Landing a Databricks Internship: A Comprehensive Guide

Students apply for internships to gain valuable experiences and be job-ready after graduation. Selecting a company to apply for internships is an important decision to make. This article discusses how to get an internship at Databricks, what a Databricks intern does, and the steps you should follow to get hired for an internship.

What is Databricks?

Databricks is an innovative software company headquartered in San Francisco, established in 2013 by the founders of Apache Spark. Currently, the company has 18 offices located in 11 countries around the world. Databricks offers a wide range of services to many prestigious companies from different industries around the world. Such companies include Adobe, AstraZeneca, Atlassian, CVSHealth, and Columbia.

Databricks Internship Program Overview

Yes, Databricks offers internship opportunities to students and college grads. The university program of Databricks hires students for full-time internship opportunities. The hired candidates will be part of the San Francisco or Amsterdam teams. Software engineering internship opportunities are available at Databricks.

Interns are assigned to teams that work full-time on the development of the Databricks platform. Databricks offers many benefits to interns, such as healthcare reimbursement, work headphones reimbursement, equity awards, and a yearly personal development fund.

The Role of a Databricks Intern

An intern plays an integral role on the Databricks platform, as they contribute to the software development lifecycle. As full-time employees are focused on building efficient systems for the platform, interns work with the engineering team and help with system development. The team provides several learning opportunities to interns through real projects. According to several intern testimonials, the company provides a great opportunity to learn as you get the chance to work with some of the brightest people in the industry. Interns also work in a collaborative environment with supportive coworkers. An intern at Databricks shared, “I have the freedom to make design choices, but when I make mistakes there’s support for me to learn from them."

Databricks Internship Opportunities

Databricks offers a variety of internship roles across different teams. Some of the prominent internship opportunities include:

Software Engineer Intern

As a software engineer intern, you will be part of the engineering team and help in software development. You will be engaged in the design, testing, and implementation of a software product. The team delivers high-quality software by improving the software’s features and architecture. Software products are delivered with high reliability, security, and adaptability. This internship allows you to work on collaborative projects with engineers. If you get hired, you are expected to highly contribute to developing products and creating technical solutions based on the collected data. You will also interact with customers to identify the project scope and improve the user experience with the product. You will work as part of a team to develop features for the Databricks platform. This internship program will allow you to gain experience on how to manage an end-to-end project from the designing stage to receiving feedback.

Infrastructure Intern

This internship requires you to assist the Databricks Infrastructure platform development and improvement team. You will develop high-quality Databricks products and tech solutions. For this position, you must have a deep understanding of the software development lifecycle.

Product Management Intern

As a Product Management Intern, you will join a team that works diligently to understand and solve our customers' most challenging problems. You will learn how to be a successful PM at a high-growth enterprise technology company that operates at the important intersection of data and AI. You will have a dedicated mentor and will join an intern cohort where you'll connect with product managers, engineers, designers, account teams, other interns, and leaders from across the company.

Impact: Work with a team to build features for the Databricks platform. Manage your project end-to-end, including design, code, and feedback. Learn about building a platform that scales quickly while maintaining quality and security.

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What to look for: Pursuing a degree in computer science or related engineering subject. You have some experience with SQL and/or Python. You use analytical skills to make data-driven decisions (e.g. analyze product usage). You can make complex topics simple and clearly communicate nuance to partners (engineers, customers, field, etc.) in both written and verbal form. You are excited to solve ambiguous problems with a collaborative team.

Legal Intern

As a Databricks Legal Intern, you won’t just observe, you’ll jump straight into novel legal issues working alongside our high-impact global legal team. You will gain first-hand experience on how an in-house legal department drives business strategy and tackles complex challenges on a daily basis, and navigate cutting-edge legal landscape of generative AI, cloud computing, and big data. Databricks will encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and provide the resources, mentoring, and feedback you need to grow your legal skills and career. This is a hybrid, in-person position located in our San Francisco and Mountain View offices.

Impact: Work with various Databricks Legal teams to support all areas of our business. Research and teach our Legal department about novel legal issues, especially as they relate to AI and cloud technology. Further Legal strategy and objectives through the development of critical work product and/or assets that will inform future initiatives. Contribute to mission-critical projects and initiatives across a variety of practice areas, including Commercial and Go-to-Market, Privacy, IP, Product & Privacy, Legal Compliance & Ethics, Corporate, Employment & Litigation, and others to gain broad exposure to our business and operations. Help Databricks continue to balance legal risks as it continues on its exciting path forward.

What to look for: Currently enrolled as a 1st-year (1L) or 2nd-year (2L) law student (graduating in summer 2027 or summer 2028), with a strong record of academic performance. Eagerness to learn about Databricks technology and new legal issues. Willingness to roll-up your sleeves and tackle tough problems with the full support of our team. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Ability to work both independently and with colleagues as needed. Exceptional legal research, analytical, and organizational skills, along with a strong foundation in advocacy and judgment. High-level legal drafting skills that is consistent with current legal education and experience. A desire to be part of a dynamic legal team supporting the recognized leader in processing big data in the cloud. Prior background or strong interest in technology, data analytics and Artificial Intelligence (preferred but not required).

