Staff Backline Engineer - Platform

P-1399 Hiring Manager: Ratish Maruthiyodan At Databricks, we are passionate about enabling Data & AI teams to solve the world's toughest problems - from making the next mode of transportation a reality to accelerating the development of medical breakthroughs. We do this by building and running the world's best data and AI infrastructure platform so our customers can use deep data insights to improve their business. Founded by engineers, we leap at every opportunity to tackle technical challenges, from designing next-gen UI/UX for data interaction to scaling our services and infrastructure across millions of virtual machines. And we're only getting started. About the Team The Backline Engineering Team serves as the critical bridge between Frontline Support and Engineering. We handle complex technical issues and escalations across the Data and AI ecosystem. With a strong focus on customer success, we are committed to delivering exceptional customer satisfaction by providing deep technical expertise, proactive issue resolution, and continuous platform improvements. We emphasize automation and tooling to enhance troubleshooting efficiency, reduce manual efforts, and improve the overall supportability of the platform and the health of our products. By developing smart solutions and streamlining workflows, we drive operational excellence and ensure a delightful experience for both customers and internal teams. What your impact will be: Act as the ultimate technical escalation point, driving the resolution of the most complex, high-stakes customer issues on the Databricks Platform through deep analysis of core components, metrics, and logs. Elevate global team competency by architecting standardized troubleshooting methodologies, comprehensive runbooks, and leading deep-dive technical enablement sessions. Champion product supportability and observability, by actively partnering with Engineering and Product teams to influence the roadmap and integrate critical feedback. Spearhead strategic automation and tooling initiatives, driving programs that significantly reduce manual toil and improve global MTTR (Mean Time to Resolution) metrics. Act as the primary technical liaison between Support and Engineering, driving the enablement strategy for upcoming product features, architectures, and releases. Lead cross-functional incident response, demonstrating deep ownership and coordinating seamlessly across Engineering, Escalation, and Support teams to resolve critical requests. Participate in weekday and weekend on‑call rotations to ensure continuous coverage. What we look for: We are looking for candidates who demonstrate deep mastery of one of the following and related areas: Application Debugging : Deep expertise in troubleshooting, supporting, and maintaining complex Java, Scala, or Python-based applications. Big Data Ecosystems: Advanced proficiency in managing, tuning, and resolving issues within distributed computing environments, with a strong emphasis on Apache Spark™, Hadoop or other Distributed Systems. Database Management: Proficient at debugging, tuning, and resolving issues in SQL-based relational databases, preferably Postgres. Automation & Tooling: Advanced proficiency in building automation frameworks and system scripts using Python or bash/shell. Infrastructure & Networking: Deep foundation in Linux system administration, kernel-level troubleshooting, and complex network diagnostics (e.g., TCP/IP Stack, DNS, routing, packet capture analysis). Cloud Skills: Extensive hands‑on experience debugging, optimizing, and supporting highly scalable workloads across major cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP). Expert-level diagnostic skills , with a proven track record of pinpointing root causes in highly complex systems through advanced black-box and system-level troubleshooting. 12+ years of highly technical industry experience in technical support, sustaining engineering or similar roles. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related fields. Pay Range Transparency Databricks is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The pay range(s) for this role is listed below and represents the expected salary range for non‑commissionable roles or on‑target earnings for commissionable roles. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to job‑related skills, depth of experience, relevant certifications and training, and specific work location. Based on the factors above, Databricks anticipates utilizing the full width of the range. The total compensation package for this position may also include eligibility for annual performance bonus, equity, and the benefits listed above. For more information regarding which range your location is in visit our page here. Local Pay Range $170,000 — $255,600 USD About Databricks Databricks is the data and AI company. More than 10,000 organizations worldwide — including Comcast, Condé Nast, Grammarly, and over 50% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform to unify and democratize data, analytics and AI. Databricks is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices around the globe and was founded by the original creators of Lakehouse, Apache Spark™ , Delta Lake and MLflow. To learn more, follow Databricks on Twitter ,LinkedIn and Facebook. Benefits At Databricks, we strive to provide comprehensive benefits and perks that meet the needs of all of our employees. For specific details on the benefits offered in your region click here. Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion At Databricks, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone can excel. We take great care to ensure that our hiring practices are inclusive and meet equal employment opportunity standards. Individuals looking for employment at Databricks are considered without regard to age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other protected characteristics. Compliance If access to export‑controlled technology or source code is required for performance of job duties, it is within Employer's discretion whether to apply for a U.S. government license for such positions, and Employer may decline to proceed with an applicant on this basis alone. #J-18808-Ljbffr