USA - Remote - New York / Insights & Analysis

Merkle Inc.; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 113,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, vision, dental insurance

401k matching

Paid time off

Job summary

Merkle Inc. seeks a Director, Data Engineer - Technical Leadership & Advisory to drive Databricks-focused client engagements in New York.

You will blend hands-on data engineering with strategic advisory, guiding multi-phase delivery from discovery through production, and building credibility at C-suite and technical levels. You will own architecture decisions, lead complex data transformation programs, mentor engineers, and shape Databricks capabilities across the practice while ensuring client

Qualifications

• 8+ years building data platforms on cloud warehouses with hands-on Databricks experience
• Advanced SQL and Python; code production-grade pipelines
• Deep relational and lakehouse data modeling; Customer 360
• Proven track record delivering multi-phase delivery programs
• Strong client-facing communication; able to present to C-suite and technical audiences
• Ability to build credibility with client stakeholders across technical and business functions
• Experience with data observability, pipeline automation, and change control
• Active use of cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) in production

Responsibilities

• Lead pre-sales technical engagements (workshops, architecture reviews, assessments, POCs)
• Develop business cases and proposals quantifying value of data platforms and Databricks initiatives
• Build strong relationships with technical decision-makers and stakeholders
• Contribute to RFP responses and competitive positioning
• Lead or deliver complex Databricks-enabled data transformation programs
• Mentor engineers and contribute to team capability
• Design reusable Databricks implementations and reference architectures
• Conduct architecture and code reviews to enforce standards

Skills

Databricks

SQL

Python

Client advisory

Pre-sales

Leadership

Data modeling

Cloud platforms

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Airflow

dbt

Unity Catalog

Job description

The Director, Data Engineer - Technical Leadership & Advisory is a senior technical leadership role grounded in Databricks expertise, client advisory, and delivery excellence. You operate fluidly across pre-sales, discovery, and delivery - building deep credibility with clients by listening to technical challenges, sketching solutions in real time, and leading the delivery of complex data transformation programs. You are equally comfortable in a CMO's boardroom discussing data strategy outcomes and in a technical workshop whiteboarding a Databricks architecture with a client's data engineering team.

You bridge the gap between what clients think they need and what they actually need. Your value comes from the combination of hands-on technical depth, clear business communication, and the ability to be present across the full engagement lifecycle. Clients and internal teams seek you out because you understand both the technical constraints and the business outcomes, and you have a track record of delivering on complex programs.

This role is about deepening client relationships through demonstrated credibility, contributing to practice capability in data platforms, and mentoring internal talent. You help shape how Merkle positions and delivers Databricks work—both through the quality of your delivery and through the relationships you build with clients and partners.

Key Responsibilities

Client Advisory & Pre-Sales Solutioning

• Participate in and lead pre-sales technical engagements (workshops, architecture reviews, assessments, POCs) that help clients understand their data platform needs and Databricks-fit
• Develop business cases and proposal content that quantifies the value of data platform and Databricks-specific initiatives (ROI, cost avoidance, speed-to-insight, etc.)
• Build and maintain strong relationships with technical decision-makers (CDOs, data leaders, platform owners) by providing credible, honest technical counsel
• Contribute to RFP responses and competitive positioning, with focus on technical differentiation and implementation feasibility
• Listen actively during discovery and delivery for unmet technical needs and opportunities; surface these to Solutions Architects, leadership, and client stakeholders
• Represent the firm’s Databricks capability in client conversations; be a trusted technical voice in strategic discussions

Technical Leadership & Delivery

• Own the technical relationship with client data leadership and engineering teams; be the trusted voice on architecture, feasibility, and risk
• Deliver or lead delivery of complex data transformation programs anchored in Databricks environments; ensure technical quality and client satisfaction
• Collaborate with Solutions Architects to validate and refine technical designs before execution; ensure feasibility assumptions hold in delivery
• Make day-to-day technical decisions on architecture, platform configuration, data modeling, and tooling within delivery engagements; explain tradeoffs clearly
• Design and build reusable Databricks implementations, reference architectures, and accelerators that accelerate future engagements
• Conduct architecture reviews, code reviews, and technical assessments; contribute to technical standards and best practices across the team
• Surface and elevate data quality issues, integration risks, and scope/schedule impacts proactively; propose remediation approaches
• As applicable, mentor or lead engineers on engagements; contribute to growing team technical capability

