Sr. Specialist Solutions Architect

About the role

You will serve as a trusted technical advisor guiding enterprise customers through the full lifecycle of Databricks deployments on Microsoft Azure. In this customer-facing role, you will partner closely with Solutions Architects to design and deploy mission-critical workloads while aligning technical roadmaps with the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform. You will continuously sharpen your skills through hands-on mentorship, internal training, and continuous learning in Azure cloud infrastructure, network security, and automated deployments. This role can be remote, and you will operate as a subject matter expert reporting to the Specialist Field Engineering Manager.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Analyze complex customer environments and translate business requirements into robust Azure infrastructure and platform strategies.
• Design and deliver secure, scalable, and highly available Databricks architectures on Azure, addressing networking, identity, and compliance constraints.
• Serve as a domain authority on Microsoft Azure infrastructure, infrastructure-as-code, cloud networking, and identity management for Databricks solutions.
• Collaborate with Solutions Architects and sales teams to develop compelling technical narratives and compelling proof-of-concept designs.
• Build and execute detailed technical designs for production-grade Databricks deployments including VNet peering, Private Endpoints, and Microsoft Entra ID integration.
• Create reusable artifacts such as architectural diagrams, runbooks, and deployment guides that accelerate customer adoption and best practices.
• Conduct deep-dive technical workshops and discovery sessions to uncover customer pain points and align Azure infrastructure with Databricks capabilities.
• Drive the delivery of compelling technical content, including reference architectures, blog posts, and tutorial videos for internal and external audiences.
• Represent Databricks in technical discussions with cloud security, networking, and platform engineering teams during complex sales cycles.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to internal training programs that strengthen Azure and Databricks expertise across the organization.
• Partner with product teams to provide field feedback that influences platform enhancements and feature prioritization on Azure.
• Leverage automation tools and IaC frameworks to standardize and scale Azure environment deployments for global customers.
• Track and document Azure service updates and Databricks platform changes to maintain current technical guidance and playbooks.
• Engage with the Databricks community through talks, hackathons, and open-source contributions to promote platform adoption.
• Support post-sales activities such as technical validation, performance benchmarking, and optimization assessments for strategic accounts.

Requirements

• 8+ years of hands-on experience in a technical role with deep expertise in Microsoft Azure, including cloud security, networking best practices, and enterprise data platform design.
• 5+ years of professional experience with distributed architectures and big data technologies such as Apache Spark, Hadoop, and Kafka.
• 5+ years of experience in a customer-facing technical role, including Pre-Sales, Post-Sales, or Consulting positions.
• Demonstrated mastery of at least one of the following core domains: Security & Identity, Networking & Deployments, Platform Administration, or Infrastructure Automation.
• In Security & Identity, you must have hands-on experience with Azure security controls, platform and network security, data protection mechanisms, encryption, vulnerability management, compliance frameworks, and identity protocols such as Microsoft Entra ID, SCIM, OAuth, and SAML.
• In Networking & Deployments, you must understand Azure enterprise networking concepts including VNet peering, ExpressRoute, Private Link, network routing, performance optimization, and large-scale deployment management.
• In Platform Administration, you must be experienced with high availability, disaster recovery strategies, cluster orchestration, observability using Azure Monitor and Log Analytics, and Azure cost management practices.
• In Infrastructure Automation, you must have practical experience using infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform, Bicep, or ARM templates to build, maintain, and scale complex Azure environments.
• You must have a strong track record of collaborating with cross-functional teams in fast-paced, matrixed organizations.
• You must be comfortable working autonomously and exercising sound judgment in ambiguous situations while maintaining a customer-first mindset.
• You must communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, to technical and non-technical stakeholders at all levels of the organization.
• You must be willing to travel as required by customer and business needs, and to adhere to applicable visa and work authorization requirements in different jurisdictions.
• You must comply with Databricks policies, security standards, and professional conduct guidelines in all interactions with customers and colleagues.

Practical notes

• Hours: Full-time.
• Travel: As required by customer and business demands.
• Visa: Must comply with local work authorization and visa regulations across jurisdictions.
• Deadline: No specific deadline communicated; applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis where permitted by law.