Data Analytics, Databricks & Cloud Intern (State Street)

This opportunity is ideal for individuals interested in contributing to our team as a Data Analytics, Databricks & Cloud Intern within State Street’s Global Technology Services organization.

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What You Will Do: Assist in building and optimizing data pipelines using Databricks and Apache Spark. Analyze structured and unstructured datasets to uncover trends, patterns, and actionable insights. Support the deployment of analytics solutions on cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. Create dashboards and visualizations using tools like Power BI, Tableau, or Databricks SQL. Collaborate with data engineers and analysts to ensure data quality, governance, and compliance. Participate in data modeling and transformation tasks to support business intelligence initiatives. Document data workflows, metrics definitions, and cloud architecture components. Contribute to automation and optimization of data operations in cloud environments.

Education and Preferred Qualifications: Final-year undergraduate or graduate students pursuing degrees in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or related technical disciplines who are interested in converting to a full-time role post-graduation. Strong interest in data analytics, cloud computing, and modern data platforms. Enthusiastic about building a long-term career in a dynamic, technology-driven organization Effective communicators with the ability to collaborate in a team-oriented environment Open to feedback and committed to continuous learning and improvement Motivated by real-world problem solving and eager to contribute innovative ideas.

Core Competencies: Candidates should exhibit working knowledge of the following key skills and proficiencies: Data Analytics Apache Spark Cloud Computing (AWS, Azure, GCP) Python or Structured Query Language (SQL) Data Visualization Data Engineering Communication Group Collaboration

How to Get an Internship at Databricks: A Step-by-Step Guide

Yes, it can be challenging to get an internship with this company. Databricks imposes a scrupulous hiring process in selecting candidates as they will undergo several rounds of interviews. These will also include a behavioral and coding interview. Some previous interns have expressed that the interview process was quite difficult.

In this section, we provide the basic steps on how to kick-start your career at Databricks through internships.

1. Craft a Compelling Application

Databricks will ask you to provide a resume and a cover letter. If this is the first time you are writing a resume you can look for resume tips online. You should write a compelling resume that states your skills, work experience, and educational background. However, the best way to send an application is through the company’s official site. Search job titles thoroughly and carefully read each job description.

2. Apply Online

Once you’ve submitted your online application with your resume and cover letter, practice your coding skills while waiting for the recruiters’ response.

3. Prepare for the Technical Assessment

According to some previous applicants, Databricks wants you to complete a CodeSignal assessment test as part of your technical interview.

4. Ace the Interview Process

The interview process includes a technical and behavioral interview. The technical interview is quite difficult, according to some previous applicants, so you must prepare and practice answering some common technical questions.

Enhancing Your Qualifications

Below you will find some important tips about how you can enhance your qualifications. This will help you increase your chances of getting hired at Databricks. This company receives a huge number of applicants who are as eager as you to get an internship. The skills you possess are integral if you want to be considered for an internship at Databricks.

Develop Technical Skills

One of the best ways to enhance your tech skills is through coding bootcamps. These short programs teach students technical subjects such as programming, machine learning, software engineering, and web development. Since most of the internship opportunities at Databricks this year are tech positions, applicants must have adept skills in software development and programming languages, such as Python and C++.

Research the Hiring Process

Intensive research will give you a glimpse of the hiring process. Learn from the interview experience of previous applicants through job sites such as Glassdoor and Indeed.

Databricks Internship: Is It Worth It?

Yes, you should apply for an internship at Databricks, as it will be an excellent opportunity for your career growth. The fast-paced environment at this company can contribute to your professional development. Interns learn a lot from developing projects and have the opportunity to enhance their tech skills. The company got a rating of 4.7, according to Glassdoor reviews. Employees mentioned that they love the company culture and the compensation packages it offers. One employee said, “The company is run by, operated by, and mostly staffed by visionaries and doers. The CEO can even write code and is super comfortable showing executives how easy it is to use the product."

Compensation and Benefits

The average salary of a Databricks intern can range from $109,992 to $119,326. The compensation may vary depending on the internship position. Databricks offers many benefits to interns, such as healthcare reimbursement, work headphones reimbursement, equity awards, and a yearly personal development fund.

The average salary of employees at Databricks is $134,000 per year, according to PayScale. This may vary depending on the position. For instance, a solutions architect can earn a salary that ranges from $81,000 to $166,000 per year, a software engineer can expect an annual salary ranging from $69,000 to $137,000, and a senior technical consultant earns a yearly salary ranging from $97,000 to $177,000.

Summer Internship Program

Yes, Databricks hire interns for a summer internship program. You can apply for a software engineering internship this summer. In 2020, the company held a virtual internship program during the summer season where interns collaborated with their peers during project development.

Databricks: A Great Place to Work

Yes, Databricks is a good company to work for. This company provides plenty of opportunities for tech students and professionals. It offers a competitive salary and benefits to its employees. You will also gain essential experience in working with cutting-edge technologies.

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