Customers trust the Alation Data Intelligence Platform for self-service analytics, cloud transformation, data governance, and AI-ready data, fostering data-driven innovation at scale. With more than $340M in funding – valued at over $1.7 billion and nearly 600 customers, including 40% of the Fortune 100 — Alation helps organizations realize value from data and AI initiatives. Alation has been recognized in 2024 as one of Inc. Magazine's Best Workplaces for the fifth time, a testament to our commitment to creating an inclusive, innovative, and collaborative environment. Collaboration is at the forefront of everything we do. We strive to bring diverse perspectives together and empower each team member to contribute their unique strengths to live out our values each day. These are: Move the Ball, Build for the Long Term, Listen Like You’re Wrong, and Measure Through Customer Impact. Joining Alation means being part of a fast-paced, high-growth company where every voice matters, and where we’re shaping the future of data intelligence with AI-ready data. Join us on our journey to build a world where data culture thrives and curiosity is celebrated each day! Job Description: Note: This is a hybrid role requiring work in the Redwood City, CA office at least two days per week. Local candidates only. Sorry, no relocation or remote work. We’re looking for an Associate Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to partner closely with customers to help them build Agentic applications on top of their structured data ecosystem. In this highly collaborative and technical role, you’ll help onboard customers onto Alation AI’s platform, troubleshoot technical issues, and build custom AI agents that automate critical business processes and deliver real value. As a FDE, you will embed deeply with customers to solve high-value problems. You will move fast, building prototypes that solve real-world problems and influence the future product roadmap. This role requires deep technical skills, strong communication, and a passion for driving customer success in ambiguous, dynamic environments. One more thing...We work in a hybrid model—you’ll join us in our Redwood City office to collaborate, connect, and enjoy a team atmosphere! What You’ll Do: Onboard and support customer deployments: Help customers connect and validate structured datasets, configure integrations, and troubleshoot issues to ensure smooth onboarding and adoption. Accelerate delivery through repeatability: Identify common use case patterns, create reusable tools and best practices that streamline onboarding and implementation for future customers. Build and prototype AI-powered solutions: Rapidly develop custom agents and applications that automate business processes, solve immediate customer problems, and inform product strategy through actionable feedback. Work autonomously and collaboratively: Thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous environments, managing priorities independently while working closely with small, cross-functional teams. Own customer success end-to-end: Act as a trusted technical advisor, balancing rapid delivery with thoughtful, scalable solutions. Collaborate closely with product and engineering teams to represent customer needs. What We’re Looking For Required: Strong Proficiency in SQL and relational data modeling concepts (star schemas, joins). Experience with modern data platforms such as Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, or dbt. Strong Python engineering skills, with experience writing clean, production-quality code to build integrations, internal tools, and AI applications. Hands-on experience with LLMs and agent frameworks (e.g., Pydantic-AI, LangChain). Ability to design, build, debug AI agents and run evaluation benchmarks to monitor quality and performance. Excellent customer-facing communication skills, with experience collaborating directly with customer teams to gather requirements, manage expectations, and deliver impactful solutions. Demonstrated ability to solve ambiguous, complex technical problems in real-world settings, balancing rapid prototyping with scalable design. Preferred: Prior experience in forward deployed engineering, solutions engineering, professional services, or technical consulting roles. Experience deploying AI or ML applications in production environments, including familiarity with monitoring, troubleshooting, and maintaining live systems. Background in infrastructure, platform engineering, or cloud services related to data and AI workloads. Knowledge of enterprise data governance, access control, and compliance considerations. Why This Role You’ll have a front-row seat to how modern enterprises are adopting AI—and the chance to shape that journey. This role is perfect for someone who thrives on solving real-world problems, working closely with customers, and building scrappy but impactful prototypes that guide the direction of a product. #LI-MS1 Compensation Pay Range: $108,419.00 - $146,366.00 Salary Information The base salary range is specific to the United States. The salary of the final candidate selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to internal equity, experience, education, work location, specialty and training. If the final candidate has a different level of experience, the base salary target range may be lower or higher than what is published. Alation, Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to that individual’s race, color, religion or creed, national origin or ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, genetic information, ethnicity, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by law. The Company will strive to provide reasonable accommodations to permit qualified applicants who have a need for an accommodation to participate in the hiring process (e.g., accommodations for a job interview) if so requested. This company participates in E-Verify. Click on any of the links below to view or print the full poster. E-Verify and Right to Work. Our growth is creating great opportunities! Our team is expanding, and we want to hire the most talented people we can. Continued success depends on it! So once you've had a chance to explore our current open positions, apply to the ones you feel suit you best and keep track of both your progress in the selection process, and new postings that might interest you! Thanks for your interest in working on our team!! Introduce yourself to our recruiters and we'll get in touch if there's a role that seems like a good match. Our founders have come together from different backgrounds: business, engineering, and design. This unique mix from our founding team is important to the Alation culture story. Today, our team consists of creators and communicators with varied backgrounds - from Stanford, to the Indian Institute of Technology, big companies and one-person startups, the United States, and abroad. We continue to seek ever more diverse perspectives as we grow. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, name, religion, color, national origin, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Why Alation? Market-Leading Data Catalog Provider High-growth, collaborative environment with diverse and inclusive teams Continuous learning, enrichment and development opportunities Competitive pay and health offerings including commuter benefits Flexible time off to relax and recharge
