Databricks / Platform / Data Engineer

Important information:

This position is currently confirmed only until September 30th, with the possibility of extending it for another 12 months. The client needs immediate support on the project, so we are only considering candidates who are available to start right away.

After September 30th, there may be a short gap while a longer-term contract is negotiated.

Client type: Corporate/Enterprise

Client location: USA (EST time)

Project technology stack: Databricks Apps, workspace/admin, PostgreSQL, Delta/Unity Catalog, Snowflake integration, service principals, IAM/RBAC, CI/CD, secrets, monitoring, deployment, backup/recovery.

Position: Databricks / Platform / Data Engineer

Workload: 100% (full-time)

Project start date: ASAP

Engagement period: Initially through September 30, with potential extension based on platform adoption and business needs

Candidate location: EU (remote)

Language: English C1

Interview timeline: ASAP

Interview process: 1) CV review 2) Interview with Devspace manager 3) Interview with end client

Number of interviews: 2

Description:

Our client is a leading life sciences and technology company that supplies a broad range of analytical instruments, laboratory equipment, reagents, software and services used in scientific research, healthcare, biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturing worldwide. Its mission is to enable customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer by supporting breakthroughs in areas from life-sciences research and clinical diagnostics to complex analytical challenges and drug development. 

They offer a wide range of scientific software products that help laboratories manage, analyze and automate data and workflows. Their portfolio includes enterprise lab informatics platforms with Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELN) and data management tools.

We are seeking a Databricks / Platform / Data Engineer to join a lean engineering team responsible for transitioning an existing solution into production and supporting further development.

The initial team will consist of only two engineers covering the core technical responsibilities without a dedicated QA team. As a result, the engineer will take end-to-end ownership across development, testing, deployment, platform configuration, and production readiness.

The immediate priority is to complete the transition and bring the solution into production, with an aggressive target of September 30. The role therefore requires someone who can start quickly, work independently, and operate effectively in an enterprise environment with significant approval, documentation, and production-readiness requirements.

Key Accountabilities:

• Own Databricks platform, data, and infrastructure-related engineering activities.
• Support the transition of the existing solution into production.
• Ensure platform security, reliability, deployment readiness, and operational stability.
• Take ownership of development, testing, deployment, and production readiness within the engineer's area.

Key Responsibilities:

• Configure and support Databricks Apps, workspaces, and platform administration.
• Develop and maintain integrations with PostgreSQL, Delta Lake / Unity Catalog, and Snowflake.
• Configure service principals, IAM/RBAC, secrets, and secure platform access.
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines and automated deployment processes.
• Implement monitoring and support production-readiness activities.
• Establish and maintain appropriate backup and recovery processes.
• Perform testing and validation of platform and data changes without reliance on a dedicated QA team.
• Support enterprise approvals, technical documentation, and change/release processes required for production deployment.
• Troubleshoot platform, integration, deployment, and production issues.

Skills & Competencies

Technical:

• Strong hands-on experience with Databricks, including Databricks Apps and workspace/platform administration.
• Strong experience with PostgreSQL and modern data platforms.
• Experience with Delta Lake and Unity Catalog.
• Experience integrating Databricks with Snowflake.
• Good understanding of IAM, RBAC, service principals, and secrets management.
• Hands-on experience with CI/CD and automated deployments.
• Experience with monitoring, production operations, and backup/recovery.
• Cloud platform experience, preferably AWS.

Ways of Working:

• Comfortable working in a small, highly autonomous engineering team.
• Able to take end-to-end ownership rather than focusing exclusively on development.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills.
• Comfortable working against aggressive delivery timelines.
• Able to produce clear technical and operational documentation.

Experience & Qualification Guidelines:

• Senior-level experience in Data Engineering, Databricks Platform Engineering, or Cloud/Data Platform Engineering.
• Proven experience deploying and operating Databricks-based solutions in production.
• Experience working within large enterprise environments and structured release/change processes.
• Experience with production transitions or platform migrations is highly desirable.
• Experience in regulated industries such as life sciences or pharma is beneficial.

Please note: Background and reference checks will be conducted as part of the selection process.