Sr. Technical Escalation Manager

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:

The Technical Escalation Manager (TEM) at Alation is a pivotal role focused on removing technical blockers and driving value realization of Alation’s Data Intelligence platform. A TEM partners with an Account Manager (AM) for an assigned portfolio of customers and is responsible for monitoring, mitigating, and improving the technical health of the customer base.  Combining strong technical acumen, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills, the TEM maximizes customer satisfaction, retention, and growth while championing the customer's voice across internal teams. This role requires strong communication skills and an empathetic mindset, helping customers overcome challenges and deeply leverage Alation’s platform to achieve their data program goals.

The ideal candidate thrives in strategic thinking, project management, and issue resolution, partnering with Alation program teams, sponsors, and executives. This individual collaborates across teams to identify and remove barriers to customer success, enabling them to maximize the business value of Alation. As part of Alation’s Customer Solutions organization, the TEM’s mission is to help customers overcome technical hurdles, driving measurable business outcomes and maximizing their overall customer experience

What You'll Do:

• Escalation Management: Align with a given region and serve as the primary point of contact for identifying and raising escalations, responsible for owning the overall escalation engagement and driving to close.

• Product Knowledge: Possess deep knowledge of Alation's capabilities, effectively demonstrating value and providing expert guidance aligned with customer needs. Provide workarounds, where appropriate, to allow them to effectively leverage product capabilities to derive business value.

• Technical Troubleshooting: Through various ticketing systems, properly document customer issues and follow standardized support procedures.  Ensure technical issues are tied to business outcomes and properly document customer impact.

• Problem-Solving & Technical Acumen: Through knowledge of Alation, the modern data stack, ticketing systems, and data & analytics technologies, address complex technical or business issues to maximize customer satisfaction. Utilize data and analytics tools to analyze customer usage patterns and provide insights for improving customer engagement.

• Account Health Management: Proactively manage the account health of customers, including monitoring tickets, executive business reviews, and other customer communications to ensure optimal account health.

• Industry Expertise: Solid grasp of data management and governance principles, practices, and solutions, and able to guide customers. 

• Risk Mitigation & Customer Growth:  Work to proactively identify and mitigate renewal risks. Collaborate with internal teams to remediate. Partner closely with Account Management, ensuring customer retention and growth.

• Voice of the Customer: Serve as an advocate for the customer within Alation.  Be the voice of the customer as you partner with support, engineering, product, and sales to shape product development and deliver a best-in-class customer experience.

You Should Have:

• Minimum five years of expe