Braun Board

Senior Solutions Engineer

Databricks · London, UK

Base
Not disclosed
OTE
Not disclosed
Posted
3mo ago

Still open · checked 3h agoon Databricks's careers page

What Databricks sells

One place for company data and AI work

Many companies keep their data in lots of separate systems, which makes it hard to use that data to build AI. Databricks lets teams keep their data, AI work, and live apps in one place. Teams can run real-time apps on the same trusted data they use for AI, instead of juggling many tools.

In plain English, from their own job posts. Something wrong? Tell us

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The Braun Read

Proceed with caution

A few things here deserve a hard look before you spend time on it.

Pay
No pay listed at all.
Transparency
Says nothing about quota, attainment, deal size, territory or sales cycle.
Pipeline
Doesn't say where pipeline comes from. Ask.
Time on market
Open 105 days. Ask why it's been hard to fill.
Company hiring
Ramping up: posted 22 sales roles in the last 30 days. That many open roles can also mean churn. Ask how many reps are still there from last year.

Red flags

None spotted.

Worth asking about

  • Open 90+ days. This role has been posted for three months or more. Ask why it's been hard to fill, and whether anyone left it.

Green flags

  • Pays accelerators. Higher commission rates once you pass quota. Overperformance actually pays.

Based only on what the posting says. Flags are a starting point for your first call, not a final judgment.

Questions to ask on the first call

Built from what this posting leaves out. How they answer tells you as much as what they say.

  1. 1.

    This role has been open a while. What's made it hard to fill?

    The answer tells you what candidates saw that made them walk.

  2. 2.

    What percentage of fully ramped reps hit quota last year?

    OTE is what you could earn. This is how likely you are to earn it.

  3. 3.

    What are the base and the OTE for this role?

    No point investing hours before you know the number.

  4. 4.

    What's the annual quota, and how was it set?

    A quota built from real data is a target. Otherwise it's a hope.

  5. 5.

    Where does pipeline come from: inbound, SDRs, or me?

    Tells you how much of your week is prospecting versus selling.

  6. 6.

    Why is this role open? Did someone leave, or is it new?

    New headcount is growth. A replacement means someone left. Ask why.

When the offer comes

Save these for later. They land better once they've said yes to you.

  1. 1.

    Can I see the full comp plan in writing, including clawbacks and accelerators?

    What's in writing is what gets paid. Read it before you sign.

  2. 2.

    Can I see the actual comp distribution for the team last year, not just the OTE?

    The spread shows what most reps really take home. OTE is just the target.

  3. 3.

    I'd be walking away from earned commission to join. Is there room for a sign-on bonus to help cover that?

    Leaving money behind is a fair reason to ask. The worst answer is no.

Josh's top five questions for any sales interview →

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The role

Technical pre-sales role in London leading discovery, solution design, and demos on the Databricks platform for customers. Works alongside an Account Executive to grow platform usage.

Mixed

Selling motion

Mixed

Who you're selling to

Buyer:
Customer engineers, data teams and technical leadsIn their words: “Own frontline technical relationships with customer engineers, data teams, and technical leads”

Pipeline expectations

Not stated in the posting.

Compensation

The posting doesn't list pay.

What is not disclosed

This posting doesn't tell you:

  • Base salary
  • OTE
  • Quota size
  • Quota attainment
  • Average deal size
  • Territory
  • Sales cycle length

The questions above cover the big ones.

Full posting
Req ID - FEQ427R59 Location: London The Role As a Sr. Solutions Engineer, you will independently lead technical engagements for customers, owning discovery, solution design, and platform demonstrations. You are a builder who can code, architect, and present—combining technical depth with customer-facing skills to drive Databricks adoption. You will own frontline customer relationships and work with your Account Executive to develop technical strategies that expand platform usage. The Impact You Will Have - Independently lead technical discovery and solution design for customer workloads spanning data engineering, analytics, and machine learning - Build and deliver compelling proofs-of-concept and live demos on the Databricks Platform that drive technical wins - Own frontline technical relationships with customer engineers, data teams, and technical leads - Develop account-level technical strategies in partnership with your Account Executive to grow platform consumption - Navigate competitive landscapes by articulating Databricks differentiation through hands-on demonstrations - Contribute reusable technical assets (notebooks, solution accelerators, reference architectures) to the broader SA community What We Look For - 4+ years in data engineering, solutions architecture, technical pre-sales, or a hands-on consulting role - Proficient in Python and SQL with demonstrated ability to debug, optimize, and write production-quality code — live coding is a required interview stage - Hands-on experience designing and implementing data solutions on at least one public cloud platform (AWS, Azure, or GCP) - Working knowledge of distributed data systems: Apache Spark™, Delta Lake, or equivalent (Hadoop, Kafka, Flink) - Experience leading technical customer conversations — discovery, whiteboarding, architecture reviews - Familiarity with one or more: data engineering (ETL/ELT, medallion architecture, streaming), data science/ML (model training, MLOps), or SQL analytics - Strong presentation and demo skills — you will build and present a live solution during the interview - Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a quantitative discipline (or equivalent experience) Nice to Have: - Databricks certification or experience with the Databricks Platform - Experience with Unity Catalog, Lakeflow Spark Declarative Pipelines, or MLflow - Background at a data/AI company, cloud provider, or technical consulting firm Interview Process: Recruiter Screen → Hiring Manager Screen → Design and Architecture Interview → Live Coding Assessment → Build, Demo, Pitch! Presentation → Reference Check About Databricks Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 20,000 organizations worldwide — including adidas, AT&T, Bayer, Block, Mastercard, Rivian, Unilever, and 70% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Data + AI Platform to build and scale data and AI apps, analytics and agents. Headquartered in San Francisco with 30+ offices around the globe, Databricks offers a unified platform that includes Genie, Lakebase, Agent Bricks, Lakeflow, Lakehouse, and Unity Catalog. To learn more, follow Databricks on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, and Instagram. 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.
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