Staff+ Engineer - Foundational Data Plane

Who We Are

Atlan is building the missing context layer for data and AI, helping enterprises close the AI value chasm and finally move AI pilots into production. Today, 95% of AI pilots fail because AI systems don’t understand the context behind data: what it means, how it’s governed, and how it should be used.

Atlan unifies this context by connecting to every part of the data and AI stack, enabling teams to build, collaborate on, and activate shared context across data, business, and AI workflows, including for AI agents.
Trusted by global enterprises like Mastercard, Workday, General Motors, Unilever, Ralph Lauren, FOX, Nasdaq, and Medtronic, we’re backed by world-class investors including GIC, Insight Partners, Meritech, Peak XV, and Salesforce Ventures

Atlan is building the context layer for AI agents and applications - transforming how data platforms power the next generation of AI.

Our team works on systems handling billions of assets, serving 100K+ users, with 99.99% availability targets.

We're looking for a Staff, Sr. Staff, or Principal Engineer to help architect and scale the foundational data plane that makes it easy to build apps, agents, and solutions for the AI era.

This is a high-agency role where you'll define technical direction, drive multi-quarter initiatives, and pioneer AI-native development practices.

• Design and build platform services—APIs, infrastructure components, runtime systems, and ingestion frameworks—at enterprise scale

• Architect the context store that transforms lakehouse infrastructure into AI-ready systems with multimodal capabilities (structured, unstructured, vector, graph)

• Solve complex multi-tenant isolation and scaling problems for enterprise SaaS

• Design data contracts governing ingestion, validation, processing, routing, storage, and serving across heterogeneous systems

• Own critical shared infrastructure including lakehouse (Iceberg/Polaris), vector stores, graph databases, and OLTP systems

• Drive technical standards through RFCs, architecture reviews, and documentation

• Mentor senior engineers and influence architecture decisions across teams

• Write production code using AI-assisted development tools (Claude Code, Cursor)

• Debug distributed systems issues across Kubernetes, workflow orchestration, and microservices

Who You Are

• You embrace AI-native development and want to pioneer new engineering workflows

• You have high agency and take ownership of ambiguous problems

• You're a strong async communicator who can influence without authority

• You're comfortable with fast-changing priorities in a scale-up environment

• You act as a force multiplier—elevating the technical bar for those around you

Must Haves

• 8+ years in platform engineering, infrastructure, or backend systems at a SaaS company

• Experience building enterprise-scale distributed systems at scale

• Deep expertise in multi-tenant architectures and tenant isolation strategies

• Strong Kubernetes, containerization, and cloud infrastructure skills (AWS/GCP/Azure)

• Hands-on experience with distributed systems patterns—service mesh, event-driven architecture, orchestration

• Track record of driving multi-quarter technical initiatives from concept through production at scale

Deep Expertise in One or More of the following

• Lakehouse architectures

• Vector stores

• Graph databases

• Streaming systems

Nice to Have

• Experience designing contract-driven or schema-first data platforms

• Familiarity with Temporal or similar workflow orchestration systems

• Data quality frameworks, observability systems, and cost attribution at scale

• Experience supporting enterprise workloads with strict compliance requirements

• CI/CD pipeline design and GitOps practices

Your Roadmap to Success

Your first 30-days

• Get very comfortable with all the modules they work in

• A small PR solution for a Source bug

• Get their permissions, familiarize with CI/CD process, quality analysis, testing process, and monitoring

Your first 90-days

• Gained ownership of a small module

• Contributed to at least 3-4 customer issues

• Workflow monitoring

• Participated in PRD reviews

• You’ve moved from just coding to interacting with Product, CSM, and TAMs

Your first 180-days

• You’ve become a SME at least one or two sources in-depth

• At this stage, their deliverables should be clean and have fewer code smells

• You’re technically influencing the more junior engineers in the following areas:

  • Technical depth, PR reviews, design discussions, ARB (architecture review board)

• You’ve completed interview shadowing and are committed to helping us grow the team

Why Atlan?

Joining Atlan means being part of a global movement to help data teams do their life’s best work. Here’s what you can expect:

• Competitive Compensation: We benchmark at the top of the market and keep compensation simple: strong base salary, performance‑based variable pay, and impact‑driven equity, so your total rewards grow in step with the value you create over time.

• Health & Wellness: From Day‑1 health, dental, vision, and mental health to pet‑care perks and flexible health stipends, we design benefits offerings that lead in each country we're in.

• Flexible Time Off & Leave Policies: We trust you to own your energy: flexible time off and modern leave so you can unplug properly, support yourself and your loved ones, and come back ready to drive an impact.

• Accelerated Growth & Learning: Develop at an uncommon velocity through cutting-edge tech, complex implementations, and an experienced team that values mastery.

• AI Native Culture: Atlan is where AI-native builders come to build the systems the future of work will run on. AI isn’t an add-on, it’s woven into how we build, think, and work every day, empowering every Atlanian to move faster and create a bigger impact.

• Global, Remote-First, High-Trust: Work from anywhere with a diverse team across 15+ countries, in a trust-first, async environment that gives you true flexibility and ownership over how you work.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Atlan is committed to building an inclusive, diverse, and authentic workplace. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic.