AI Data Engineer

PowerPlan, Inc • Atlanta, GA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

As one of the first engineers on PowerPlan’s Applied AI team, the AI Data Engineer builds the data foundation for AI solutions used across finance, sales, professional services, and product. The work centers on finding, cleaning, and defining the data each build needs, selecting appropriately simple data structures, and partnering with the team’s AI engineer to deliver larger solutions to the business.

PowerPlan builds financial software used by nine in ten U.S. investor-owned utilities. Its Applied AI team is part of Strategic Initiatives, works closely with executive leadership, and applies high standards for data accuracy to the company’s internal operations. The standards established in this role will shape how subsequent AI builds are delivered.

Success is measured by whether AI solutions supported by the role’s data are used weekly and operated by the business, and whether new builds use trusted, shared data rather than fresh exports. The role is expected to learn the company’s data in the first 30 days; deliver an owner-checked catalog of critical data by the end of the first quarter; help define standards for data, connections, code review, and AI-tool access; contribute to an initial build in the first quarter; lead data work for a larger build into pilot within six months; and support at least two larger AI solutions in weekly use by month 12. The role will also establish shared, governed data sets and help replace hand-built recurring reports by defining consistent metrics that AI tools can use to draft commentary, answer questions, and flag issues requiring human attention.

This is a hybrid role requiring work from PowerPlan’s Atlanta office at least three days per week. The position is not eligible for visa sponsorship, now or in the future.

Requirements

• Two to four years of professional experience as a data engineer, analytics engineer, or in a similar role where coding to clean and model data was central; alternatively, a related master’s degree and at least one year of that experience.
• Experience turning messy real-world data from a business system, spreadsheet, or set of documents into something used by people or an AI tool, and ability to explain what broke and how it was fixed.
• Ability to trace a number through the systems and processes that produce it, establish its meaning with its owners, and describe a time an owner’s explanation changed the resulting work.
• Agentic coding tools such as Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, or OpenCode are the default way of working; ability to plan work, direct the tool, and check its output. The team uses Claude Code and provides the tools.
• Working knowledge of Python and SQL, including the ability to read and modify code written by others.
• Experience pulling data from an API end to end, including authentication, secrets, pagination, and error handling.
• Habitual use of Git; treating data access and documentation as part of the build; and ability to write notes a business owner can follow.
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, data science, statistics, mathematics, information systems, or a closely related quantitative field. A business analytics or other quantitative business degree qualifies if it included substantial programming coursework.
• Ability to work from the Atlanta office at least three days per week.
• Authorization to work in the United States; visa sponsorship is not available now or in the future.

Nice To Haves

• Built an MCP server, an agent skill, or a connector used by someone else.
• Experience with a modern data platform, retrieval over documents (RAG), or data quality checks.
• Experience with CRM, finance, or project data, ideally in or alongside finance, professional services, sales operations, or support.
• Applied continuous improvement methods such as Lean, Six Sigma, or value stream mapping.
• A related master’s degree, such as in computer science, information systems, data science, or business analytics.

Responsibilities

• Learn how the company operates through its data within the first 30 days.
• Deliver an owner-checked initial catalog of critical data by the end of the first quarter and keep it sufficiently current for business and technology leaders to plan AI work from it by month 12.
• Help establish team standards for data, connections, and code review, including read-only-by-default AI connections to business systems that are no more complex than necessary and reviewed by IT and security.
• Pair with the AI engineer on an initial build during the first quarter.
• Lead data work for the first larger build through pilot within six months, and deliver data behind at least two larger AI solutions that are in weekly use and run by the business by month 12.
• Agree on initial shared data sets during the first quarter, publish the first within six months, and have at least two shared, governed data sets in use by more than one team or AI solution by month 12.
• Within the first 12 months, replace hand-built recurring reports by defining metrics consistently so AI tools can draft commentary, answer questions, and flag matters needing human attention.
• Find, clean, and define data needed for AI builds; select suitable data structures; and partner with the team’s AI engineer to deliver solutions to the business.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level