Staff Systems Development Engineer (GovOps)

As enterprise data enclaves and Generative AI applications become mission-critical to national security and public sector modernization, maintaining the architectural resilience and operational integrity of the underlying platform is paramount. Databricks is seeking a Staff Systems Development Engineer (GovOps) to join our Cleared Engineering team in McLean, VA. Sitting at the vital intersection of core infrastructure operations and active platform reliability, this team serves as the ultimate technical authority for our platform across GovCloud, FedRAMP High, and air-gapped environments.

In this staff-level capacity, you will operate as a technical force multiplier, moving beyond complex escalation resolution to architect long-term system stability, drive fleet-wide supportability features, and eliminate systemic operational bottlenecks across multiple platform domains, including Compute, Networking, Storage, IAM, and OS internals. Serving as a primary technical pillar, you will bridge the gap between uncleared core engineering teams and cleared high-side environments, providing high-side technical leadership, virtual and physical escorts, and precise cross-boundary communication. If you are a seasoned systems authority who thrives under pressure, excels at designing tooling for constrained environments, and wants to shape the secure infrastructure powering next-generation federal AI workloads, this role offers unmatched scope and strategic impact.

The Impact You’ll Have

• Architect High-Side Platform Reliability: Serve as the subject matter expert across multiple platform domains (Compute, Networking, Storage, OS), designing end-to-end operational workarounds and resolving the most complex escalations within air-gapped and GovCloud enclaves.
• Bridge Engineering Boundaries: Act as the lead technical interface and escort between uncleared core engineering teams and secure facilities, ensuring precise, succinct relay of system states, compliance constraints, and high-side operational requirements.
• Drive Fleet-Wide Supportability & Tooling: Identify systemic issue patterns across federal environments and author custom Python, Bash, or Go diagnostic tools, notebooks, and automated workflows to raise operational efficiency across the entire engineering organization.
• Partner with Core Engineering: Collaborate directly with Product and Core Engineering leaders to root-cause platform defects, influence product roadmaps, and integrate long-term supportability features into the core codebase.
• Lead Critical Incident Response: Anchor high-consequence platform incidents under intense pressure, establishing triage structure, making authoritative technical calls with incomplete data, and framing strategic communications for senior government and internal stakeholders.
• Uphold & Evolve Compliance Guardrails: Navigate and refine operational frameworks inside secure facilities (SCIF), ensuring platform interactions and deployment pipelines strictly align with FedRAMP High, ITAR/IL5, and federal security benchmarks.

• Active TS/SCI security clearance.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Mathematics, or equivalent practical experience.
• 7+ years of experience in Systems Engineering, Cloud Infrastructure, Senior Support Engineering, DevSecOps, or a related technical operations role.
• Deep expertise in Linux/Unix operating-system internals, networking, process/resource debugging, and distributed systems.
• Hands-on proficiency in Python, Bash, Go, or Java with the ability to read source code, debug software defects, and write custom diagnostic scripts.
• Proven experience managing, debugging, and operating cloud infrastructure across public or federal cloud boundaries (AWS GovCloud, Azure Government, or GCP).
• Solid working knowledge of Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) tools such as Terraform or CloudFormation, along with container orchestration mechanics (Docker/Kubernetes).
• 3+ years of experience writing clear, succinct written and verbal technical communications, including technical status reports, incident summaries, or cross-team escalations.
• Ability to work on-site out of our McLean, VA secure facility (SCIF), including participation in an on-call rotation for critical incidents.

• Preferred Qualifications *

• Active Counterintelligence (CI) or Full Scope Polygraph (FSP).
• Prior experience supporting AWS Worldwide Public Sector (WWPS), isolated defense integration networks, or FedRAMP High / ITAR environments.
• Hands-on experience operating inside low-egress or fully air-gapped networks where standard external diagnostics are restricted.

Pay Range Transparency

Databricks is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The pay range(s) for this role is listed below and represents the expected salary range for non-commissionable roles or on-target earnings for commissionable roles. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to job-related skills, depth of experience, relevant certifications and training, and specific work location. Based on the factors above, Databricks anticipates utilizing the full width of the range. The total compensation package for this position may also include eligibility for annual performance bonus, equity, and the benefits listed above.

Local Pay Range $153,400-$210,825 USD, At Databricks, we strive to provide comprehensive benefits and perks that meet the needs of all of our employees.

At Databricks, we are passionate about enabling data teams to solve the world’s toughest problems - from making the next mode of transportation a reality to accelerating the development of medical breakthroughs. We do this by building and running the world’s best data and AI infrastructure platform so our customers can use deep data insights to improve their business. Founded by engineers - and customer obsessed - we leap at every opportunity to solve technical challenges, from designing next-gen UI/UX for interfacing with data to scaling our services and infrastructure across millions of virtual machines. And we’re only getting started., Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 20,000 organizations worldwide - including adidas, AT&T, Bayer, Block, Mastercard, Rivian, Unilever, and 70% of the Fortune 500 - rely on the Databricks Data + AI Platform to build and scale data and AI apps, analytics and agents. Headquartered in San Francisco with 30+ offices around the globe, Databricks offers a unified platform that includes Genie, Lakebase, Agent Bricks, Lakeflow, Lakehouse, and Unity Catalog. To learn more, follow Databricks on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, and Instagram.