Hiring a Databricks Data Engineer Associate in 2024? Focus on these 10 key skills: expertise in Databricks tools and Spark for distributed data processing, proficiency in Python and SQL for scripting and querying, and experience with cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. Look for abilities in building and optimizing ETL pipelines, data modeling, and performance tuning. Security best practices and troubleshooting expertise are crucial, along with strong communication skills for collaboration across teams. These competencies will ensure your candidate can handle complex data environments and drive data-driven solutions.