Databricks Security & Access Architect |AWS

Role: Databricks Security & Access Architect | AWS

Location: 100% Remote

Type: Contract role

Job Description:

Our client is on the look out for a qualified Databricks Security and Access Architect to support a Data-as-a-Service design and Data Product & Governance Operating Model engagement. The role will focus on Databricks-level security and access architecture, including Unity Catalog access patterns, workspace and catalog controls, data/table entitlements, row- and column-level security, service principal patterns, auditability, and integration with enterprise IAM, governance, metadata, and access request workflows. This role will operate primarily at the Databricks lakehouse and Unity Catalog layer and will coordinate with the Infrastructure Solution Architect for AWS/network/IAM dependencies.

Responsibilities

• Define Databricks security and access architecture aligned to the target-state lakehouse, marketplace, semantic layer, and data product operating model.
• Design Unity Catalog catalog, schema, table, view, volume, function, and model access patterns using role-based and attribute-based access principles.
• Develop access control patterns for sensitive data, including row filters, column masks, dynamic views, governed tags, and policy-driven access enforcement.
• Define entitlement models for producers, consumers, stewards, platform engineers, business owners, service principals, and automated jobs.
• Document access request, approval, provisioning, revocation, recertification, and exception handling workflows for Databricks integration with enterprise IAM/ICR processes.
• Partner with infrastructure, security, governance, metadata, and data product teams to align Databricks access controls with enterprise security standards and operating procedures.
• Design audit, logging, monitoring, and evidence patterns to support security reviews, compliance needs, and operational oversight.
• Support design reviews and stakeholder walkthroughs with security/IAM leads, architecture teams, governance leads, and product stakeholders.
• Prepare access model design artifacts, RACI inputs, decision records, control mappings, and sign-off materials for the design phase.
• Provide guidance for secure Databricks adoption without performing production environment configuration or implementation build activities in this phase.

Qualifications we seek in you

• Experience designing security, access, governance, or identity patterns for Databricks, lakehouse, cloud data platforms, or enterprise analytics platforms.
• Strong understanding of Databricks Unity Catalog, catalogs, schemas, tables, views, external locations, storage credentials, privileges, ownership, grants, and workspace-catalog bindings.
• Hands-on or design-level experience with RBAC, ABAC, row-level security, column masking, dynamic views, data classification, access controls, and sensitive data handling.
• Experience integrating platform access models with enterprise IAM, ICR/access request workflows, service principals, group management, and least-privilege access practices.
• Ability to document security architecture, access control matrices, entitlement models, operating procedures, design decisions, and stakeholder sign-off artifacts.
• Experience collaborating with cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, data governance, metadata, data engineering, compliance, and business teams in complex enterprise environments.
• Strong understanding of auditability, lineage, logging, monitoring, compliance evidence, and access recertification expectations in regulated environments.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain security and access design decisions to both technical and executive stakeholders.
• Bachelor s or master s degree in computer science, information security, data engineering, cloud architecture, information systems, or a related field.

Preferred Qualifications / Skills

• Experience supporting Databricks security architecture in financial services, mortgage, banking, capital markets, risk, or other highly regulated environments.
• Familiarity with Collibra, metadata management, data lineage, data quality, data product governance, and marketplace-based data consumption models.
• Experience designing access patterns across AWS, Databricks, Unity Catalog, Delta Sharing, semantic layers, and cross-account or cross-workspace data sharing scenarios.
• Knowledge of cloud security principles, encryption, network isolation, secrets management, audit logging, policy-as-code, and secure DevOps practices.
• Ability to translate enterprise security standards into practical Databricks access models, control mappings, and implementation-ready design recommendations.
• Databricks, AWS, cloud security, data governance, or identity and access management certifications are preferred.