Solutions Architect Interview Experience - United States
Process
The interview process is very lengthy. I made it absolutely clear from the beginning that I am more of a Data Science and ML person, with most of my experience being around AI and GenAI pre-sales. Even then, during the interview process, I was evaluated on my ability to design data pipelines. This is extremely unfair.
They DO NOT want pre-sales folks for this job. Unfortunately, they do not understand the difference between pre-sales and implementation. They need Data Engineers with soft skills (even if they don't have the ability to sell).
Based on my personal experience and based on hundreds of other negative experiences here on Glassdoor, I would not recommend wasting 5-6 weeks of your time here unless you are a Data Engineer.
The interview rounds are:
- Recruiter screen
- Hiring manager screen
- Take-home technical screen
- Phone technical screen
- Presentation
- Interview with senior team members
Questions
Q: Questions around
- Data pipelines
- Open table formats
- ML
- Scenario-based questions
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 40 interview experiences for the Databricks Solutions Architect role in United States.
Success Rate
Databricks's interview process for their Solutions Architect roles in the United States is fairly selective, failing a large portion of engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having negative feelings for Databricks's Solutions Architect interview process in United States.
Databricks Work Experiences
- 5.0Great place to work!Solutions Architect • Current EmployeeGermany, GermanyOctober 14, 2025Pros: Strong innovation, awesome tech culture, home office, and many growth opportunities.Cons: Less competitive compensation, bad work-life balance.
- 3.0Great company mired by a not-great sales cultureSolutions Architect • Current EmployeeOctober 10, 2025Pros: I won't say anything surprising here: * The tech is great. I love building things with Databricks. * I believe in the executive leadership's vision. * The company is successful. I think my equity is worth something. I would write more about the pros here, but others have said most of what I could say.Cons: Small cons first: * No 401K matching. * Our infrastructure policies are weird and delete things you create after a few weeks. So you end up in a situation where that app/pipeline/ML model/agent you made doesn't work just in time for a demo sometimes. These aren't a big deal. What is a big deal is that there is not a small chance you will run into a toxic work environment as an SA. * In my less than 1 year tenure here, I've heard of multiple instances where other Solutions Architects were fired because they upset sales leadership. My AE was also fired for upsetting sales leadership. * We conduct anonymous culture surveys every six months. On a group call, a sales manager reviewed the feedback someone had written about her and attempted to identify the author of the feedback. It was uncomfortable. * I don't have the time to go into all of the insanity with Salesforce rules and reporting, or the scorecard sales execs have, or the many internal calls related to the two. I can only say no rational human will enjoy it.
- 5.0Great Culture, Smart FolksSolutions Architect • Current EmployeeOctober 9, 2025Pros: Great culture, smart colleagues, good benefits.Cons: No 401k match. WLB depends on the team.
Databricks Interview Questions
