Databricks Resident Solutions Architect (NEED USC OR GC ONLY H1B is workable)

Databricks Resident Solutions Architect

Openings: 2

Location: San Francisco, CA / Remote

Work Hours: Must be available to work in PST hours

Duration: 8–12 Months

Visa: Any valid U.S. work authorization

Industry Experience: Banking / Financial Services experience is mandatory

Rate: $70/h on 1099

Job Overview

We are seeking experienced Databricks Resident Solutions Architects to lead the architecture, design, and delivery of enterprise-scale Databricks Lakehouse solutions for a banking client.

The ideal candidate will have deep hands-on expertise with the Databricks platform, strong data engineering and cloud architecture experience, and a proven track record of delivering complex Databricks implementations in enterprise environments. This is a client-facing role requiring a combination of hands-on technical leadership, architecture, solutioning, and consulting experience.

Required Qualifications

• 12–15+ years of experience across Data Engineering, Data Platforms, Data Analytics, and Modern Data Warehouse solutions.
• 10+ years of consulting and client-facing delivery experience.
• Strong experience working within the Banking / Financial Services domain.
• Proven experience delivering 6–8+ end-to-end Databricks implementations as a hands-on Developer, Technical Lead, Solution Architect, or Databricks Architect.
• Deep hands-on expertise with the Databricks Lakehouse Platform, including:
• Databricks
• Delta Lake
• Unity Catalog
• Delta Live Tables / Lakeflow Declarative Pipelines
• Databricks Workflows
• MLflow
• Structured Streaming
• Databricks Data Engineering
• Advanced expertise in Apache Spark, including performance tuning, execution plans, partitioning strategies, memory management, cluster optimization, and Spark runtime internals.
• Extensive experience designing and developing scalable ETL/ELT data pipelines using Databricks, Spark, Delta Lake, and modern data engineering frameworks.
• Strong experience designing cloud-native enterprise data platforms on AWS, Azure, and/or GCP, with deep hands-on expertise in at least one major cloud platform.
• Experience architecting highly scalable, reliable, secure, and cost-efficient enterprise data processing solutions.
• Strong experience troubleshooting complex Databricks and distributed data processing issues and recommending appropriate architecture patterns.
• Experience implementing enterprise-grade DevOps and CI/CD practices using tools such as Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD, Jenkins, or similar platforms.
• Working knowledge of MLOps, machine learning lifecycle management, model deployment, model monitoring, and ML integration within enterprise data platforms.
• Strong understanding of Databricks security, governance, access controls, data lineage, and enterprise data management practices.
• Ability to work directly with business stakeholders, engineering teams, data teams, and client leadership to translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions.

Certification Requirements

• Databricks Certified Data Engineer Professional or equivalent advanced Databricks certification is strongly preferred.
• Completion of relevant Databricks learning paths and advanced coursework is preferred.
• Participation in or recognition through the Databricks Solutions Architect Champion Program is a strong plus.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience implementing Databricks solutions within large banking or financial services organizations.
• Experience with large-scale data migrations and modernization initiatives.
• Experience migrating legacy Data Warehouses, Hadoop, or traditional ETL platforms to the Databricks Lakehouse architecture.
• Strong understanding of data governance, security, regulatory compliance, and data privacy requirements within banking environments.
• Excellent communication, presentation, architecture documentation, and stakeholder management skills.

Note: Candidates located in or around the San Francisco Bay Area are preferred. Remote candidates can also be considered if they are able to work consistently during PST business hours.