Staff Project Manager, Professional Services

CSQ227R54

At Databricks, our core principles are at the heart of everything we do; creating a culture of proactiveness and a customer-centric mindset guides us to create a unified platform that makes data science and analytics accessible to everyone. We aim to inspire our customers to make informed decisions that push their business forward. We provide a user-friendly and intuitive platform that makes it easy to turn insights into action and fosters a culture of creativity, experimentation, and continuous improvement. You will be an essential part of this mission, using your technical expertise to demonstrate how our Data Intelligence Platform can help customers solve their complex data challenges. You'll work with a collaborative, customer-focused team that values innovation and creativity, using your skills to create customized solutions to help our customers achieve their goals and guide their businesses forward. Join us in our quest to change how people work with data and make a better world!

This Technical Program Manager (TPM) role is part of the Field Engineering (FE) organization, the technical arm of Databricks’ customer-facing teams. 

The core function of this role is to drive and manage complex, high-impact technical programs that originate from the field (customer-facing teams) and require significant cross-functional coordination. This role serves as the essential link between the Field Engineering teams and internal groups, including Product, Engineering, Field Engineering, and Sales.

Ultimately, the TPM is responsible for managing the lifecycle of strategic initiatives, from building new technical assets and frameworks to synthesizing field feedback to influence the product roadmap.

Key Responsibilities

• Program Lifecycle Management: Own the end-to-end execution of strategic Field Engineering programs, from initial concept and requirements gathering through to delivery, measurement, and post-launch optimization.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Serve as the primary driver and connector for complex initiatives. Lead cross-functional working groups, align stakeholders, and ensure clear communication on timelines, risks, and dependencies with teams like Product Management, Engineering, Solution Architects, and Sales.
• Field Enablement & Scaling: Manage programs focused on scaling the Field Engineering organization. This includes the development and rollout of new technical assets (e.g., ML & GenAI solutions), Solution Accelerators, best-practice frameworks, and reference architectures for customer implementation of Databricks products.
• Voice of the Field: Establish and manage programs to systematically collect, analyze, and synthesize technical feedback and requirements from the Field Engineering team, providing a unified "voice of the field" to Product and Engineering and influencing product roadmaps.
• Risk & Dependency Management: Proactively identify, track, and mitigate technical risks, blockers, and dependencies. Resolve ambiguity and drive solutions to complex technical and business challenges.
• Stakeholder Communication: Define and manage the communication plan. Provide clear, concise, and regular updates on program status, milestones, and success metrics to senior leadership and key stakeholders.
• Process Improvement: Define and implement new processes and operational cadences to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Field Engineering organization.

Minimum Qualifications

• Experience: 5+ years of experience in Technical Program Management, preferably in a B2B SaaS, cloud, or data engineering/analytics company.
• Technical Background: A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience. Must be comfortable diving deep into technical topics with Solution Architects and Engineers.
• Program Management Skills: Proven ability to manage complex, cross-functional technical programs and deliver results in a fast-paced environment. Strong understanding of Agile and other program management methodologies.
• Communication: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences (from engineers to executives) and build consensus.
• Stakeholder Management: Demonstrated experience in managing and influencing senior stakeholders, navigating competing priorities, and driving alignment across multiple organizations.
• Domain Knowledge: Foundational knowledge of the data and AI landscape (e.g., data warehousing, data lakes, ETL, streaming, data science, machine learning).

Preferred Qualifications

• Databricks/Spark: Hands-on experience with the Data Intelligence Platforms or Data frameworks like Apache Spark™.
• Cloud Platforms: Experience with public cloud provider solutions (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Customer-Facing Experience: Prior experience in a customer-facing technical role (e.g., Solutions Architect, Technical Account Manager, Professional Services, Product Manager).
• GenAI/ML Experience: Experience delivering programs related to AI, Machine Learning, or Generative AI.
• Certifications: PMP, CSM, or related program management certification.