Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - Public Sector

Databricks Inc.; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 180,656 - 248,360; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits and perks

Diversity and inclusion commitment

Job summary

Databricks Inc. is looking for a Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to support the delivery of data solutions within the Public Sector. The role requires U.S. citizenship and eligibility for a U.S. government secret clearance. You will drive the implementation of complex data challenges, ensuring optimal client engagement through architecture and design ownership.

This position offers the opportunity to lead impactful projects with major clients, leveraging your expertise in data engineering and cloud ecosystems, while contributing to transformative big data efforts in a diverse work environment.

Qualifications

• 6+ years experience in data engineering or software engineering.
• Experience with various Cloud ecosystems, especially one.
• Deep experience with Apache Spark™ and its runtime.

Responsibilities

• Lead impactful customer technical projects with production systems.
• Guide customers in implementing big data projects.
• Own architecture decisions ensuring alignment with best practices.

Skills

Data engineering

Cloud ecosystems (AWS, Azure, GCP)

Apache Spark™

CI/CD

MLOps

Technical project delivery

Documentation

Stakeholder management

Tools

Databricks Certification

Job description

Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - Public Sector

Location: Washington, D.C., Maryland, or Virginia metropolitan area. This position includes periodic on‑site work and client collaboration.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to federal contract requirements and client site access obligations, U.S. citizenship and eligibility for a U.S. government secret clearance are required to access classified information. Candidates with an active Secret or higher clearance are strongly encouraged to apply.

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. FDEs deliver with customer empathy, integrating with client systems, training, and other technical needs to help customers get the most value out of their data.

Responsibilities

• Production Solution Delivery: 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.
• Transformational Impact: 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. Work with engagement managers to scope technical delivery work with input from the customer.
• Empower Customers: Guide customers on architecture and design; bootstrap or implement customer projects which leads to a customers' successful understanding, evaluation and adoption of Databricks.
• Own the Architecture: Lead architecture and design decisions, ensuring solutions are secure, scalable, and aligned with both customer needs and Databricks best practices.
• Collaborate with the Databricks technical team, Project Manager, Architect and Customer team to ensure the technical components of the engagement are delivered to meet customer's needs.
• Work with Engineering and Databricks Customer Support to provide product and implementation feedback and guide rapid resolution for engagement‑specific product and support issues.
• Customer Immersion: Embed with customer teams, engaging with stakeholders from technical ICs to executives to deeply understand challenges and deliver impact.
• Reusable Assets & Scale: 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).

Pay Range Transparency

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

About Databricks

Databricks is the data and AI company. More than 10,000 organizations worldwide — including Comcast, Condé Nast, Grammarly, and over 50% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform to unify and democratize data, analytics and AI. Databricks is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices around the globe and was founded by the original creators of Lakehouse, Apache Spark™, Delta Lake and MLflow.

Benefits

At Databricks, we strive to provide comprehensive benefits and perks that meet the needs of all of our employees.

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.