Solutions Architect (Data & AI)

Location: San Diego, California, United States

Salary: $180,000–$247,500 USD per year, with potential bonus and equity.

Company

Databricks provides a unified Data and AI Platform for data engineering, analytics, machine learning, and AI applications.

What you will do

• Own end-to-end technical strategy for customer accounts from discovery through production deployment and consumption growth.
• Lead architecture discussions and design scalable, production-grade solutions across data engineering, ML/AI, streaming, and real-time analytics.
• Advise customer architects, engineering leads, and directors on technical strategy and platform adoption.
• Demonstrate Databricks differentiation through custom-built solutions in competitive scenarios.
• Develop a technical specialization and coordinate DSAs, SSAs, and partners to address complex customer needs.
• Provide structured customer feedback to influence product direction.

Requirements

• 6+ years of experience in solutions architecture, data engineering, technical pre-sales, or a senior hands-on technical role.
• Strong coding skills in Python and SQL, including live coding, debugging, and solution building.
• Deep expertise in distributed data systems, scalable pipelines, streaming architectures, lakehouse patterns, and cloud-native data platforms.
• Experience with Databricks or the ability to become proficient quickly, plus a developing specialization in areas such as streaming, ML/AI, governance, or migrations.
• Experience leading architecture discussions with senior technical stakeholders and deploying production systems on AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• Ability to travel to customers 30% of the time and a bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, engineering, or a quantitative discipline, or equivalent experience.

Nice to have

• Databricks certifications in data engineering, ML, or platform technologies.
• Experience with Snowflake, AWS native services, or Azure Synapse.
• Background in a data/AI company or cloud provider.
• Industry expertise in financial services, healthcare, retail, media, or another relevant domain.

Culture & Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits and perks tailored to the employee's region.
• Potential annual performance bonus and equity eligibility.
• Commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equal employment opportunity.

Hiring process

• Recruiter screen followed by hiring manager screen.
• Design and architecture interview, live coding assessment, and Build, Demo, Pitch presentation.
• Reference check.