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Guide to Databricks Data Engineer Certifications: Associate vs. Professional

Aug 02,2025

Whether you're an aspiring data engineer or a seasoned professional looking to validate your skills, Databricks offers two key certifications tailored to your career level: the Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate and the Databricks Certified Data Engineer Professional. These certifications validate your ability to design and maintain robust, scalable, and secure data pipelines using Apache Spark, Delta Lake, and Databricks-native tools. Here's a breakdown of what each certification entails, and how they can propel your data engineering career forward.

Guide to Databricks Data Engineer Certifications: Associate vs. Professional

Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate

The Associate-level certification is designed for data professionals new to Databricks or those seeking foundational skills in building data pipelines within the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform.

What You'll Learn

●Understanding the Databricks workspace and architecture.

●Performing ETL tasks using Spark SQL and PySpark.

●Managing data ingestion, transformation, and cleansing.

●Creating, deploying, and orchestrating workflows and jobs.

Exam Domains

●Databricks Intelligence Platform 10%

●Development and Ingestion 30%

●Data Processing & Transformations 31%

●Productionizing Data Pipelines 18%

●Data Governance & Quality 11%

This certification is perfect for early-career data engineers or professionals transitioning into data roles. It establishes your ability to manage basic data pipelines and demonstrates your understanding of Databricks' architecture and capabilities.

Databricks Certified Data Engineer Professional

The Professional-level certification targets experienced data engineers who want to demonstrate advanced proficiency in developing and maintaining complex data pipelines and optimizing large-scale data workloads.

What You'll Learn

●Mastery of Apache Spark, Delta Lake, MLflow, Databricks CLI, and REST APIs.

●Advanced ETL pipeline optimization and data cleaning techniques.

●Proficiency in lakehouse modeling and data architecture.

●Ensuring pipeline security, reliability, monitoring, testing, and deployment.

Exam Domains

●Databricks Tooling 20%

●Data Processing 30%

●Data Modeling 20%

●Security and Governance 10%

●Monitoring and Logging 10%

●Testing and Deployment 10%

This certification is ideal for professionals managing production-grade pipelines or working in large-scale data engineering teams. It signifies your ability to manage end-to-end data workflows with best practices in performance, governance, and scalability.

Why Earn a Databricks Data Engineer Certification?

Industry Recognition: Databricks certifications are recognized by leading tech firms adopting modern lakehouse architectures. 

Skill Validation: They validate your ability to design, build, and optimize data pipelines with one of the most powerful data platforms in the industry. 

Career Growth: Certified engineers often command higher salaries and are preferred in hiring for roles involving big data, cloud data engineering, and data lakehouse solutions. 

Future-Proofing: With Databricks continuously evolving with AI and data governance features, staying certified keeps you ahead of the curve.

Whether you're starting your journey in data engineering or looking to level up with advanced skills, the Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate and Professional certifications offer a clear path to mastering modern data pipeline architectures. As organizations scale their data strategies, certified professionals with Databricks expertise are in high demand. Start with the Associate exam to gain foundational skills, and progress to the Professional level to showcase your ability to deliver production-grade data solutions with confidence.