Staff Software Engineer, Foundation Model Inference

Databricks; California (MO); On-site; USD 190,000 - 265,000; Full time

Job summary

Databricks is seeking backend engineers to help build the FMAPI platform, powering large-language-model inference at enterprise scale. You will contribute to scalable, real-time AI services and collaborate across platform, infra, and ML teams.

This role emphasizes ownership, reliability, and performance in a fast-moving AI infrastructure environment. You will join a high-visibility team shaping the data and AI platform used by thousands of customers, with opportunities to influence roadmap and

Qualifications

• 8+ years of backend or infrastructure engineering experience.
• Experience with distributed systems, scalable APIs, or cloud-native infrastructure.
• Strong product ownership mindset and shipping user-facing value.
• Experience with real-time serving, ML infrastructure, or GPU orchestration.
• Familiarity with service-oriented architecture, deployment pipelines, and observability.
• Strong programming skills in Scala, Go, or Python.

Responsibilities

• Build LLM infrastructure powering large-scale inference workloads for customers via partner models and self-hosted models.
• Shape the FMAPI product direction from roadmap to execution through deep customer empathy with enterprise users and providers.
• Improve reliability, latency, and efficiency of distributed AI workloads.
• Collaborate with platform, infra, and ML teams to deliver end-to-end experiences.
• Define how developers and data scientists build and interact with AI on Databricks.

Skills

LLM infrastructure

Distributed systems

Cloud-native infra

Product ownership

Real-time serving

GPU orchestration

Scala Go Python

Job description

P-1930

At Databricks, we are passionate about enabling data and AI teams to solve the world's toughest problems — from making the next mode of transportation a reality to accelerating the development of medical breakthroughs. We do this by building and running the world's best data and AI infrastructure platform so our customers can use deep data insights to improve their business. Founded by engineers — and customer-obsessed — we leap at every opportunity to solve technical challenges, from designing next-gen UI/UX for interfacing with data to scaling our services and infrastructure across millions of virtual machines. And we're only getting started.

As part of the AI team, you'll build the platforms and products that power everything from data apps, AI agents, model training, model serving, and Vector Search. You'll be joining a high-agency, high-visibility team operating at the frontier of AI infrastructure — with deep ties to research, product, and real-world enterprise use cases. Databricks Mosaic AI is one of our fastest-growing businesses, helping thousands of our customers democratize AI within their organizations. We're building the products and infrastructure that power the next generation of AI.

We're hiring across multiple teams in our AI Engineering org, including the FMAPI (Foundation Model APIs) team — the unified serving layer for large language models across real-time and batch inference, powering model inference at enterprise scale. We are looking to hire high-agency engineers who bridge the gap between technical execution and product strategy.

The impact you will have:

• Build LLM infrastructure powering large-scale inference workloads for customers through partner models (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini) and self-hosted models (Qwen, GPT-OSS, Llama)

• Shape the direction of the FMAPI product — from roadmap to execution — by leveraging deep customer empathy and direct engagement with enterprise users and model providers

• Improve reliability, latency, and efficiency of distributed AI workloads

• Collaborate with platform, infra, and ML teams to deliver seamless end-to-end experiences

• Shape how developers and data scientists build and interact with AI on Databricks

What we look for:

• 8+ years of experience in backend or infrastructure engineering

• Experience with distributed systems, scalable APIs, or cloud-native infrastructure

• Strong product and ownership mindset, with a focus on shipping user-facing value

• Experience with real-time serving, ML infrastructure, or GPU orchestration

• Familiarity with service-oriented architecture, deployment pipelines, and system observability

• Strong programming skills in Scala, Go, or Python

Bonus points for:

• Exposure to platforms like SageMaker, Vertex AI, or Azure ML

• Built products that support AI workflows

Pay Range Transparency

Databricks is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The pay range(s) for this role is listed below and represents the expected salary range for non-commissionable roles or on-target earnings for commissionable roles. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to job-related skills, depth of experience, relevant certifications and training, and specific work location. Based on the factors above, Databricks anticipates utilizing the full width of the range. The total compensation package for this position may also include eligibility for annual performance bonus, equity, and the benefits listed above. For more information regarding which range your location is in visit our page here.

Local Pay Range

$190,000—$265,000 USD

About Databricks

Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 20,000 organizations worldwide — including adidas, AT&T, Bayer, Block, Mastercard, Rivian, Unilever, and 70% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Data + AI Platform to build and scale data and AI apps, analytics and agents. Headquartered in San Francisco with 30+ offices around the globe, Databricks offers a unified platform that includes Genie, Lakebase, Agent Bricks, Lakeflow, Lakehouse, and Unity Catalog. To learn more, follow Databricks on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, and Instagram.

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.