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Astronomer Highlights the 2026 Award Winners

On January 29, 2026, Astronomer, known for its esteemed platform Astro that utilizes Apache Airflow®, has celebrated its second annual Astronomer Data Excellence Awards. These awards salute organizations that have made remarkable advancements in data orchestration, demonstrating how crucial this process is in today's tech landscape.

With the rise of AI technology, the responsibilities of data engineers are rapidly changing. These professionals are no longer just tasked with building pipelines; they are evolving into architects who design intelligent systems. Their current roles blend various disciplines within data operations, including managing workflows that govern machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) platforms. The fresh approach allows data engineers to not only facilitate data movement but to become integral custodians of organizational knowledge.

This transformation has led to the emergence of context graphs, created by modern data engineers, which hold essential information regarding the reasoning behind decisions made in real-time. Such capabilities provide organizations with invaluable assets in the context of AI.

The Astronomer Data Excellence Awards serve as a platform to recognize innovative projects and extraordinary individuals who are pushing boundaries through data orchestration leveraging Airflow. The awards shed light on outstanding organizations that are cultivating significant advancements in data products, showcasing the transformative influence of robust data pipeline orchestration.

Key Award Winners

The winners for 2026 include:

• - Innovator of the Year: Lyft, for leading innovative data solutions.
• - EMEA Innovator of the Year: NewDay, recognized for exceptional contributions in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
• - Outstanding Customer-Facing AI Use Case: Notion, which effectively integrates AI into its user experience.
• - Excellence in AI-Enabled Data Engineering: AO World, showcasing superiority in data engineering projects.
• - Operational Excellence Award: Moloco, noted for operational performance and excellence.
• - Data Observability Excellence Award: Booking.com, achieving noteworthy strides in data visibility.
• - Data-at-Scale Achievement: Wix, acknowledged for successfully managing large data sets.
• - Data Engineering for Good Award: Carnegie Mellon University, promoting positive social impacts through data initiatives.

Pete DeJoy, CEO and Co-Founder of Astronomer, emphasized, "Our 2026 Astronomer Data Excellence Award winners exemplify what is possible when you put orchestration at the heart of your data strategy. These success stories underscore just how essential Airflow and robust orchestration have become across use cases — including production AI, continuous compliance, and more."

The awards not only represent a celebration of success but also highlight the increasing importance of data orchestration as a core component of modern enterprise strategies. These pioneering initiatives continue to set the stage for what is achievable through effective data operations, paving the way for greater innovation and efficiency.

Further Resources

To learn more about the Astronomer Data Excellence Awards, read the official blog post or explore customer stories. If you're interested in joining Astronomer, there are openings available! Start using Astro IDE today to accelerate your data pipeline development exponentially.

About Astronomer

Astronomer empowers data teams by delivering software solutions that transform analytics and AI. With Astro as a cornerstone, organizations can develop reliable data products that generate profound insights, unlocking the potential of data-driven applications. More than 900 companies globally trust Astronomer to optimize their data strategies, making them leaders in the orchestration domain.

For additional information, visit Astronomer’s website.