Databricks Solution Architect

Guidehouse • Tysons, VA

4d • $130,000 - $216,000 • Remote

About The Position

Guidehouse is seeking a Databricks Solution Architect to join our AI & Data team to support client projects involving Databricks solution design, platform administration, data governance, and secure Databricks solution implementation. This role focuses on architecting and administering enterprise Databricks environments across workspaces, Unity Catalog, compute, security, automation, and operational standards. The role requires hands-on Databricks platform experience, strong cloud and data architecture fundamentals, and the ability to collaborate with client stakeholders, security teams, data engineers, and delivery teams to build scalable, governed, and production-ready solutions. This position offers virtual work flexibility within the United States. While remote candidates will be considered, preference will be given to candidates located near a Guidehouse office in one of the following markets: Arlington, VA; Washington, DC; New York, NY; Chicago, IL; Austin, TX; Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; and Boulder, CO. Please note, this requisition supports hiring across multiple levels to support our Databricks Data Architect Teams. The posted salary range represents a range of potential compensation and will vary based on the selected candidate’s experience, qualifications, location, and the level at which the position is filled.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, or another relevant field.
• 5-10 years of relevant experience in data architecture, cloud data platforms, data engineering, platform engineering, or technical solution delivery.
• Hands-on experience designing, implementing, or administering Databricks environments, including workspaces, jobs, clusters, SQL warehouses, notebooks, repos, and platform configurations.
• Strong experience with SQL, Python, and Spark-based development for data engineering, automation, and platform operations.
• Strong experience with Unity Catalog, including access controls, catalogs, schemas, external locations, storage credentials, lineage, and governed data organization.
• Experience with cloud platforms such as Azure, AWS, or GCP, including identity, networking, storage, security, and deployment considerations for cloud-native data platforms.
• Experience developing architecture artifacts, technical designs, platform standards, implementation roadmaps, and operational documentation for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to lead technical discussions with clients, evaluate tradeoffs, communicate architecture decisions, and work effectively in consulting or project-based delivery environments.
• Familiarity with data governance, DevOps, CI/CD, infrastructure automation, monitoring, cost management, and secure software delivery practices.

Nice To Haves

• Active Databricks certification, such as Databricks Certified Data Engineer, Machine Learning Engineer, GenAI Engineer, or related professional certification.
• Experience architecting and administering advanced AI/ML and application capabilities within Databricks (MLflow, AI Gateway, Genie One, Databricks Apps).
• Experience developing Databricks Apps or similar data-driven applications, including React-based front ends, API architecture, secure integration patterns with Delta Tables and Unity Catalog, and agentic workflow patterns that incorporate Databricks Agents or other AI-enabled services.
• Experience supporting regulated, public sector, utilities, financial services, healthcare, or other security-sensitive environments.
• Experience with Terraform, Databricks Asset Bundles, Git-based deployment patterns, automated testing, release management, or CI/CD pipelines for Databricks workloads.
• Experience integrating Databricks with enterprise identity providers, data catalogs, orchestration tools, observability platforms, BI tools, and cloud-native security services.
• Experience advising stakeholders on enterprise platform operating models, governance processes, cost controls, and production support practices.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and implementation of Databricks solution architectures that support data engineering, analytics, AI/ML, and governed data product delivery.
• Administer Databricks workspaces, account-level settings, workspace configurations, users, groups, service principals, permissions, secrets, jobs, and platform objects.
• Design and manage Unity Catalog structures, including metastores, catalogs, schemas, external locations, storage credentials, access controls, lineage, and metadata standards.
• Define compute, cluster policy, SQL warehouse, job orchestration, runtime, and workload management patterns that balance performance, cost, security, and delivery needs.
• Translate business, technical, security, and governance requirements into Databricks-native architecture patterns, implementation plans, technical architecture and design documentation, and platform standards.
• Partner with cloud, cybersecurity, identity management, networking, and DevOps teams to support secure platform integration across Azure, AWS, or GCP environments.
• Develop reusable architecture guidance, reference implementations, deployment patterns, and operational playbooks for Databricks platform teams and delivery teams.
• Troubleshoot platform issues related to permissions, compute performance, job execution, storage access, networking, workspace configuration, and production operations.
• Advise clients on platform governance, cost management, auditability, release management, environment strategy, and separation of duties for enterprise Databricks adoption.
• Support delivery teams through technical leadership, architecture reviews, code and configuration reviews, documentation, and stakeholder communication.

Benefits

• competitive compensation
• flexible benefits package

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level