Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - Manufacturing

Databricks Inc.; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 180,656 - 248,360; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Paid time off

Retirement plans

Job summary

Databricks Inc. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is seeking a Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to lead impactful customer technical projects and deliver production-grade systems. The successful candidate will leverage their expertise in data engineering and distributed computing to guide customers through the implementation of transformative big data solutions.

This role involves substantial customer interaction, architectural design, and project management. With a preferred Databricks certification, candidates are expected to navigate complexities while ensuring solutions meet best practices and customer needs.

Qualifications

• Experience with technical project delivery, managing scope and outcomes.
• Documentation and white-boarding skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical projects by building production-grade systems.
• Guide customers on architecture and design for big data projects.
• Embed with customer teams to understand challenges.

Skills

Data engineering

Distributed computing with Apache Spark

AWS

Azure

MLOps

Education

6+ years experience in data engineering, data platforms & analytics, or software engineering

Job description

Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) – Manufacturing

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

As a Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) you will work with customers to build and productionize solutions to their 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.

Responsibilities

• Lead impactful customer technical projects by delivering production‑grade systems, designing and building reference architectures, custom applications and data ingestion and ML/AI model integration.
• Guide strategic customers as they implement transformational big data projects including end‑to‑end design, build and deployment of industry‑leading big data and AI applications.
• Guide customers on architecture and design; bootstrap or implement customer projects leading to a successful understanding, evaluation and adoption of Databricks.
• Lead architecture and design decisions, ensuring solutions are secure, scalable, and aligned with both customer needs and Databricks best practices.
• Work with the Databricks technical team, Project Manager, Architect and Customer team to ensure the technical components of the engagement are delivered to meet customer needs.
• Work with Engineering and Databricks Customer Support to provide product and implementation feedback and to guide rapid resolution for engagement‑specific product and support issues.
• Embed with customer teams, engaging with stakeholders from technical ICs to executives to deeply understand challenges and deliver impact.
• Contribute accelerators, frameworks, and best practices that scale impact across accounts and influence the Databricks product roadmap.

Qualifications

• 6+ years experience in data engineering, data platforms & analytics, or software engineering.
• Working knowledge of two or more common 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 performant 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 the deployment and integration of Databricks‑based solutions to complete customer projects.
• Travel to customers 20% of the time.
• Databricks Certification (preferred).

Compensation

Pay Range Transparency: The pay range(s) for this role is listed below and represents the expected base salary range for non‑commissionable roles. The total compensation package for this position may also include eligibility for annual performance bonus, equity, and the benefits listed above.

Zone 1 Pay Range: $180,656 — $248,360 USD

Zone 2 Pay Range: $180,656 — $248,360 USD

Zone 3 Pay Range: $180,656 — $248,360 USD

Zone 4 Pay Range: $180,656 — $248,360 USD

Benefits

Databricks provides comprehensive benefits and perks that meet the needs of all employees, varying by region. Benefits include health, dental, vision, life insurance, disability coverage, paid time off, retirement plans, equity, and other perks.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

Databricks is 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.