Forward-Deployed Data Engineer

GRIDSIGHT • Austin, TX

6d • Hybrid

About The Position

As a Forward Deployed Data Engineer at Gridsight, you will own the full arc of customer data engagement. You'll work directly with utility customers to understand their data environments, guide them through Gridsight's requirements, and lead the technical work of getting their data into the platform. Alongside implementation work, you'll deliver bespoke analytics that answer the questions customers can't yet answer themselves. You’ll also contribute to the internal tooling that makes the next implementation faster and to the product work that accelerates time-to-value.
Gridsight runs an AI-forward stack that gives data engineers access to best-in-class tooling across data infrastructure, orchestration, and AI-assisted development, including: Databricks, dbt, Dagster, AWS, and enterprise Claude Code. Staying ahead of the curve is part of the job.
This is a rare role: equal parts customer partner, data engineer, and analyst. You'll be at the forefront of how Gridsight transforms the largest electric utilities in the world.

Requirements

• 5+ years of professional experience in data engineering, analytics engineering, technical consulting, or a similar role that combines hands-on data work with direct customer or stakeholder engagement.
• Advanced SQL skills and demonstrated ability to analyse, validate, and wrangle complex or messy datasets.
• Proficiency in Python for data transformation, validation, and scripting.
• Experience with dbt or similar ELT/ETL frameworks and working within data pipelines.
• Ability to lead customer-facing technical engagements — managing expectations, communicating data requirements clearly, and driving deliveries to completion.
• Experience with cloud data infrastructure and modern development practices (Git, command-line environments, collaborative codebases).
• A track record of building internal tools, leveraging AI-assisted development tooling or automating manual work to improve process efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end data implementation engagements with utility customers, from running workshops to scope data requirements through to live data flowing in the platform.
• Set up and configure data infrastructure in line with Gridsight's current implementation process.
• Map incoming customer data to Gridsight's schemas, develop code to transform customer data, and validate outputs against quality standards.
• Debug integration issues with composure — triaging problems, communicating clearly with customers, and driving resolution.
• Run and monitor the data pipelines required to deliver a successful implementation.
• Work with customers to translate business questions into analytical tasks, and communicate findings clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Deliver ad hoc and bespoke analysis for customers — answering operational questions, investigating anomalies, and surfacing insights that aren't yet available through the product.
• Identify and communicate patterns across customer engagements to inform product direction.
• Partner with Gridsight's data engineering team to productize implementation and transformation logic — turning bespoke code into repeatable, platform-ready tooling.
• Contribute to internal documentation, playbooks, and tooling that improve the efficiency and consistency of future implementations.
• Bring a tool-first mindset to the work: spot manual steps that can be automated, and take initiative to improve them.

Benefits

• Rapidly scaling venture-backed company on the ground floor.
• Highly competitive salary, equity, and benefits package including wellness and home-office stipends, healthcare, 401K, and parental leave.
• A mission that matters in an industry going through its biggest transformation in a century.
• A team worth working with - big hustle, low ego, great vibes - that’s motivated by solving hard problems.
• Free annual trips to Australia to co-work with your colleagues ‘down under.’
• Flexible, hybrid working environment with offices in San Francisco and Austin.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed