Technical Architect, Databricks CoE

Perficient • Chicago, IL

7h • $160,400 - $208,400

About The Position

Perficient is seeking a hands-on Technical Architect for its Databricks Center of Excellence. The architect will design and demonstrate solutions for signature offerings, support sales pursuits alongside go-to-market architects and client partners, provide technical leadership on strategic client engagements, and turn delivery experience into reusable accelerators. Perficient is a Databricks Gold partner with six Brickbuilder specializations and is working toward Platinum status.

The role covers solution architecture on the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform, including Lakehouse and medallion architectures, migrations from legacy data warehouses, technical scope and consumption estimates for offerings, and productionization of reusable assets. The architect will also support team certifications, mentor delivery teams, and represent Perficient as a Databricks Champion in the field. The position is located in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, or San Francisco, and requires openness to travel.

Perficient’s Data & Analytics team works across industries and the data lifecycle, including AI, data management, content, data strategy, ingestion, analytics, and reporting. The company describes its work as AI-first technology consulting and employs more than 7,000 advisors, engineers, and designers. The stated base salary range is $160,400 to $208,400 across US locations; it does not include benefits or potential equity or variable bonus programs. Applications are accepted until the position is filled or the posting is removed.

Requirements

• 15 or more years of experience in data and analytics architecture, including at least 5 hands-on years with Databricks, including Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, Workflows/Jobs, and Spark optimization.
• Databricks Professional-level certification in Data Engineer, ML, or GenAI, or a commitment to earn one within 90 days.
• Experience delivering multiple production Databricks programs on AWS, Azure, or GCP; legacy data warehouse migration experience is ideal.
• Hands-on agentic and generative AI experience, including RAG, Agent Bricks, evaluation, and governance, and exposure to Databricks Apps.
• Consulting-grade communication skills, including the ability to work with CDOs and debug data pipelines.
• Depth in at least one priority industry; BFSI or HLS is preferred.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with technical and non-technical staff.
• Excellent problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently and self-drive.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field.
• Must be open to travel.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in Computer Science or a related field.
• Databricks Champion status.
• FinOps experience.
• Salesforce, Adobe, or cloud-platform practice crossover.
• Prior experience at a global systems integrator (GSI) or in Databricks Professional Services.
• Experience with a legacy data warehouse migration.
• Depth in BFSI or HLS.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture workshops, proofs of value, and demonstrations with clients and Databricks field solutions architects to secure technical decisions.
• Build and maintain one reference demo for each signature play: Stars AI Navigator, Regulatory Compliance, Demand & Inventory, Predictive Maintenance, and Churn & Ad Monetization.
• Design Lakehouse and medallion architectures using Databricks platform capabilities, including Lakeflow, Databricks SQL, Unity Catalog, Unity AI Gateway, Genie, Agent Bricks, Databricks Apps, and Lakebase; apply Terraform and CI/CD patterns.
• Lead legacy data warehouse-to-Lakehouse migration assessments and deliveries using the Agentic Migration Factory and Databricks Lakebridge tooling.
• Define technical scope, assumptions, and consumption forecasts for Bronze through Platinum offers, and provide credible DBU estimates for deal registrations.
• Provide senior technical leadership on strategic client engagements, including architecture reviews, governance standards, and mentoring.
• Build and publish reusable accelerators, reference architectures, and Brickbuilder-ready assets, and provide structured product feedback to Databricks.
• Lead the certification sprint, mentor delivery teams, and act as a Databricks Champion in the field.

What This Job Offers

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