Databricks Architect || Fulltime || 12+ Years

Role: - Databricks Architect Location: - Dunwoody, GA (2-3 days a week in the office) Full-time/Permanent

Overview: Our client is seeking a hands-on Data Architect to serve as the organization s primary data expert. This individual will own the architecture, modeling, performance optimization, and governance of all data systems. The company currently has no dedicated data professionals outside of a DBA and is actively hiring an offshore data engineer to support smaller-scale work. The Data Architect will set standards, define direction, and architect scalable solutions particularly around AWS, Databricks, multi-tenant design, and real-time data streaming.

Candidates with 2 4+ years of Databricks experience typically have the core technical foundation needed for this role.

Key Responsibilities:-
Architect, design, and optimize enterprise data solutions across AWS environments (structured, unstructured, relational, and NoSQL sources). Design logical and physical data models, including ER diagrams, dimensional models, and multi-tenant schemas. Lead performance tuning and optimization efforts for Oracle and PostgreSQL databases. Define and implement OLTP and OLAP architectures, including data warehousing and ETL/ELT best practices. Build and support real-time data streaming solutions (including CDC, queuing technologies like Kafka, and event-driven pipelines). Enable near real-time delivery of data changes directly to customers for consumption within their own data lakes. Architect and grow a modern data lake and environments, ideally leveraging Databricks as the strategic platform. Collaborate with engineering teams and offshore resources to deliver scalable, reliable, and well-governed data systems. Establish standards, best practices, and architectural patterns for enterprise data management. (Preferred) Build or enhance data platforms that support AI/ML workloads, including data readiness, optimization, and pipelines feeding AI models.

Required Experience:-
Databricks experience (required) strong working proficiency with 2 4+ years strongly preferred. Deep AWS data ecosystem experience, including design and hands-on engineering with structured, unstructured, relational, and NoSQL data. Database expertise in Oracle and PostgreSQL, including schema design, indexing, and performance tuning. Strong data modeling skills; ability to design optimal models and produce professional ER diagrams. Near-expert experience optimizing databases for performance and scalability. Strong understanding of multi-tenant architectures, including schema isolation and workload management. Experience with both OLTP and OLAP systems, including modern data warehousing and ETL/ELT patterns. Experience with CDC, data streaming, and queuing systems (e.g., Kafka, Kinesis, and Pulsar). Ability to architect data sharing solutions enabling customers to ingest data in their own data lakes. Experience designing or supporting data pipelines optimized for AI/ML workloads, including feature engineering, vector storage, model-ready datasets, or integration with AI platforms (e.g., SageMaker, Databricks ML, or similar).

Preferred Qualifications:-
Experience building data lakes that support AI or advanced analytics.
Experience designing data architectures that feed or support AI/ML models.
Previous ownership of an enterprise data strategy or acting as the primary data expert within an organization.

Ideal Candidate Profile:-
Hands-on, highly technical Data Architect who can own end-to-end data architecture.
Comfortable being the go-to data authority in an environment with limited existing data expertise.
Strategic, forward-thinking, and experienced in shaping modern cloud-native data ecosystems.
Strong communicator capable of working across teams and guiding offshore resources.