Senior Staff Backline Engineer - Data & AI

Reposted 21 Days Ago
3 Locations
In-Office
170-255 Annually
Expert/Leader
Big Data • Machine Learning • Software • Analytics • Big Data Analytics
The Role
The role involves deep troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and architectural optimization in the Data and AI ecosystem to enhance platform reliability and supportability.
Summary Generated by Built In
P-1381

At Databricks, we are passionate about enabling Data & AI 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, we leap at every opportunity to tackle technical challenges, from designing next-gen UI/UX for data interaction to scaling our services and infrastructure across millions of virtual machines. And we're only getting started.

About the Team:

The Backline Engineering Team serves as the critical bridge between Frontline Support and Engineering. We handle complex technical issues and escalations across the Data and AI ecosystem. With a strong focus on customer success, we are committed to delivering exceptional customer satisfaction by providing deep technical expertise, proactive issue resolution, and continuous platform improvements. We emphasise automation and tooling to enhance troubleshooting efficiency, reduce manual efforts, and improve the overall supportability of the platform and the health of our products. By developing smart solutions and streamlining workflows, we drive operational excellence and ensure a delightful experience for both customers and internal teams.

What your impact will be:
  • Deep Dive Troubleshooting: Conduct deep-dive forensics into Spark core internals and the broader Databricks Data and AI ecosystem to resolve high-priority architectural failures and complex system anomalies.
  • Root Cause Analysis: Perform advanced code-level analysis and resource profiling to identify and mitigate systemic root causes, ensuring the stability and reliability of high-scale production workloads.
  • Architectural Optimization: Optimise architectural performance across the Data and AI stack by refining execution parameters and enforcing best practice strategies to maximise resource efficiency and throughput.
  • Product Improvements: Analyse global issue trends and patterns to partner directly with Product Engineering, influencing the product roadmap and driving initiatives that enhance long-term supportability.
    Scalability & Tooling: Develop reproduction frameworks, automated workflows, and AI-driven diagnostic tools that translate complex backline findings into standardised resolution paths to empower and scale the broader organisation.
What we look for:

We are looking for customer-obsessed candidates with 10+ years of relevant experience, including deep expertise in one of the following three specialized tracks, along with proven experience in managing both customers and technical stakeholders. Since each track calls for a different set of technical capabilities, we’re looking for excellence in one area rather than proficiency in all: 

  • Data Engineering Track: Expertise in large-scale big data solutions and ETL pipelines using Spark, Delta Lake, or Hive. Strong experience troubleshooting failures, diagnosing performance issues, and identifying root causes. Demonstrated problem-solving ability and understanding of data engineering best practices to ensure reliable, efficient workflows. Solid hands-on programming skills in Python, SQL, or Scala.
  • Product Supportability Track: Deep understanding of distributed system internals. Ability to perform code-level root-cause analysis and profiling (using metrics and heap/thread dumps) in Java, Scala, or Python. Proven record of contributing to bug fixes and mentoring other engineers.
  • AI Track: Experience with large-scale machine learning and generative AI systems, including LLM-based applications and agent-driven workflows. Strong grasp of model training, evaluation, and deployment in distributed environments. Experience managing the ML lifecycle, including governance and operationalisation. Skilled in diagnosing and optimising distributed ML workloads for performance and scalability.


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. For more information regarding which range your location is in visit our page here.


Local Pay Range
$170.40$255.60 USD

About Databricks

Databricks is the data and AI company. More than 10,000 organizations worldwide — including Comcast, Condé Nast, Grammarly, and over 50% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform to unify and democratize data, analytics and AI. Databricks is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices around the globe and was founded by the original creators of Lakehouse, Apache Spark™, Delta Lake and MLflow. To learn more, follow Databricks on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
Benefits
At Databricks, we strive to provide comprehensive benefits and perks that meet the needs of all of our employees. For specific details on the benefits offered in your region click here.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

At Databricks, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone can excel. We take great care to ensure that our hiring practices are inclusive and meet equal employment opportunity standards. Individuals looking for employment at Databricks are considered without regard to age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other protected characteristics.

Compliance

If access to export-controlled technology or source code is required for performance of job duties, it is within Employer's discretion whether to apply for a U.S. government license for such positions, and Employer may decline to proceed with an applicant on this basis alone.

Skills Required

  • 10+ years of relevant experience in Data & AI
  • Expertise in large-scale big data solutions, ETL pipelines using Spark, Delta Lake, or Hive
  • Strong programming skills in Python, SQL, or Scala
  • Experience with distributed system internals, and root-cause analysis
  • Experience with large-scale machine learning and generative AI systems

Databricks Compensation & Benefits Highlights

The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Databricks and has not been reviewed or approved by Databricks.

  • Equity Value & Accessibility Equity grants are a meaningful part of offers, and periodic tender opportunities and secondary options have made private equity more tangible for many employees. This perceived upside contributes to strong total-compensation sentiment in key roles.
  • Healthcare Strength Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage is paired with mental‑health resources and wellness reimbursements, indicating a robust health package. Multiple summaries highlight broad coverage that employees can practically use.
  • Leave & Time Off Breadth Generous PTO, paid holidays/sick time, and fully paid parental leave are frequently described, with hybrid/remote flexibility common in the U.S. These policies expand time‑off accessibility across different life stages.

Databricks Insights

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The Company
HQ: San Francisco, CA
2,200 Employees
Year Founded: 2013

What We Do

As the leader in Unified Data Analytics, Databricks helps organizations make all their data ready for analytics, empower data science and data-driven decisions across the organization, and rapidly adopt machine learning to outpace the competition. By providing data teams with the ability to process massive amounts of data in the Cloud and power AI with that data, Databricks helps organizations innovate faster and tackle challenges like treating chronic disease through faster drug discovery, improving energy efficiency, and protecting financial markets.

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