Senior Staff Backline Engineer (Data & AI)

TL;DR

Senior Staff Backline Engineer (Data & AI): Resolving high-priority architectural failures and complex system anomalies within the Databricks Data and AI ecosystem with an accent on deep-dive forensics, root cause analysis, and platform optimization. Focus on developing automated diagnostic tools and influencing product roadmaps to enhance long-term supportability and system reliability.

Location: Dallas, Texas; San Francisco, California; Vancouver, Canada

Salary: $170,400 – $255,600 USD

Company

Databricks is the data and AI company, providing a unified platform for data, analytics, and AI used by over 10,000 organizations worldwide.

What you will do

• Conduct deep-dive forensics into Spark core internals and the broader ecosystem to resolve high-priority architectural failures.
• Perform advanced code-level analysis and resource profiling to identify and mitigate systemic root causes in production workloads.
• Optimize architectural performance by refining execution parameters and enforcing best practices for resource efficiency.
• Analyze global issue trends to partner with Product Engineering and influence the product roadmap.
• Develop reproduction frameworks, automated workflows, and AI-driven diagnostic tools to scale resolution paths.

Requirements

• 10+ years of relevant experience in technical support or engineering roles.
• Deep expertise in one of three tracks: Data Engineering (Spark, Delta Lake), Product Supportability (distributed systems, Java/Scala/Python), or AI (LLMs, ML lifecycle).
• Proven experience managing both customers and technical stakeholders.
• Strong hands-on programming skills in Python, SQL, Scala, or Java.
• Ability to perform code-level root-cause analysis and profiling.
• Must be based in or able to work from Dallas, San Francisco, or Vancouver.

Culture & Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits and perks tailored to regional needs.
• Commitment to a diverse and inclusive culture with equal employment opportunity standards.
• Opportunity to work on world-class data and AI infrastructure.
• Collaborative environment founded by engineers with a focus on technical excellence.