Freelance Data & Lakehouse Consultant · Databricks
Your Databricks platform, planned, built and in operation.
I design your data platform, build it with your team and take it all the way to production. After that, your developers run everything themselves. No lock-in.
About me
After years in data engineering I am convinced: platforms are not made good by their tools alone, but by the mindset of their makers and users. Teams that are merely served become dependent. Teams that are enabled create value and multiply it. That is why I work with Databricks: for many teams it is the right choice, combining innovation, broad feature coverage and maturity with an accessibility that makes it easy for the whole team to get started.
Computer science degree from Ruhr University Bochum, then Evonik, where I applied computer vision to real industrial use cases and worked with highly diverse data landscapes. Until 2026 I ran a Databricks platform on Azure at Fiege Logistics that entire teams relied on every day.
My roots are in the Ruhr Area: pragmatic, honest, direct, with the expectation that things must actually work in the end. What drives me in private and at work is the same: understanding how things connect and making them better.
Since 2026 I have worked as a freelance Data & Lakehouse Consultant. I design Databricks architectures, help automate platforms, build pipelines that hold up in production, and work in a way that leaves my clients independent once a project ends.
Offerings
Three starter packages, three expansion packages. Each starts from a clear situation and ends in a defined deliverable.
-
Starter packages
-
Platform already running
Databricks Cost Review
A report with a quantified list of measures: savings, effort and risk per item, explained in person in a handover workshop. Your basis for every decision that follows.
More details Show lessProcess: you give me read access to your Databricks environment. I analyse your platform and identify where costs can be optimised. You receive a written report with prioritised measures: savings potential, implementation effort and risk per item. In the handover workshop we go through every item together, giving you a basis for every decision that follows. -
Decision still open
Fabric vs. Databricks Assessment
A structured assessment of both platforms: cost, features, lock-in, roadmap. You get an explicit, written recommendation, within days.
More details Show lessProcess: in a workshop I capture your requirements, your existing data landscape and your team's skills. I then assess both platforms against defined criteria: cost model, feature coverage for your concrete use cases, integration effort, lock-in risk and product roadmap. You receive a written recommendation with a criteria matrix, reasoning and counterarguments, so the decision can be understood and defended internally. -
Proposal on the table
Databricks Second Opinion
A review of your large-provider or system-integrator proposal: architecture, scope, price. You get a clear verdict, within days, before you sign.
More details Show lessProcess: you provide the proposal and, if you wish, architecture documents confidentially. I review architecture, scope and price against your goals: is the scope justified? Is anything essential missing? Is anything oversized? You receive a clear, written verdict within days, confidential and without disclosure to third parties. -
Expansion packages
-
Once direction is set
Databricks Migration Blueprint
Planning and design of your individually tailored target architecture: workspace layout, Unity Catalog concept and much more, exactly according to your needs.
More details Show lessThe deliverable is a solid concept document: target architecture, workspace layout, Unity Catalog design with catalogs, ingestion and migration strategy, CI/CD and deployment approach, plus a concrete implementation plan with phases and responsibilities. -
When you migrate
Databricks Guided Migration
Together with your team, I set up your new platform. Afterwards, your team knows every detail and can move into operations without a transition gap.
More details Show lessI support your team: setting up the target platform according to the concept, migrating the first pipelines together with your developers, establishing CI/CD, governance and monitoring. You build alongside me from day one. In the end, your team runs the platform independently and no longer needs me. -
Ongoing
Databricks Engineering on Demand
Engineering capacity for your Databricks platform: build and optimize pipelines, automate jobs and deployment, keep cost and governance under control. On a fixed rhythm, without a full-time hire.
More details Show lessOn a fixed rhythm (for example one or two days per week) I work directly in your platform: developing new pipelines, optimising existing jobs, automating deployment and tests, keeping cost and governance under control. Predictable capacity without a full-time hire, and every change is made together with your team, so the knowledge stays with you.
Beyond that: tailored advisory on an hourly basis. Packages with a defined deliverable. Details and pricing on request.
How I work
Depth over surface: analysis from first principles, not templated slides.
Enablement over dependency: your team runs the platform from the day I leave.
Practice over slides: I build alongside you and solve problems in operations.
Availability
Free capacity from Q4 2026.
Available remotely worldwide, on-site within 100 km of Mülheim an der Ruhr.
Career
Freelance Data & Lakehouse Consultant
Independent
since 2026
I make Databricks production-ready for my customers: review costs upfront, plan and execute migration, keep developing the platform. A defined outcome, no lock-in.
More details
Show less
Freelance Data & Lakehouse Consultant
Platform Data Engineer
Fiege Logistics
2024–2026
Built and operated a Databricks platform on Azure for multiple internal developer teams. Platform innovation, infrastructure automation, securing data.
More details
Show less
Platform Data Engineer
Fiege Logistics
Data Scientist & Data Engineer
Evonik
2020–2024
Deployed computer vision models for industrial quality control. Data pipelines (on-premises and cloud), energy data management on Azure with Databricks.
More details
Show less
Data Scientist & Data Engineer
Evonik
B.Sc. & M.Sc. Applied Computer Sciences
Ruhr University Bochum
2014–2020
Specialized in software engineering and machine learning with an emphasis on computer vision. From classical statistical methods to deep learning architectures.
More details
Show less
B.Sc. & M.Sc. Applied Computer Sciences
Ruhr University BochumTalks & community
Databricks Days: Host & Organizer (FIEGE)
Industry-focused Databricks workshop for Manufacturing & Logistics, hosted at FIEGE in Münster. Databricks guided attendees through an end-to-end scenario: AI forecasting, self-service insights with Databricks One and Genie, AI agents for operational decision-making, and real-time IoT data with Lakeflow and Zerobus. I organized the event on the Fiege side and hosted it.
View post on LinkedInDatabricks User Group Speaker
Presented on orchestration of data pipelines on Azure Databricks within a multi-workspace data platform for large-scale logistics. Shared best practices with the broader community.
View post on LinkedInFree 30-minute call
Briefly describe your situation. You will hear back within 24 hours.
Prefer direct email? contact@schroedersimon.de