Job Title: Databricks Data Engineer
Location:Remote
Work Hours: EST (Eastern Standard Time)
Experience: 6–9 years
Role Overview
We are looking for an experienced Databricks Data Engineer to support, maintain, and enhance existing Databricks-based data applications and pipelines. The role focuses on ensuring reliability, performance, and scalability of production Databricks workloads rather than building net-new platforms from scratch. You will work closely with data, analytics, and engineering teams to keep critical data applications stable, optimized, and aligned with business needs.
Key Responsibilities
Support and maintain existing Databricks applications, notebooks, jobs, and Delta Lake pipelines in production.
Monitor, troubleshoot, and resolve issues related to job failures, performance degradation, data quality, and cluster utilization.
Optimize existing Spark jobs, SQL queries, and Delta tables for cost, performance, and reliability.
Manage and improve Databricks workspace configurations, including clusters, job scheduling, access controls, and Unity Catalog (where applicable).
Implement and maintain data quality checks, logging, alerting, and basic observability for Databricks workloads.
Collaborate with stakeholders to understand requirements for enhancements or bug fixes on existing applications.
Perform incremental improvements, refactoring, and technical debt reduction on current Databricks solutions.
Ensure adherence to best practices around security, governance, and cost management within the Databricks environment.
Document existing pipelines, dependencies, and operational runbooks.
Participate in on-call or support rotations as needed to maintain production stability (within EST working hours).
Finance Data Engineering Support
Example Activities
· Data engineering support for Finance
· Data pipeline design and development
· Data integration support
· Databricks platform development
· Automation design and implementation
· Technical testing
· Data quality validation
· Technical troubleshooting
· Reporting and analytics enablement
· Technical documentation
· Stakeholder coordination
· Deployment and release support
Example Work Products and Deliverables
· Technical specifications
· Solution designs
· Data flow documentation
· Pipeline documentation
· Data mapping documentation
· Databricks job orchestration documentation
· Databricks automation and workflow designs
· Databricks workflow configurations
· Deployment documentation
· Reporting outputs
· Technical status reports
General Transformation and Operational Support
Example activities
· Project coordination
· Business analysis
· Process improvement
· Operational readiness activities
· Reporting support
· Meeting facilitation
· Documentation support
· Stakeholder engagement
· Training and change support
· Cross-functional coordination
Example Work Products and Deliverables
· Analysis reports
· Project plans
· Process maps
· Status reports
· Presentations
· Training materials
· Transition plans
· Readiness assessments
Required Qualifications
6–9 years of overall experience in data engineering, with strong hands-on experience in Databricks.
Solid proficiency in Apache Spark (PySpark and/or Scala) and SQL.
Proven experience supporting and optimizing production Databricks workloads (jobs, notebooks, Delta Lake, workflows).
Strong understanding of Delta Lake concepts (ACID transactions, time travel, optimization techniques such as Z-ordering, vacuum, optimize).
Experience with Databricks Job clusters, Interactive clusters, and performance tuning (partitioning, caching, shuffle optimization, autoscaling).
Familiarity with data modeling, ETL/ELT patterns, and production data pipeline support.
Experience working with cloud platforms (preferably Azure, AWS, or GCP) in the context of Databricks.
Ability to troubleshoot complex Spark and Databricks issues independently.
Strong communication skills and ability to work effectively in a remote, EST-aligned team.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with Unity Catalog, Databricks SQL, or Lakehouse architecture.
Knowledge of CI/CD practices for Databricks (e.g., Databricks Asset Bundles, Git integration, Terraform/ARM templates).
Familiarity with orchestration tools (Airflow, Azure Data Factory, or Databricks Workflows).
Exposure to data quality frameworks, monitoring tools, or cost optimization initiatives on Databricks.
Experience supporting analytics or BI teams consuming Databricks data products.
Work Arrangement
Fully remote
Must be available and productive during EST business hours
Collaborative remote environment with regular syncs and support responsibilities
Skills Required
- 6-9 years of overall data engineering experience
- Strong hands-on Databricks experience
- Proficiency in Apache Spark, PySpark and/or Scala, and SQL
- Experience supporting and optimizing production Databricks workloads, including jobs, notebooks, Delta Lake, and workflows
- Strong understanding of Delta Lake concepts, including ACID transactions, time travel, Z-ordering, VACUUM, and OPTIMIZE
- Experience with Databricks job clusters, interactive clusters, and performance tuning
- Familiarity with data modeling, ETL/ELT patterns, and production data pipeline support
- Experience with Azure, AWS, or GCP in the context of Databricks
- Ability to independently troubleshoot complex Spark and Databricks issues
- Strong communication skills and ability to work effectively in a remote, EST-aligned team
- Experience with Unity Catalog, Databricks SQL, or Lakehouse architecture
- Knowledge of Databricks CI/CD practices, including Databricks Asset Bundles, Git integration, or Terraform/ARM templates
- Familiarity with Airflow, Azure Data Factory, or Databricks Workflows
- Exposure to data quality frameworks, monitoring tools, or Databricks cost optimization initiatives
- Experience supporting analytics or BI teams consuming Databricks data products
What We Do
Cogniify is a Bay Area-based AI execution firm that designs, builds, and deploys custom AI systems for Fortune 500 and Global 2000 companies. The company helps enterprises move from AI pilots to industrialized impact and enterprise-scale production, utilizing deep expertise in AI, advanced analytics, data engineering, and domain consulting.







