Built by people who've lived your problem.

We've worked in operations, built data systems at scale, and learned what actually matters. Now we help teams like yours stop drowning and start deciding.

Mara Ellison

Founder & Principal Data Architect

Built data warehouses for three Fortune 500 companies before starting Cinder Orbit. Expert in high-volume integrations, dimensional modeling, and operational metrics. She doesn't believe in tech for tech's sake.

"Good data architecture doesn't draw attention to itself. It just works."

Theo Bennett

Director of Automation Engineering

Former lead engineer at a logistics automation firm. Specializes in document processing, workflow orchestration, and keeping AI systems auditable. Skeptical of hype; believer in measurable outcomes.

"Automation works when people trust it. That means explainability first."

Nina Caldwell

Head of Data Product

Spent seven years in product operations at a mid-market SaaS company. Knows what dashboards teams actually use versus what they ignore. Passionate about metric definition and self-service analytics.

"Dashboards are products. Design them like it."

Graham Whitaker

Lead Analytics Engineer

Analytics engineer who's lived through two major migrations and one catastrophic data quality incident. Expert in dbt, semantic layers, and building analytics systems that teams trust. Pragmatist.

"The best analytics tool is the one your team actually uses."

Elise Monroe

Client Delivery Director

Previously managed consulting delivery at a systems integrator. Knows how to keep complex projects on track, manage scope creep, and ensure handoffs stick. Your advocate inside the team.

"Success isn't what we deliver—it's what your team can maintain."

Daniel Reyes

Data Reliability Lead

On-call hero at a data-heavy e-commerce platform. Built monitoring systems, written incident runbooks, and debugged production data issues at 2 AM. Obsessed with observability and alert quality.

"Data reliability means your team sleeps soundly."

Our approach

Practical, not theoretical

We've worked in the messy middle. We know data science without operations is a research project. We know governance without tools is just meetings. We design systems that fit your team's reality.

Ownership over hand-off

We don't believe in leaving you dependent on us. Every engagement includes documentation, training, and a support plan. Our goal is that your team runs the system confidently after we leave.

Measurable outcomes

We don't claim success. You do. We set clear metrics at the start—reporting time saved, decision cycle shortened, data quality incidents reduced—and we track against them.

Trusted partnerships

This is a conversation, not a sales pitch. We'll ask hard questions about your constraints, your team's bandwidth, and what you've tried before. Sometimes we're the right fit. Sometimes you need a different partner.

Let's talk about your data

Start with a conversation. We'll listen, ask questions, and give you an honest assessment of what's possible.

Talk to an Engineer