Customer Solutions Architect - Cloud Data & AI

Databricks is the Data and AI company. Over 20,000 organizations worldwide—including 70% of the Fortune 500—rely on the Databricks Data + AI Platform to scale data engineering, analytics, machine learning, and AI agents.

As a Solutions Architect at Databricks, you will act as a trusted technical advisor to enterprise customers, helping them evaluate, architect, and adopt the Databricks Data + AI Platform. Working side-by-side with our enterprise sales team, you will design distributed data systems, construct proof of concepts (POCs), and advocate the Lakehouse paradigm powered by open-source technologies including Apache Spark™, Delta Lake, MLflow, and Koalas. In this role, you will bridge the gap between business objectives and cloud-native technical architectures across AWS, Azure, and GCP.

Key Responsibilities

• Technical Pre-Sales Leadership: Partner with account executives to drive technical evaluation, architectural alignment, and adoption of Databricks solutions across strategic customer accounts.
• Architectural Design & POC Execution: Design, build, and deliver production-grade proof-of-concept (POC) applications, distributed data pipelines, and machine learning workflows.
• Cloud & 3rd-Party Integrations: Validate and consult on end-to-end architectures integrating Databricks with public cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, GCP) and enterprise software ecosystems.
• Thought Leadership & Evangelism: Build reference architectures, technical guides, and live platform demonstrations; evangelize Databricks open-source projects across developer communities via webinars, meetups, and conferences.
• Customer Escalation Support: Provide senior-level technical guidance and debugging support for critical operational issues during customer deployments.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Participate in internal Subject Matter Expert (SME) groups, sharing industry insights to refine product features and empower fellow Solutions Architects.

Requirements

Pre-Sales & Technical Experience

• 4+ years of experience in a customer-facing pre-sales engineering, technical architecture, or technical consulting role.
• Demonstrated experience designing, architecting, and optimizing distributed data systems at scale.
• Hands-on programming and debugging proficiency in at least one core language: Python, Scala, Java, SQL, or R.
• Proven experience architecting data solutions on at least one major public cloud platform (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Deep domain expertise in at least one of the following areas:
  • Data Engineering: Apache Spark, Hadoop, Apache Kafka, streaming architectures.
  • Data Warehousing: Advanced SQL, OLAP/OLTP systems, decision support systems (DSS).
  • Data Science & ML: pandas, scikit-learn, hyperparameter optimization (HPO), ML pipelines.

Soft Skills & Travel

• Exceptional presentation, whiteboarding, and communication skills across both technical and executive audiences.
• Ability and willingness to travel to customer sites up to 30% of the time.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in a quantitative discipline (Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Operations Research, Data Engineering).
• Formal Databricks Certification (e.g., Certified Data Engineer Professional, Certified Machine Learning Professional, or Certified Solutions Architect).
• Familiarity with the broader Databricks product ecosystem, including Unity Catalog, Delta Lake, MLflow, and Lakehouse architectures.

Total Rewards & Benefits

• Compensation & Equity: On-Target Earnings (OTE) range of $180,000 – $247,500 USD + annual performance bonus + corporate equity grants.
• Comprehensive Healthcare: Robust medical, dental, and vision insurance options for employees and dependents.
• Financial Security: 401(k) retirement plan, life insurance, and disability coverage.
• Time Off & Work-Life Support: Generous paid time off, parental leave, learning stipends, and wellness perks.