Sr. Director, Field Engineering (Lakebase)

Databricks Inc.; United States; On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Databricks Inc. is hiring a Sr. Director of Field Engineering to lead and manage technical field practitioners across North America. This role includes accountability for the global Lakebase Field Engineering organization and fostering a collaborative culture within a rapidly growing team.

The ideal candidate should have over 10 years of experience in technical pre-sales, deep knowledge of operational databases, and strong leadership skills. Benefits and a commitment to diversity and inclusion are key aspects of the company's culture.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in building and scaling technical pre-sales and Customer Delivery teams.
• Experience in scaling and mentoring field and technical teams, managing both in-person and remote working models.
• Experience with large and complex customer accounts.

Responsibilities

• Lead the global Lakebase Field Engineering organization.
• Align with sales leader to define Lakebase GTM strategy.
• Scale Field Engineering team while maintaining high standards.

Skills

Building and scaling technical pre-sales teams

Managing field and technical teams

Experience with large accounts generating +$1M ARR

Competence in operational databases

Organizational leadership

Adaptability in changing environments

Tools

PostgreSQL

AI/ML frameworks

Job description

Role Overview

We seek a seasoned technical leader for the Sr. Director of Field Engineering (Lakebase) position for North America. In this role, you will lead a leadership team managing technical field practitioners covering the end-to-end Databricks customer journey from Pre‑Sales to Go‑Live. Your teams will be accountable for driving the technical/business wins for the Databricks platform as well as accelerating the consumption of the Databricks platform, and driving workloads to production for all customers in your segment. Hiring, coaching, and motivating the team to success will be critical.

Impact

• You will report to the Americas Enterprise Field Engineering Leader and take full ownership and accountability for the global Lakebase Field Engineering organization scaling to over 50 SAs.


• Tight alignment with Global Lakebase Sales leader to define and operationalize Lakebase GTM strategy coupled with resource prioritization and distribution.


• Build a collaborative culture within a rapid‑growth team. You will manage and mentor leaders and recruit talent focusing on inclusivity and resilience.


• Rapidly scale the Field Engineering Lakebase team while maintaining an exceptionally high bar for talent and hiring at pace.


• Drive a consistent, thorough management operating rhythm to review KPIs specific to a high‑velocity database launch (developer adoption, production migration velocity, application launch timelines, and low‑latency workload success).


• Serve as a thought leader, consulting with strategic customer and partner contacts to position the strength of Databricks, the comprehensive solutions strategy, and build trust and credibility in the account.


• Build Databricks' brand as a world‑class operational database vendor with global GTM teams, positioning Lakebase as the definitive storage layer for modern data apps and AI agents.

What We Look For

• 10+ years of experience in building and scaling technical pre‑sales and Customer Delivery teams.


• Experience in scaling and mentoring field and technical teams, managing both in‑person and remote working models.


• Experience working with accounts – from Growth/Net New to Large and Complex accounts generating +$1M ARR.


• Relevant high‑growth enterprise software pre‑sales success with senior‑level tenure at a reputable software company, with experience in the database market.


• Deep technical competence in operational databases (PostgreSQL/OLTP), application development paradigms, real‑time data streaming, application APIs, and AI/ML state frameworks (like vector search extensions or agentic workflows), alongside a strong understanding of core Lakehouse architecture.


• Experience instituting processes for technical field members to improve operational efficiency.


• Organizational leadership, with an ability to attract, develop, and retain talent.


• Ability to operate in a rapidly changing, ambiguous environment, while delivering results in the near term and building for durable, long‑term growth.


• As this is a global team, need to be open to a minimum travel expectation of 30%.

Benefits

At Databricks, we strive to provide comprehensive benefits and perks that meet the needs of all of our employees. For specific details on the benefits offered in your region click here.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

At Databricks, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone can excel. We take great care to ensure that our hiring practices are inclusive and meet equal employment opportunity standards. Individuals looking for employment at Databricks are considered without regard to age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio‑economic status, veteran status, and other protected characteristics.

Compliance

If access to export‑controlled technology or source code is required for performance of job duties, it is within Employer’s discretion whether to apply for a U.S. government license for such positions, and Employer may decline to proceed with an applicant on this basis alone.