Databricks Solution Architect

Introduction

A career in IBM Consulting is built on long-term client relationships and close collaboration worldwide. You'll work with leading companies across industries, helping them shape their hybrid cloud and AI journeys. With support from our strategic partners, robust IBM technology, and Red Hat, you'll have the tools to drive meaningful change and accelerate client impact. At IBM Consulting, curiosity fuels success. You'll be encouraged to challenge the norm, explore new ideas, and create innovative solutions that deliver real results.

Our culture of growth and empathy focuses on your long-term career development while valuing your unique skills and experiences.

Your role and responsibilities

Databricks Solution Architect to define and lead the end-to-end architecture for a large data modernization program. You will bring deep expertise across cloud-based engineering, Databricks platform, data migration, data modeling, data architecture, data engineering, and reporting, and connect governed data products to ML, GenAI, and advanced AI solutions across hyperscalers.

Responsibilities

• Define the target data and AI architecture across the AWS/Databricks data platform and GCP-based ML/GenAI services, and the integration patterns between them.
• Lead the data migration architecture: re-engineering approach, migration patterns, Integration & Ingestion patterns, sequencing, cutover, reconciliation, and risk management.
• Own data architecture and data modeling standards, covering conceptual, logical, and physical models, lakehouse/medallion layers, and data product design.
• Define data engineering patterns and standards for ingestion (Fivetran), transformation, orchestration, CI/CD, observability, and cost control on cloud-based platforms.
• Architect the reporting and analytics layer, including semantic models, governed metrics, and self-service access on top of data products.
• Design the ML/GenAI lifecycle: feature engineering, model training and serving, RAG and agentic patterns, MLOps/LLMOps, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Architect secure, scalable cross-cloud data movement and integration across hyperscalers (AWS, Microsoft Azure, GCP), selecting services based on fit, cost, and performance.
• Ensure the architecture uses data products from the Databricks lakehouse, including SAP-sourced data via SAP BTP / BDC Connect.
• Define security, data privacy, responsible AI, and governance guardrails for AI use cases.
• Provide architectural oversight on related initiatives, such as the Tier-1 application migration from MySQL to Databricks Lakebase.
• Evaluate and shape the roadmap for advanced AI capabilities (agentic AI, frontier models, and emerging superintelligence-class technologies) as they apply to the client.
• Lead architecture reviews and communicate design decisions to executive and technical stakeholders.
• Design end-to-end architectures that embed AI capabilities into enterprise applications and workflows, defining reference patterns for AI services, models, and orchestration layers that integrate with existing systems, APIs, and data platforms.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to translate business objectives into scalable, resilient, and policy-compliant designs, balancing vendor-managed services with custom development and meeting performance, security, compliance, and cost objectives.
• Drive governance for AI integration: prompts, guardrails, and lifecycle management, with observability, privacy, and responsible AI principles embedded from design through operations.

This job can be performed from anywhere in the US

Required education

Bachelor's Degree

Required technical and professional expertise

• Must be able to travel 4 days per week (mandatory).
• Databricks Certified Data Engineer or Machine Learning Professional, with proven expertise architecting enterprise-scale data, AI/ML, and Generative AI solutions.
• Advanced expertise in data/solution architecture, enterprise data migration, data modelling, lakehouse/data-product architecture, reporting, and cloud-based data engineering using Databricks and AWS.
• Hands-on experience with Spark (PySpark and/or Scala, Spark SQL), Delta Lake, MLflow, Unity Catalog, and large-scale batch and streaming workloads.
• Experience with open table formats, including Delta Lake and Apache Iceberg, and modern data-sharing patterns such as Delta Sharing and Lakehouse Federation.
• Experience architecting enterprise AI/GenAI solutions, including RAG, agents, MLOps/LLMOps, observability, guardrails, privacy, and responsible AI, with working knowledge of AWS, Azure, and GCP.
• Strong expertise in integration, security, and architecture leadership, including APIs, microservices, event-driven patterns, Kafka, and Amazon EventBridge/SQS, with strong technical and executive-level communication.

