Job Description & Details
The demand for cloud‑native data platforms is soaring as companies race to turn data into actionable insights. As a Senior Databricks Administrator you’ll sit at the intersection of data engineering, AI/ML, and cloud security—making you a pivotal player in any data‑driven organization. This Austin‑based, onsite role offers a chance to shape high‑performance Databricks environments on AWS while driving cost‑effective solutions.
Job Summary
The Senior Databricks Administrator will own and operate Databricks workspaces on AWS, configure clusters, manage user access, monitor performance, enforce governance, and optimize cost. You will collaborate with data engineers, ML scientists, and security teams to ensure the platform supports scalable analytics and AI/ML workloads.
Top 3 Critical Skills Table
| Skill | Why it's critical | Mastery Level |
|---|---|---|
| Databricks Administration on AWS | Guarantees reliable, secure, and scalable data platform | Senior |
| Apache Spark performance tuning | Directly reduces job runtime and cloud spend | Senior |
| Terraform & CI/CD automation | Enables repeatable, auditable infrastructure changes | Senior |
Interview Preparation
1. How do you configure and secure a Databricks workspace on AWS?
What the interviewer is looking for: Understanding of VPC, IAM, SCIM, RBAC, network ACLs, and best‑practice security settings.
2. Describe a scenario where you tuned a Spark job to improve performance. Which metrics did you monitor?
What the interviewer is looking for: Ability to analyze Spark UI, executor memory, shuffle partitions, and apply tuning techniques.
3. Explain how you would implement cost‑optimization for a constantly running Databricks cluster.
What the interviewer is looking for: Knowledge of auto‑termination, spot instances, cluster sizing, and workload tagging.
4. Walk through the steps to provision a Databricks workspace using Terraform.
What the interviewer is looking for: Familiarity with Terraform modules, state management, and CI/CD pipelines for IaC.
5. How does Unity Catalog enhance data governance, and what are the key steps to integrate it?
What the interviewer is looking for: Insight into catalog objects, fine‑grained access control, and compliance reporting.
Resume Optimization
- Databricks Administration
- AWS
- Apache Spark
- Terraform
- CI/CD
- Unity Catalog
- Data Governance
- MLflow
- Python
- SQL/Scala
Application Strategy
When reaching out to the recruiter, send a concise email that starts with a friendly greeting, attaches your updated resume, and clearly maps your experience to the role. Highlight your top skills such as Databricks administration on AWS, Spark performance tuning, and Terraform automation. Mention specific projects where you delivered cost‑effective, secure data platforms and reference the key responsibilities listed in the job description.
Career Roadmap
| Current Role | Typical Experience | Core Focus | Next Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior Databricks Administrator | 12‑15 years in data platform ops | End‑to‑end Databricks management, governance, cost control | Lead Data Platform Engineer |
| Lead Data Platform Engineer | 15‑18 years, team leadership | Architecture, cross‑team collaboration, strategic roadmap | Data Platform Manager |
| Data Platform Manager | 18+ years, multi‑team oversight | Portfolio management, budgeting, stakeholder alignment | Director of Data Engineering |