Lead Software Engineer - Databricks/Spark/AWS
Role details
Job location
Tech stack
Job description
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Lead architecture and delivery of high-throughput, low-latency data pipelines using Databricks and Apache Spark (Core, SQL, Structured Streaming).
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Establish lakehouse patterns with Delta Lake (ACID transactions, schema evolution, time travel, Z-ordering, compaction) and ensure performance at scale.
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Drives team adoption of enterprise-authorized AI-assisted engineering practices within the work environment to improve code quality, delivery speed, and operational outcomes (e.g., AI-assisted code review/refactoring, test strategy acceleration, incident/root-cause analysis support), while establishing consistent validation standards (secure coding, peer review, automated testing) and promoting reuse of effective patterns across the team.
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Applies knowledge of tools within the Software Development Life Cycle toolchain, including enterprise-authorized AI-assisted development and automation capabilities, to improve the value realized by automation.
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Own Databricks cluster strategy and setup: runtime selection, autoscaling, driver/executor sizing, Spark configs, unit scripts, cluster policies, pools, and instance profiles.
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Orchestrate jobs with Databricks Workflows; integrate with AWS eventing and orchestration as needed.
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Design secure data ingestion and transformation frameworks leveraging AWS services:
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S3 for data lake storage and lifecycle management
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Glue for catalog/metadata and ETL jobs
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IAM and Secrets Manager for role-based access and credential management
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CloudWatch for logging, metrics, and alerting
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Lambda for serverless utilities
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Kinesis and/or Kafka/MSK for streaming ingestion
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Enforce data quality, lineage, and governance using Unity Catalog and/or Glue Catalog; embed expectations and validation into pipelines.
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Drive Spark performance engineering: partitioning strategies, file sizing, AQE, broadcast joins, shuffle tuning, caching, spill/memory control, and job right-sizing to optimize cost.
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Build reusable libraries, frameworks, and APIs in Python and/or Java; oversee unit, integration, and data validation testing.
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Implement CI/CD for data projects (Git-based workflows), Terraform Infrastructure deployments environment promotion, and automated deployments; champion engineering standards and code reviews.
Requirements
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Formal training or certification on software engineering concepts and 5+ years applied experience.
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10+ years of professional software/data engineering experience, including substantial production work with Spark on Databricks or EMR.
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Demonstrated experience leading effective use of approved AI-assisted software development tools (e.g., for coding, code review, test acceleration, troubleshooting) with the ability to set team expectations for validating AI outputs for correctness, performance, and security.
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Strong understanding of responsible AI use in engineering workflows, including data sensitivity considerations, secure handling of inputs/outputs, and adherence to resiliency and security expectations; experience coaching engineers on safe, compliant adoption within delivery practices
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Strong proficiency in Python and/or Java for data processing, platform tooling, and automation.
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Hands-on Databricks expertise (Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, Workflows, Repos/notebooks, SQL Warehouses).
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Solid AWS experience: S3, IAM, Glue, CloudWatch, Kinesis / MSK, DynamoDB
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Proven track record architecting and operating ETL/ELT pipelines (batch and streaming), with schema design/evolution, SLAs, and reliability engineering.
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Deep skills in Spark performance tuning and Databricks cluster setup/optimization.
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Strong SQL and analytics data modeling (dimensional/star schema; lakehouse best practices).
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CI/CD and automation tooling for data (Git workflows, artifact management) and testing frameworks (pytest, JUnit).
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Security-first mindset: roles/instance profiles, secret management, encryption-at-rest/in-transit, and network controls.
Preferred qualifications, capabilities, and skills:
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Experience with Delta Live Tables and advanced governance (catalogs, grants, auditing) in Databricks.
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AWS networking knowledge (VPC, subnets, routing, security groups) and data egress controls.
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Experience with Terraform for Infra deployments
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Cost optimization experience: autoscaling strategies, spot vs on-demand, auto-termination, storage layouts and compaction.
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Familiarity with Kafka/MSK or Kinesis Data Streams/Firehose for real-time ingestion.
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Observability for data systems (freshness/completeness metrics, lineage, SLAs, alerting).
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Demonstrated leadership in code quality, reviews, testing strategy, CI/CD, and technical mentorship; excellent communication with stakeholders.
Benefits & conditions
We offer a competitive total rewards package including base salary determined based on the role, experience, skill set and location. Those in eligible roles may receive commission-based pay and/or discretionary incentive compensation, paid in the form of cash and/or forfeitable equity, awarded in recognition of individual achievements and contributions. We also offer a range of benefits and programs to meet employee needs, based on eligibility. These benefits include comprehensive health care coverage, on-site health and wellness centers, a retirement savings plan, backup childcare, tuition reimbursement, mental health support, financial coaching and more. Additional details about total compensation and benefits will be provided during the hiring process.