Data Engineer (Databricks)

• Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on site
• Employment type: Full time, permanent
• Experience: 5+ years
• Reports to: Chief Technology Officer

Job Summary

As the Data Engineer (Databricks) at SentraAI you will design, build and operate Databricks-backed data pipelines and semantic layers to deliver trusted, low-latency data for analytics and agent workloads in Abu Dhabi.

You will be measured on pipeline reliability, time-to-insight and the auditability of data access. This is an onsite, full time permanent role for an experienced engineer who can operate Databricks on Azure in production.

About SentraAI

SentraAI is a specialist enterprise AI firm, focused on helping large, regulated organisations move AI and data platforms from experimentation into production safely and sustainably.

We work inside enterprise run-states, where governance, operational risk, change control, and long-term ownership are integral to delivery. Our teams are trusted to design and deliver systems, platforms, and operating models that can be run, audited, and evolved, not just launched.

We prioritise engineering discipline, architectural clarity, and delivery quality over speed theatre or hype.

Key Responsibilities

Databricks and semantic layer

• Design, build and tune Databricks Genie spaces including semantic models, synonyms and example queries
• Author and validate semantic models and example queries with business users
• Structure Unity Catalog access and governance to meet audit requirements

Pipelines and engineering

• Build and maintain PySpark pipelines on Databricks using Delta Lake and medallion architecture
• Ingest and transform data on Azure using ADLS and connectors such as Event Hubs or Kafka
• Implement automated data quality checks and enforce data contracts

Performance, operability and handover

• Optimise tables and queries for low-latency analytics agent responses
• Instrument observability, SLOs and runbooks for production pipelines
• Run client training sessions and handover documentation so the platform can be operated without us

Required Qualifications

Core capability

• Five plus years in data engineering with at least two years working on Databricks
• Strong SQL and PySpark skills used in production ETL and transformations
• Operational experience with Delta Lake and lakehouse architectures

Platform and governance

• Practical experience operating Databricks on Azure and ADLS in enterprise settings
• Experience with Unity Catalog and data access governance under audit
• Familiarity with CI CD for data pipelines using Terraform or GitHub Actions

Advantageous but Not Mandatory

• Databricks certification or ability to certify within three months of joining
• Experience tuning Databricks for low-latency semantic queries
• Previous delivery work inside UAE or GCC regulated buyers
• Familiarity with dbt for SQL modelling and orchestration

Why Work for SentraAI

Enterprise AI, done properly. We exist to take AI and data out of experimentation and into production environments that are regulated, scrutinised, and expected to work every day.

Quality is not optional. SentraAI is built on the belief that engineering discipline, governance by design, and delivery rigour are competitive advantages, not overhead.

Clear ownership and accountability. You will be trusted with real responsibility, clear mandates, and meaningful outcomes, not diluted roles or performative activity.

Work that survives contact with reality. We design systems, operating models, and decisions that still stand up months and years after go-live, not just at demo time.

Run-state matters as much as build-state. We optimise for operability, auditability, and change control from day one, because that is where enterprise value is won or lost.

Substance over hype. We deliberately avoid delivery theatre, buzzwords, and novelty for novelty sake. Credibility is earned through execution.

Learn from experienced practitioners. You will work alongside people who have built, broken, fixed, and run enterprise systems, and who care deeply about doing the work properly.

A firm with a point of view. SentraAI is opinionated by design. We stand for doing fewer things better, and we expect our people to take pride in that standard.