Principal Databricks Architect Consultant

CDW

1d•$156,000 - $240,800•Onsite

About The Position

The Principal Consulting Engineer – Databricks ensures scalable data architecture solutions are designed and implemented using the Databricks platform to the customer’s satisfaction and approval. This position provides technical leadership across modern Lakehouse architectures, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, MLflow, data governance, data quality, cloud-native design patterns, and AI/ML-enabled data solutions. The role serves as a trusted advisor to executives, technical stakeholders, and delivery teams by translating Databricks capabilities into measurable business outcomes, including scalability, cost efficiency, time-to-insight, and AI-driven innovation. This position will provide oversight and project guidance while taking a lead technical role in advancing CDW’s Databricks, cloud data platform, and Digital Velocity solution offerings.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and 10+ years of consulting experience, including hands-on experience designing and implementing Databricks platform solutions OR 14+ years of related IT, data platform, or cloud architecture experience.
Deep expertise with Databricks platform capabilities, including Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, MLflow, data pipelines, ETL/ELT frameworks, batch and streaming solutions, PySpark, Scala, SQL, and Python scripting.
Experience with data governance, data cataloging, master data management, data quality, RBAC, security, compliance, and data lineage using Unity Catalog and related modern data platform practices.
Strong cloud data architecture experience across Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud, including data platform modernization, cloud-native design patterns, advanced analytics, and AI/ML solution enablement.
Ability to optimize Databricks performance and cost through cluster configuration, job tuning, workload design, automation, and platform best practices.
Proven ability to lead architecture decisions, own end-to-end technical accountability, mentor other resources, and guide platform-agnostic projects in agile, fast-paced environments.
Excellent communication, stakeholder management, problem-solving, adaptability, and executive presentation skills, with the ability to manage ambiguity and deliver clear business and technical insights.
Willingness to travel to other CDW locations or client sites; a valid U.S. driver’s license is required.

Nice To Haves

Preferred certifications include Databricks Certified Data Engineer Professional and Databricks Certified AI/ML Engineer Associate or Professional.

Responsibilities

Design, develop, and implement scalable Databricks architecture solutions using Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, MLflow, and related platform capabilities for enterprise customers.
Collaborate with cloud solution architects, data engineers, data scientists, business analysts, and customer stakeholders to implement complex end-to-end enterprise data solutions using the Databricks platform.
Partner with pre-sales teams on Databricks statements of work, including solution scope, estimates, assumptions, timelines, and implementation approach.
Work directly with executive and technical stakeholders to articulate the business value of Databricks and AI/ML, translate capabilities into customer outcomes, and co-create innovation roadmaps.
Provide billable consulting leadership through complex Databricks architecture, cloud-native pattern design, platform modernization, data governance, data quality, and cloud engineering solutions.
Champion AI/ML as part of the delivery model by using automation, optimization, and machine learning frameworks to accelerate implementation, reduce cost, and increase customer impact.
Assess customer data ecosystems, cloud data readiness, IT priorities, and business success measures to design implementation architectures and structured learning plans.
Serve as a thought leader internally and externally by shaping Databricks and AI/ML strategy, mentoring peers, contributing to reusable delivery assets, and helping build CDW’s reputation as a trusted advisor.