You desire impactful work.
You’reRGA ready
The PrincipalDatabricksArchitectwill shape and scale our Databricks-based data science and AI platform, and to lead where our practice is heading: a governed, self-service environment that lets data science teams move from idea to production with minimal friction.As thetechnical leader ofthe platform, thisindividualbrings design thinking to mature the platformas a productdesigning reusable capabilities, patterns, and guardrails that empower actuarial, data science, and analytics teams to independently develop, train, deploy, and operate models and AI agents.The ideal candidate pairs deep architecturalexpertisewith a strong enablement mindset, engaging directly with diverse data science communities to understand their workflows and remove barriers to adoption.They will modernize our platform around the latest Databricks capabilitiesUnity Catalog governance, Mosaic AI and Agent Bricks, Genie,Lakeflow, andLakebasewhile ensuring interoperability with our Snowflake enterprise data platform through open formats such as Apache Iceberg.This is a highly visible role that sets technical direction, champions frictionless developer experience, enforces least-privileged access and data governance, and enables global, cost-efficient deployment of AI in compliance with data sovereignty requirements.
Principle Duties
Platform Vision & Architecture:Define and champion the end-to-end architecture for the Databricks data science and AI platformacross a global topologyensuring scalability, security, cost efficiency,resilience, andcompliance with regional data sovereignty laws.Establish reference architectures, patterns, and blueprints that encourage enterprise-wide reuse and standardization.
Governance& Compliance:Lead the design and adoption of Unity Catalog as the central governance planedefining catalog hierarchies, fine-grained (row/column) access, dynamic data masking, lineage, and classification.Partner withinfrastructure, security, and compliance teams toenforce least-privileged access, responsible AI,and regulatory requirementsincluding data sovereigntyacross US, EMEA, and APAC.
Interoperability & Data Integration:Architect robust, low-duplication integration between Databricks and the enterprise data platform (Snowflake) using open formats such as Apache Iceberg and Unity Catalog federation.Enable seamless bi-directional data access and feature sharing so teams can choose the right tool without paying a tax to deploy across environments.
Data Science Enablement & Self-Service:Partner directly with actuarial, data science, and analytics teams to understand their workflows and build frameworks, templates, IDE/notebook experiences, and documentation that let them independently develop, train, and deploy models and AI agents.
ModelOps& Agent Operations:Mature theModelOpsstrategyspanningmodel lifecycle, governance, versioning, and deployment at scaleusingMLflow, Model Serving, and the AI Agent Framework.
Performance, Observability & FinOps:Optimizecompute, clusters, and jobs(classic and serverless)for performance,reliability, and cost.Establishplatform and solution-levelobservability, tagging coverage, chargeback/show back, and self-service cost and usage analytics so teams can consume responsibly with predictable spend.
Consulting, Enablement& Innovation:Serve as a trusted advisorandenablement partnertodata science and business teamsrunningdiscovery workshops,proofs-of-concept, and technology evaluations.Curate a community of practice, promote sanctioned patterns, and continuously bring contemporary Databricks best practices to complex data and AI challenges.
Team Building & Mentorship:Mentor and upskill team members, promote knowledge sharing, and build high-performing, cross-functional teams focused on excellence in data and AI.
Education
Work Experience
10+ years progressive experience in enterprise-level IT functions - Required
7+ years experience in managing large enterprise data initiatives and teams - Required
5+ years architecting andoperatingenterprise-grade data and AI/MLplatforms,withhands-onDatabricksandApache Sparkexperience on a majorcloud(AWSpreferred;AzureorGCP).- Required
Skills and Abilities
Modern Databricks Expertise:Deep knowledge of the Databricks Data Intelligence PlatformUnity Catalog, Delta Lake/Iceberg,Lakeflow/Delta Live Tables,MLflow, Model Serving, AI Agent Framework/Agent Bricks,Lakebase, and Geniepluslakehousearchitecture, ETL/ELT, and infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, Databricks Asset Bundles).- Required
Data Science Enablement:Demonstratedsuccess building self-service platform capabilities and developer experiences that empower data science teams, along with aModelOpstrack recordcovering lifecycle management, versioning, governance, and deployment automation.- Required
Consulting & Communication:Strong consulting, stakeholder management, and communication skills, witha track recordof influencing senior leadership and driving technology adoption.- Required
Innovation & Initiative:Demonstratedability to drive innovation, introduce contemporary practices, and lead technology transformations.- Required
Thought Leadership:Ability to define and communicate architecture vision, roadmaps, and best practices to both technical and non-technical audiences.- Preferred
Continuous Improvement:Passion for learning, sharing knowledge, and staying ahead of industry trends in data and AI.- Preferred
Platform-as-a-Product Mindset:Passion for delivering frictionless, self-service experiences and measurable business valuetreating internal data science teams as customers and continuously improving their journey from prototype to production.- Preferred
Interoperability Experience:Familiarity integrating Databricks with Snowflake and other engines via open standards (Apache Iceberg, Unity Catalog/Lakehouse federation) to minimize data duplication and governance gaps.- Preferred
Availabilityfor cross-time-zone meetings.- Preferred
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Compensation Range:
$126,710.00 - $188,840.00 Annual
Base pay varies depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience and market location. In addition, RGA provides an annual bonus plan that includes all roles and some positions are eligible for participation in our long-term equity incentive plan. RGA also maintains a full range of health, retirement, and other employee benefits.
