screen
3. Design and Architecture Interview
4. Live Coding Assessment
5. Build, Demo, Pitch! Presentation
6. Reference Check

Total Rewards & Benefits

• Compensation & Equity: On-Target Earnings (OTE) pay range of $219,100 – $301,300 USD (Zones 1–4) + annual performance bonus eligibility + Databricks equity grants.
• Healthcare & Wellbeing: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage for employees and eligible dependents.
• Financial & Retirement: 401(k) retirement plan with company options, life/disability coverage, and employee wellness stipends.
• Time Off & Flexibility: Flexible PTO, paid company holidays, paid sick leave, and parental leave.