Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer

About the role

As a 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 hands-on, customer-facing role is ideal for builders who thrive at the intersection of technology and business impact.

The ideal candidate combines engineering expertise with adaptability, curiosity, and a passion for working with customers and teammates to solve complex problems that drive measurable outcomes. FDEs are billable and know how to complete projects according to specification with exceptional customer empathy.

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. Work with engagement managers to scope technical delivery work with input from the customer.
• Empower customers by guiding them on architecture and design; bootstrap or implement customer projects to ensure successful understanding, evaluation, and adoption of Databricks.
• Own the architecture and lead 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 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.
• 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.

Requirements

• 6+ years of experience in data engineering, data platforms & analytics, or software engineering.
• Comfortable writing code in Python, Scala, JavaScript/TypeScript, and modern frameworks.
• Working knowledge of two or more common Cloud ecosystems (AWS, Azure, GCP) with expertise in at least one.
• Deep experience with distributed computing using 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.
• Experience designing and deploying 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, and translating complex concepts into actionable solutions.
• Strong documentation and whiteboarding skills.
• Experience working with enterprise clients and managing conflicts across a broad stakeholder range.
• Demonstrated curiosity, adaptability, and eagerness to explore new technologies supporting the deployment and integration of Databricks-based solutions.
• Travel to customers 20% of the time.
• Databricks Certification (preferred).

Pay

Databricks is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The pay range(s) for this role are as follows:

• Zone 1 Pay Range: $182,000—$250,208 USD
• Zone 2 Pay Range: $182,000—$250,208 USD
• Zone 3 Pay Range: $182,000—$250,208 USD
• Zone 4 Pay Range: $182,000—$250,208 USD

Actual compensation packages are based on several factors unique to each candidate, including job-related skills, depth of experience, relevant certifications, and specific work location.