Platform Expertise & Thought Leadership

• Maintain world-class expertise in Databricks: SQL, Python, Unity Catalog, Delta Live Tables, lakehouse patterns, AI/ML integration, and emerging Databricks AI capabilities
• Stay current on the Databricks product roadmap and emerging capabilities; advise clients on where Databricks is going and what that means for their architecture
• Evaluate and recommend data platform tooling adjacent to Databricks: cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure), orchestration (Airflow, dbt), and consumption patterns
• Build and maintain Databricks certifications and thought leadership; consider active participation in Databricks communities, user groups, or speaking engagements
• Contribute to internal knowledge management: playbooks, reference architectures, and best-practice guides that become assets the practice reuses
• Mentor and develop engineers; elevate their technical and/or client-facing capability
• Lead technical discovery workshops with C-suite and director-level stakeholders; frame data platform investments in business outcome terms
• Explain complex Databricks architecture and data engineering decisions to non-technical audiences (CMOs, CFOs, board members) with clarity and business context
• Produce thought leadership and advisory content: POV papers, assessment frameworks, and capability maturity models that position Merkle and yourself as authorities
• Represent the firm in client forums, advisory board meetings, and steering committees where data platform strategy is discussed

What Success Looks Like

• Large, complex Databricks delivery engagements delivered on time, on budget, with high client satisfaction and clear technical governance
• A reputation within key client accounts as the trusted technical voice—someone clients ask for and rely on to solve complex data infrastructure problems
• Deep relationships with client technical and business stakeholders; clients and internal teams seek you out for solutioning conversations and technical advice
• Reusable Databricks implementations, reference architectures, and accelerators that the practice leverages to compress timelines and improve delivery quality
• Contributions to pre-sales engagements that demonstrate technical credibility and help shape how Merkle positions Databricks capabilities
• Internal mentorship and knowledge-sharing; engineers grow in technical capability and client-facing confidence through exposure to your work
• Demonstrable depth in Databricks: current certifications, awareness of product roadmap and emerging capabilities, and ability to articulate why decisions matter
• Representation of Merkle’s Databricks expertise both internally and externally (internal forums, client presentations, vendor conversations)
• AI tools embedded in your technical workflow and actively used to accelerate delivery and documentation

Qualifications

Required (Core)

• 8+ years building data platform implementations on cloud data warehouses, with at least 3 years of hands-on experience with Databricks (including SQL, Python, DLT, Unity Catalog, or equivalent scope)
• Advanced SQL and Python; ability to code production-quality data pipelines without oversight
• Deep experience with relational and lakehouse data modeling; design of Customer 360 and conformed data models
• Demonstrated experience participating in and leading complex, multi-phase delivery programs; clear track record of technical delivery success
• Exceptional client-facing communication skills; comfortable presenting technical concepts to both C-suite and technical audiences
• Demonstrated ability to build credibility and trust with client stakeholders across technical and business functions
• Experience with data observability, pipeline automation, and formal change control in production environments
• Demonstrated use of AI coding assistants (GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code) as a regular productivity tool
• Active use of cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure); working knowledge of cloud data architecture

Strongly Preferred

• Databricks Certified Data Engineer (Professional level) or Databricks Solutions Architect Certification
• Active engagement with Databricks thought leadership: community participation, conference speaking, or knowledge-sharing
• Experience with Databricks AI capabilities (Databricks AI Functions, vector search, or Mosaic AI)
• Experience with governance and Unity Catalog implementation at enterprise scale
• Hands-on experience with modern data orchestration (Airflow, Prefect, dbt)
• Contribution to pre-sales / discovery engagements; ability to articulate technical value propositions
• Experience with adjacent platforms: Adobe AEP/RTCDP, Salesforce Data Cloud, or cloud analytics platforms
• Mentoring experience; track record of growing junior engineers’ technical and/or client-facing skills

Cultural / Behavioral

• Growth mindset: genuine curiosity about client business problems and appetite for learning new platforms and use cases
• Advisory orientation: comfortable with ambiguity, comfortable offering recommendations even with imperfect information, comfortable taking educated risk in solutioning
• Collaborative leadership: mentors and elevates team members; shares knowledge freely; does not hoard expertise
• Bias toward clarity: produces clear documentation, architecture diagrams, and business case narratives; commits to making complexity accessible
• Client advocate: willing to push back on aggressive timelines or scope while remaining collaborative; escalates issues early rather than late

The annual salary range for this position is $113,000 - $175,000. Placement within the salary range is based on a variety of factors, including relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and other factors permitted by law.

Benefits available with this position include:

• Medical, vision, and dental insurance,
• Life insurance,
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance,
• 401k,
• Flexible paid time off,
• At least 15 paid holidays per year,
• Paid sick and safe leave, and
• Paid parental leave.