Databricks Data Governance Engineer

Description

The company is building a Databricks security function and needs a senior technical owner for the data access control model across its Databricks Lakehouse environment.

You will define the architecture, set engineering standards, and turn security and compliance requirements into scalable technical controls.

You will work with data engineering, platform engineering and enterprise stakeholders. The role mixes hands-on software engineering and architecture with strategic leadership.

Primary location is Falls Church, VA. Full-time telework is also allowed.

The role can be filled at Level 3 or Level 4, depending on the candidate's experience and education.

No relocation assistance is available. No travel is required. A Secret clearance is required, but it is not needed to start.

The company is the employer.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and rollout of RBAC and ABAC in Databricks Unity Catalog, covering data structure, access models and tagging standards.
• Design the data access security architecture, including dynamic views, row-level security and column masking.
• Build the identity governance approach for Databricks, covering service principals, workload identities and integration with enterprise identity providers.
• Turn regulatory, contractual and compliance requirements into practical controls in the platform.
• Set and maintain data classification standards and tagging structures that scale access control.
• Manage grants, catalogs, tags and access controls as code with Terraform and/or Databricks Asset Bundles, so changes are versioned and auditable.
• Work with workspace administrators and platform engineers to align workspace, compute, secrets and network controls with the access strategy.
• Build guardrails, templates and streamlined workflows so data engineers can manage access safely.

Requirements

• Level 3: a bachelor's degree in a relevant field and at least 5 years as a software or data engineer focused on data platform security and security automation. A master's degree with at least 3 years of relevant experience also qualifies.
• Level 4: a bachelor's degree in a relevant field and at least 8 years as a software or data engineer focused on data platform security and security automation. A master's degree with at least 6 years of relevant experience also qualifies.
• At least 2 years of hands-on experience implementing Databricks Unity Catalog security features, for both levels.
• Proven experience designing and implementing RBAC and ABAC models at scale, including Unity Catalog, grants, dynamic views, and row and column filtering and masking.
• Working knowledge of identity and federation patterns, including SCIM, service principals and enterprise identity providers such as Entra ID.
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code, preferably Terraform, for access, tagging and policy management in Databricks.
• Proficiency in Python and SQL for automation, monitoring and compliance.
• Preferred: the ability to obtain a government security clearance.
• Preferred: working onsite full time in Falls Church, VA.
• Preferred: a master's degree.

Conditions

Primary location is Falls Church, VA, with full-time telework also allowed.

Secret clearance is required, but not to start.

No travel. No relocation assistance.

Primary Level salary range is $113,900.00 to $170,900.00.

Secondary Level salary range is $142,200.00 to $213,200.00.

Base salary is set within the range based on scope, responsibilities, experience, education, skills and market conditions.

The application window is estimated at 20 days from the posting date and may be shortened or extended based on business needs and candidate availability.

Benefits

• Depending on the role, eligibility may include overtime, shift differential and a discretionary bonus.
• Annual bonuses reward individual contributions and share company results.
• Vice President and Director roles may be eligible for Long Term Incentives.
• Benefits include health insurance, life and disability insurance, a savings plan, company-paid holidays and paid time off for vacation or personal business.