Senior Forward Deployed Engineer (Technical Data Architect)
About this role
Architecting production-grade data and AI systems alongside enterprise clients forms the core of daily operations in this hybrid London role. Forward Deployed Engineers build custom applications, design reference architectures, and integrate machine learning models while collaborating closely with engineering and product teams. Databricks maintains this team to guide strategic customers through complex big data implementations, ensuring technical components meet specific requirements and drive measurable outcomes.
Candidates joining the forward deployed team need a blend of engineering capability and customer empathy to navigate diverse stakeholder environments. Success in the position requires strong technical delivery skills, adaptability, and the ability to translate complex concepts into actionable solutions across multiple cloud ecosystems and distributed computing frameworks.
What you will do
- Lead impactful customer technical projects by delivering production-grade systems, designing reference architectures, and building custom data and AI applications.
- Guide strategic accounts through transformational big data initiatives, managing scope, timelines, and technical delivery alongside engagement managers.
- Own architecture and design decisions to ensure solutions remain secure, scalable, and aligned with company best practices.
- Embed directly with customer teams ranging from technical individual contributors to executives to understand challenges and deliver value.
- Collaborate with internal engineering and support groups to relay product feedback and accelerate issue resolution.
- Contribute reusable accelerators, frameworks, and best practices that scale impact across multiple customer accounts.
What you need
- Bring professional background in data engineering, analytics platforms, software engineering, or full-stack development.
- Write code fluently in Python, Scala, JavaScript, TypeScript, or modern web frameworks.
- Demonstrate working knowledge of at least two major cloud ecosystems alongside deep expertise in at least one.
- Possess deep experience with distributed computing using Apache Spark and familiarity with its runtime internals.
- Design and deploy performant end-to-end data architectures combining data pipelines, machine learning models, and user interfaces.
- Manage technical project delivery with enterprise clients while translating complex concepts into practical solutions.
Nice to have
- Databricks Certification
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the work location and travel policy for this role?
The position is based in London, United Kingdom with a hybrid schedule. Employees are expected to travel to customer locations approximately 20% of the time.
What technologies and cloud platforms are used?
Engineers write code in Python, Scala, JavaScript, or TypeScript, and work with distributed computing via Apache Spark. The role requires working knowledge of at least two cloud ecosystems among AWS, Azure, and GCP.
What kind of customer interaction is involved?
This is a hands-on, customer-facing role where engineers embed with client teams and engage with stakeholders from technical individual contributors to executives. Responsibilities include building solutions, training, and integrating with client systems.