Databricks Platform Engineer

Databricks Platform Engineer

At Salas O’Brien we tell our clients that we’re engineered for impact. This

passion for making a difference applies just as much to our team as it does to

our projects. That’s why we’re committed to living our values every day:

inspiring, achieving, and connecting as shared owners of our success with a

focus on a sustainable future.

Building for the long-term means that all of our team members can expect to work

on amazing projects with a people-first approach to problem solving. It also

means that each member of our team has truly limitless potential to build a

unique, meaningful, and high-impact career—and they’ll receive great total

rewards along the way.

About Us:

Founded in 1975, Salas O’Brien is an employee-owned engineering and professional

services firm focused on achieving impact for our clients, our team, and the

world. We know that tomorrow’s requirements are today’s opportunities, and we

are here to design lasting solutions for pressing challenges.

We work across a variety of industries providing integrated engineering and

consulting services. Our specialized experience includes design for data

centers, healthcare, science and technology, high-rise buildings, clean energy,

education, and other building types as well as structural and building sciences,

infrastructure asset management, advanced robotics, and more.

Our technical expertise is paired with an exceptional team of business

development, human resources, finance and accounting, information technology,

and marketing professionals, all of whom play a key role in bringing our

commitments to life every day.

Job Summary: The Databricks Platform Engineer / Architect owns the Databricks

platform from end to end. You will administer the platform, keep it current, and

advise teams across the organization on how to design and build within it

effectively.

This is a hands-on technical role with meaningful architectural authority. It is

not a coordinator position. You will be responsible for both the daily operation

of the platform and the long-term decisions that shape its scalability,

security, governance, and performance.

Responsibilities

• * Administer the Databricks platform across multiple environments, including
• workspaces, Unity Catalog, cluster policies, budget policies, and the
• guardrails that enable teams to move quickly while maintaining consistency
• and control.
• * Manage identity and access, including Microsoft Entra ID single sign-on,
• account-level SCIM group provisioning, service principals, and scalable
• access-control models.
• * Partner with IT Infrastructure and Security to manage the platform’s
• networking and security posture, including customer-managed virtual private
• clouds, private connectivity, encryption, egress controls, audit logs, and
• system tables connected to enterprise monitoring tools.
• * Manage infrastructure and workloads through code using Terraform, Databricks
• Asset Bundles, and CI/CD practices, with no manual production configuration
• whenever automation is practical.
• * Establish and maintain cost-governance practices, including tagging
• standards, business-unit showback, budget controls, and recommendations for
• reducing unnecessary platform spending.
• * Serve as a trusted architecture advisor to data scientists, data engineers,
• analysts, and business stakeholders before solutions are designed and
• deployed.
• * Provide current, practical, and technically sound recommendations that
• balance organizational standards with business needs.
• * Evaluate emerging platform capabilities and determine how they should be
• adopted within the organization.
• Keeping the Platform Current
• Databricks evolves rapidly. You will monitor platform releases and understand
• how capabilities such as serverless computing, Unity Catalog, Lakeflow, and
• other emerging features affect our environment.
• You will translate new capabilities into practical recommendations rather than
• adopting technology based on hype. Your leadership will help ensure that the
• organization uses modern, supportable patterns instead of relying on outdated
• approaches.

Qualifications

• and Experience

Who You Are

• * Databricks is your primary technical discipline, not simply one platform
• among many.
• * You have several years of hands-on experience administering and architecting
• Databricks environments in production.
• * You are equally comfortable writing Terraform code and participating in
• executive-level architecture, security, and governance discussions.
• * You can explain why a proposed approach may create challenges over time and
• offer practical alternatives.
• * You have strong technical opinions and preferred approaches, but you are
• willing to adjust them when evidence, business requirements, or
• organizational constraints support a different solution.
• * You communicate technical trade-offs clearly to people who are not platform
• engineers and do so without unnecessary jargon or condescension.
• Required Qualifications
• * Deep, current, production-level Databricks administration experience on AWS,
• or significant Azure Databricks experience with a credible path to supporting
• AWS.
• * Experience designing and managing Unity Catalog in a multi-workspace
• environment.
• * Demonstrated experience developing catalog structures and access-control
• models that support a growing organization.
• * Experience integrating Databricks with Microsoft Entra ID, including single
• sign-on and SCIM provisioning.
• * Strong Terraform and CI/CD experience for infrastructure and platform
• management.
• * Working knowledge of cloud networking concepts, including virtual private
• clouds, private connectivity, encryption, egress controls, and related
• security-review processes.
• * Ability to build a strong partnership with IT Infrastructure and Security
• teams, clearly communicate platform needs, follow enterprise standards, and
• advocate constructively for architecture improvements.
• * Sound judgment in determining when the platform’s default approach is
• appropriate and when organizational requirements call for a different
• solution.
• * Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Preference may be given to candidates with experience supporting government,
• military, or controlled-data environments, including Controlled Unclassified
• Information and Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification requirements.
• Salas O’Brien is primarily a commercial organization, with federal and
• controlled-data workloads on the roadmap. Experience with enclave separation,
• controlled environments, and regulated-data operations is a meaningful
• advantage.

Nice to Have

• * Databricks certifications, such as Databricks Certified Data Engineer
• Professional or Databricks platform administration credentials.
• * Experience with Databricks Asset Bundles.
• * Experience working in a federated, decentralized, or multi-entity
• organization where standardization requires partnership and influence rather
• than centralized mandates.
• * Experience with MLflow, machine learning operations, model serving, and
• related Databricks capabilities.
• Travel
• Travel of up to 20% may be required to support architecture reviews, security
• and governance discussions, business stakeholder engagement, and team
• collaboration.

Compensation

and Benefits

The expected base salary range for this position is $115,000 to $135,000 USD per

year. Actual compensation will be determined based on several factors, including

skills, experience, qualifications, geographic location, and internal equity.

This position may also be eligible for performance-based bonuses, equity

participation, and a comprehensive U.S.-based benefits package, including:

* Medical, dental, and vision insurance

* 401(k) with company match

* Paid time off and company holidays

* Wellness programs and employee-assistance resources

* Professional development support

Equal Opportunity Employment Statement

Salas O’Brien provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and

applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any

kind without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin,

disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, sexual

orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic

protected by applicable federal, state, provincial, or local law.

Salas O’Brien will accommodate the disability-related needs of applicants as

required by law.

Third-Party Agency Notice

Salas O’Brien does not accept unsolicited resumes from external recruiters or

staffing agencies. We work only with approved partners who have been directly

engaged by our Talent Acquisition team for a specific search.

Unsolicited resumes or candidate submissions will not be eligible for placement

fees.