Featured Member Interview - December 2022
Patrycjusz Sienkiewicz - @Pat Sienkiewicz ⭐️
Community nickname: Pat
Pronouns: He/Him
Job Title: Data Engineer
Databricks Certifications Completed:
Databricks Certified Data Engineer Professional
Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark 3.0
Academy Accreditation - Databricks Lakehouse Fundamentals
Could you give a brief description of your professional journey to date?
A. In my years as a student, I got interested in data and started out by interning as an ETL Developer. I have spent my career working with Data Warehouses. In 2015, I learnt about Spark and I've been doing a lot of work in the Big Data/ Hadoop field. In 2017, I transitioned to Apache Spark - on-prem/ AWS Glue/ AWS EMR/ Databricks. I still remember the very first version used; a delta of 0.4.0 with Spark on-prem.
What is your favorite thing about your current job/ role?
A. I've been able to take all that I've learnt throughout my career and apply it in my new role. I had a chance to work on designing solution architecture, data modeling, coding infrastructure, and following best practices with all the newest features.
What are three words your coworkers would use to describe you?
A. Reliable, Fun, and Hard-working
When, and why did you start using Databricks?
A. My first experience with Databricks was in 2019. I was involved in a proof of concept for migrating a Scala Spark application from Hadoop to Databricks. It was a long time ago, but when I had the chance to work with Databricks again in October 2021, I was impressed by how it had changed.
We have been using Databricks to build a multi-region/ multi-tenant solution. It's been challenging, but I've learnt a lot as I use it. Trying to keep up-to-date with all the features with recent changes. I’d like to thank the Community for all the help received and encouraged me to contribute back.
What were some of the things that impressed you? Or stood out to you when you used Databricks again in 2021?
A. I was impressed by how quickly I could put together production-grade data pipelines using Databricks notebooks and jobs. I enjoyed that I could use the latest version of Spark with all its custom improvements and optimizations. It sped up my data delivery process, but it also introduced compute cost savings. Here are a few features to mention: Delta Tables, AQE, improved Spark UI and Databricks pools.
Do you have a favorite Databricks feature? Something that makes your life a lot
easier? Or more interesting?
A. Unity Catalog simplifies access control and storing credentials, which is definitely a huge plus for me. External Locations are also a great feature that makes it easy for users to get more data without having to go through another program. Still, there are some limitations and a learning curve with Unity Catalog. Fortunately, there is a lot of support from the Community and Databricks is always developing new features.
Is there a Databricks feature you want to see in the future?
A. I am currently waiting for what is already on the roadmap - DLT enabled in UC and workspace isolation.
What’s your favorite thing about being on Databricks Community?
A. It is beneficial when people who are having difficulties can consult with industry peers. I can find out what they are struggling with and then share solutions by taking their problem into account.
Pivoting a little: What’s your favorite hobby?
A. All year round, I really love to spend time in the lake house with my family. It's a place where I can disconnect and just chill, or build data lake houses during the winter.
What area do you see data and AI/ML transforming next? Are there any specific problems you’d like to see tackled?
A. Databricks simplifies and standardizes data governance, data quality, and data lineage for Spark. For example, expanding the product to include a ready-to-deploy environment with AWS Quick Start. As a data engineer, this is important because it helps me to build reliable and scalable data pipelines no matter which cloud provider I decide to use.
Where do you see yourself in 3 years?
A. Working as a Solution Architect helping teams on their journey with data. Most likely working with Databricks products.
What are your social media handles?
A. Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sienkiewiczpat/
Thank you for sharing a bit about your life and professional journey, and for letting us 'take a piece of greatness' from you @Pat Sienkiewicz 😊
Let Pat know what questions you have for him below!
