Jake Magner

Director of Engineering, Alation

Jake Magner is the Director of Engineering at Alation, a role he has held since May 2020. He is notable for being one of the earliest employees at Alation, contributing significantly to its growth from just 6 employees to over 300, and helping the company achieve $100 million in revenue in 2022.1 2

Professional Background

Career at Alation: Jake has had a progressive career at Alation, starting as a Software Engineer in September 2013. He transitioned through various roles, including Technical Lead and Engineering Manager, before becoming the Director of Engineering. His responsibilities have included building and maintaining Alation's core product, developing search and data discovery functionalities, and establishing engineering frameworks as the team expanded.1 2
Technical Expertise: Throughout his career, Jake has worn many hats, including software developer, product manager, machine learning engineer, and data scientist. He has a strong passion for metrics, data, frameworks, and abstractions, aiming to foster a curious and rational approach within the company.1

Education

Jake holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering & Operations Research from UC Berkeley, which he completed in 2012. He has also pursued additional studies in computational finance through Coursera.1

Personal Insights

Jake is actively involved in shaping the engineering culture at Alation, having formed and moderated the engineering architecture group. His contributions have been instrumental in the company's success and innovation in the data catalog space.1