Preferred technical and professional experience

• Knowledge of SAP BTP, SAP Business Data Cloud, SAP-native data products, and SAP IS-U.
• Experience with Fivetran, Databricks Lakebase, OLTP-to-lakehouse patterns, Collibra, Erwin, or ER Studio.
• Advanced knowledge of AI orchestration, RAG/hybrid reasoning, microservices, and AI governance tooling.
• Experience with reporting and analytics architecture, including semantic layers and BI delivery on a lakehouse.
• Experience in the utilities or energy industry, with relevant cloud or Databricks architecture certifications.

ABOUT BUSINESS UNIT

IBM Consulting is IBM’s consulting and global professional services business, with market leading capabilities in business and technology transformation. With deep expertise in many industries, we offer strategy, experience, technology, and operations services to many of the most innovative and valuable companies in the world. Our people are focused on accelerating our clients’ businesses through the power of collaboration. We believe in the power of technology responsibly used to help people, partners and the planet.

YOUR LIFE @ IBM

In a world where technology never stands still, we understand that, dedication to our clients success, innovation that matters, and trust and personal responsibility in all our relationships, lives in what we do as IBMers as we strive to be the catalyst that makes the world work better.

Being an IBMer means you’ll be able to learn and develop yourself and your career, you’ll be encouraged to be courageous and experiment everyday, all whilst having continuous trust and support in an environment where everyone can thrive whatever their personal or professional background.

Our IBMers are growth minded, always staying curious, open to feedback and learning new information and skills to constantly transform themselves and our company. They are trusted to provide on-going feedback to help other IBMers grow, as well as collaborate with colleagues keeping in mind a team focused approach to include different perspectives to drive exceptional outcomes for our customers.

The courage our IBMers have to make critical decisions everyday is essential to IBM becoming the catalyst for progress, always embracing challenges with resources they have to hand, a can-do attitude and always striving for an outcome focused approach within everything that they do.

Are you ready to be an IBMer?

ABOUT IBM

IBM’s greatest invention is the IBMer. We believe that through the application of intelligence, reason and science, we can improve business, society and the human condition, bringing the power of an open hybrid cloud and AI strategy to life for our clients and partners around the world.

Restlessly reinventing since 1911, we are not only one of the largest corporate organizations in the world, we’re also one of the biggest technology and consulting employers, with many of the Fortune 500 companies relying on the IBM Cloud to run their business.

At IBM, we pride ourselves on being an early adopter of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and blockchain. Now it’s time for you to join us on our journey to being a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world.

IBM is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, or other characteristics protected by the applicable law. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.

OTHER RELEVANT JOB DETAILS

IBM offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits program. Eligible employees may have access to:

• Healthcare benefits including medical & prescription drug coverage, dental, vision, and mental health & well being
• Financial programs such as 401(k), cash balance pension plan, the IBM Employee Stock Purchase Plan, financial counseling, life insurance, short & long- term disability coverage, and opportunities for performance based salary incentive programs
• Generous paid time off including 12 holidays, minimum 56 hours sick time, 120 hours vacation, 12 weeks parental bonding leave in accordance with IBM Policy, and other Paid Care Leave programs. IBM also offers paid family leave benefits to eligible employees where required by applicable law
• Training and educational resources on our personalized, AI-driven learning platform where IBMers can grow skills and obtain industry-recognized certifications to achieve their career goals
• Diverse and inclusive employee resource groups, giving & volunteer opportunities, and discounts on retail products, services & experiences

We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable law.

This position was posted on the date cited in the key job details section and is anticipated to remain posted for 21 days from this date or less if not needed to fill the role.

IBM will not be providing visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future. Therefore, in order to be considered for this position, you must have the ability to work without a need for current or future visa sponsorship.

The compensation range and benefits for this position are based on a full-time schedule for a full calendar year. The salary will vary depending on your job-related skills, experience and location. Pay increment and frequency of pay will be in accordance with employment classification and applicable laws. For part time roles, your compensation and benefits will be adjusted to reflect your hours. Benefits may be pro-rated for those who start working during the calendar year.