The 2026 Astronomer Data Excellence Awards
3 min read |
The Astronomer Data Excellence Awards recognize the innovative projects and talented teams who are redefining what’s possible with orchestration using Airflow at a time when production AI, real-time analytics and governance demands are colliding. Our annual customer awards shine a spotlight on organizations that are not only building exceptional data products but also demonstrating the transformative power of enterprise-grade data pipeline orchestration.
As AI reshapes enterprise technology, data engineers are evolving from pipeline builders into architects of intelligent systems. Today’s data engineers orchestrate decision-making workflows across data, ML, and AI platforms — building orchestration layers that preserve the full context of why decisions happen in real-time. Data engineers are no longer just moving data between systems, they’re designing how decisions happen and positioning themselves at the strategic center of AI-driven business operations.
This year’s winners span industries, regions, and use cases, but they share a common thread: orchestration as a strategic advantage. The 2026 winners of the Astronomer Data Excellence Awards are:
- Innovator of the Year - Lyft
- EMEA Innovator of the Year - NewDay
- Outstanding Customer-Facing AI Use Case - Notion
- Excellence in AI-Enabled Data Engineering - AO World
- Operational Excellence Award - Moloco
- Data Observability Excellence Award - Booking.com
- Data-at-Scale Achievement - Wix
- Data Engineering for Good Award - Carnegie Mellon University
“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 — including production AI, continuous compliance and other demanding use cases. Congratulations to each of our award winners on this recognition!”
Pete DeJoy CEO and Co-Founder, Astronomer
Seeing our customers solve their toughest data challenges with orchestration as a core solution is what drives us forward. These award-winning teams don’t just use our platform — they reimagine what data orchestration can accomplish, delivering innovative solutions that power their businesses. With over 900 organizations now relying on Astronomer, we remain dedicated to advancing the future of data orchestration and simplifying the lives of data engineers everywhere.
Congratulations to all our award winners, and a heartfelt thank you to our entire customer community! You continue to set the standard for what’s possible with data orchestration, and we’re excited to see the innovations you’ll create in the year ahead.
Want to learn how Astronomer can help your team tackle your orchestration challenges? Get started today for free with Astro IDE to ship data pipelines 10x faster. You can also explore additional Astronomer customer stories to learn more about use cases and outcomes.
