Cognite Recognised as a Best Firm for Data Engineers

Cognite, the global leader in Industrial DataOps and AI, has been certified as a Best Firm for Data Engineers by Analytics India Magazine (AIM) through its Best Firm Certification programme. The certification is based on structured feedback from data engineering and AI professionals within the organisation, and evaluates how companies enable technical teams to build, deploy, and scale data solutions that drive meaningful industrial outcomes.

The Best Firm for Data Engineers certification surveys assess workplace culture, access to leadership, collaboration, learning opportunities, and the nature and depth of engineering work delivered. AIM conducts an independent analysis of survey responses to understand how effectively organisations support data teams in their day-to-day work.

At Cognite, the certification recognises the company's rapidly growing India operations and its Bengaluru-based engineering hub, where data engineers work on some of the world's most complex industrial data challenges spanning energy, manufacturing, utilities, chemicals, metals, and renewables through flagship platforms Cognite Data Fusion and Cognite Atlas AI.

Building a World-Class Engineering Hub in India

Since inaugurating its India Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru in late 2024, Cognite has moved swiftly to establish the office as a critical innovation and execution engine for its global operations. The company is actively recruiting across AI/ML, data science, engineering, services, and programme management, with the India hub playing a direct role in supporting industrial transformation initiatives for customers worldwide.

Cognite's data engineering teams work on large-scale industrial data platforms, AI agents, real-time data contextualisation, cloud-native architectures, and GenAI-powered industrial applications engaging directly with some of the largest energy, manufacturing, and process companies globally.

Guru Ananthanarayanan, Managing Director of Cognite India, shared what this recognition means for the team:

"We are incredibly proud to be recognised as a Best Firm for Data Engineers. At Cognite, engineers get the opportunity to solve some of the toughest industrial data and AI challenges globally. Our teams are building platforms and AI solutions that impact energy, manufacturing, sustainability, and critical infrastructure worldwide. We are committed to creating a high-performance culture where innovation, ownership, learning, and customer impact come together."

— Guru Ananthanarayanan, Managing Director, Cognite India

Engineering Excellence Tied to Customer Outcomes

A defining characteristic of Cognite's engineering culture, as reflected in employee feedback, is the direct connection between technical work and real-world customer impact. Data engineers at Cognite collaborate closely with customer success teams, solution architects, and industrial domain experts to deliver measurable outcomes for clients moving beyond platform delivery to shaping how industrial enterprises leverage AI at scale.

Vinoth Raju, Vice President of Customer Experience and Support, spoke about how this customer-first engineering culture shapes the organisation:

"Customer success and engineering excellence go hand in hand at Cognite. Our teams collaborate closely with some of the world's largest industrial enterprises to deliver measurable business outcomes using AI and data. What makes Cognite special is the combination of deep technology expertise, strong customer focus, and a culture that empowers people to innovate and grow."

— Vinoth Raju, Vice President, Customer Experience & Support, Cognite

Ownership, Learning, and the Cognite India Experience

Employee voices from within Cognite's India team reflect a consistent theme: the opportunity to take genuine ownership of high-impact work from early in one's tenure, supported by collaborative leadership and a culture that encourages continuous learning.

Anilkumar Bandanadam, Data Engineer and one of the earliest hires in Cognite's India operations, described his experience at the company:

"Joining Cognite as one of the first Data Engineers from India has been an incredible learning journey. The exposure to industrial digitalisation, cutting-edge AI technologies, and modern data engineering practices has significantly accelerated my professional growth. What stands out the most is the supportive leadership and collaborative culture that helps employees understand complex challenges and deliver meaningful value to customers, while also empowering teams with modern AI tooling and cutting-edge development platforms to experiment, innovate, and work more efficiently with the latest AI-driven engineering practices."

— Anilkumar Bandanadam, Data Engineer, Cognite India

Shilpa Gopalakrishna, Principal Solution Architect and one of the first Solution Architects to join the India team, highlighted how the role extended beyond delivery into building the foundations of Cognite's India operations:

"Being one of the early members of the Cognite India journey and the first Solution Architect provided a unique opportunity to contribute not only to customer delivery, but also to shaping scalable frameworks, processes, and COE-led initiatives during a critical growth phase. What differentiates Cognite is its empowering culture that encourages ownership, rapid learning, and outcome-driven execution. The ability to transform ideas into enterprise-grade AI-driven solutions while collaborating with talented colleagues and approachable leadership creates an environment of continuous growth and innovation."

— Shilpa Gopalakrishnaiah, Principal Solution Architect, Cognite India

For newer team members, the culture of ownership and impact has been equally apparent. Shristi Jalan, Data Engineer, joined Cognite India in January 2026 and reflected on the experience:

"Joining Cognite India as a Data Engineer has honestly been one of the best career decisions I’ve made. Cognite demonstrates a powerful blend of industrial software expertise, AI-first thinking, and customer-centric execution — turning complex, siloed data into decisions that drive real production efficiency. The culture here is something special. People are approachable, you are trusted to take ownership from day one, and the collaborative environment makes it easy to move quickly from ideas to outcomes without losing quality. There's a real focus on work-life balance and career growth, with plenty of encouragement to upskill on Cognite Data Fusion — which is scaling fast — and other cutting-edge technologies."

— Shristi Jalan, Data Engineer, Cognite India

Certification and the Data Engineering Talent Landscape

Across sectors, demand for skilled data engineers continues to outpace supply, particularly those with experience in industrial AI, cloud-native data pipelines, and real-time contextualisation at scale. Workplace certifications such as AIM’s Best Firm for Data Engineers help distinguish companies that offer genuinely substantive engineering environments from those presenting surface-level innovation narratives.

For Cognite, the certification supports its efforts to attract data engineering talent in India who want to work on industry-defining problems, engage directly with global industrial enterprises, and contribute to platforms that are reshaping how the world’s most asset-intensive industries operate. 

With its India Centre of Excellence firmly established and a growing roster of global customers, Cognite’s Bengaluru hub is poised to become a leading destination for data engineers seeking both technical depth and meaningful impact.

The Best Firm for Data Engineers certification by Analytics India Magazine (AIM) is a benchmark for organisations building credible, high-performance data engineering teams. Companies participate in the programme to gather employee-led insights and review internal practices that support long-term technical capability development.