Resident Solution Architect (Databricks)

About the Role We are a privately held IT and MarTech consultancy working with enterprise clients across regulated industries. We are looking for a senior, hands-on Resident Solution Architect with deep expertise in the Databricks Lakehouse Platform to join our team on a W2 contract basis. In this role, you will lead and deliver large-scale Databricks implementations, advise clients on platform best practices, and serve as a trusted technical authority across data engineering and analytics engagements. What You'll Do Architect, design, and deliver end-to-end Databricks implementations for enterprise clients. Serve as a hands-on solution architect, guiding technical teams through complex data platform builds. Apply deep knowledge of the Databricks Lakehouse Platform — including current capabilities, Delta Lake, and best practices — to drive client outcomes. Leverage Apache Spark expertise (including runtime internals) for performance tuning, optimization, and scalability of large-scale data platforms. Design and support CI/CD pipelines for production data platform deployments. Advise on and implement MLOps workflows in collaboration with data science teams. Work across one or more major cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) to deliver scalable, cloud-native solutions. Translate complex technical requirements into actionable architectural recommendations for both technical and non-technical stakeholders. What We're Looking For Required: Must be authorized to work in the United States without visa sponsorship (W2 contract — no C2C or 1099). 10+ years of consulting experience, with 7+ years focused on Data Engineering, Data Platforms, and Analytics. Hands-on delivery of 6–8+ Databricks implementation projects at enterprise scale. Strong understanding of the Databricks Lakehouse Platform, including platform capabilities and best practices. Deep expertise in Apache Spark and distributed computing, including Spark runtime internals. Completed Databricks Data Engineering Professional Certification . Hands-on experience with at least one major cloud platform: AWS, Azure, or GCP. Proven experience with performance tuning, optimization, and scalability of large-scale data platforms. Solid understanding of CI/CD pipelines for production deployments. Working knowledge of MLOps principles and tooling. Nice to Have: Multi-cloud experience spanning two or more of AWS, Azure, and GCP. Compensation & Benefits Pay Rate: Up to $80/hr on W2 W2 contract engagement Location Based in San Ramon, CA Visa sponsorship is not available for this role — candidates must be authorized to work in the US without sponsorship.