Chief Architect - Data Engineering (Databricks Practice)
Summary
Chief/Lead Solution Architect anchoring a growing Databricks consulting practice in Singapore: designing enterprise Lakehouse architectures, leading large DW/Hadoop-to-Databricks migrations on Azure/AWS/GCP, driving presales and C-level design defenses, and mentoring engineers. Core stack: Spark, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, Python/SQL/Scala, MLflow.
Architecture & Delivery
Own end-to-end architecture and design decisions on Databricks engagements, ensuring solutions are secure, scalable, performant, and aligned with Lakehouse best practices Lead delivery of production-grade data platforms — ingestion, transformation, orchestration, governance through Unity Catalog, and downstream BI/ML enablement Lead large-scale migrations (legacy DW/ETL, Hadoop, on-prem estates) and cloud transformation projects to Databricks on Azure/AWS/GCP, including assessment, wave planning, and cutover Stay hands-on: performance tuning, debugging, code and design reviews, and setting engineering standards for the team
Presales & Stakeholder Management
Own and defend enterprise solution designs in front of architecture boards, CIOs, and CTOs — and enjoy it Drive presales end-to-end: discovery, solutioning, estimation, PoCs, RFPs, and proposals that convert Translate hard technical trade-offs into decisions executives can act on — from engineer to boardroom without changing gears
Who Thrives Here
A builder at heart — 12+ years in data engineering/architecture, 3+ on Databricks at enterprise scale, and still happiest when hands are on the keyboard Deep Spark expertise — architecture, performance tuning, streaming, debugging, the advanced stuff that separates architects from diagram-drawers Lakehouse fluency — Medallion architecture, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, governance, orchestration (Workflows, DLT/Lakeflow, Airflow, ADF); Microsoft Fabric exposure a bonus Battle-tested in migrations — you've led large transformation programs and have the scars and success stories to show for it Presales instinct — you don't just design solutions; you sell them, price them, and defend them under fire Modern edge — strong Python/SQL/Scala, CI/CD for data platforms, and comfort integrating ML/AI (MLflow, LLM APIs like OpenAI and Anthropic) into what you build Certified credibility — Databricks Data Engineer Professional / SA accreditations strongly preferred Founder energy — curiosity, adaptability, and the drive to build offerings, not just deliver projects