diff --git a/src/koheesio/spark/readers/databricks/autoloader.py b/src/koheesio/spark/readers/databricks/autoloader.py
index 6b26e20..8444a54 100644
--- a/src/koheesio/spark/readers/databricks/autoloader.py
+++ b/src/koheesio/spark/readers/databricks/autoloader.py
@@ -3,9 +3,12 @@
 Autoloader can ingest JSON, CSV, PARQUET, AVRO, ORC, TEXT, and BINARYFILE file formats.
 """
 
-from typing import Dict, Optional, Union
+from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional, Tuple, Union
 from enum import Enum
 
+from pyspark.sql.streaming import DataStreamReader
+from pyspark.sql.types import AtomicType, StructType
+
 from koheesio.models import Field, field_validator
 from koheesio.spark.readers import Reader
 
@@ -53,7 +56,7 @@ class AutoLoader(Reader):
     Example
     -------
     ```python
-    from koheesio.spark.readers.databricks import AutoLoader, AutoLoaderFormat
+    from koheesio.steps.readers.databricks import AutoLoader, AutoLoaderFormat
 
     result_df = AutoLoader(
         format=AutoLoaderFormat.JSON,
@@ -82,11 +85,16 @@ class AutoLoader(Reader):
         description="The location for storing inferred schema and supporting schema evolution, "
         "used in `cloudFiles.schemaLocation`.",
     )
-    options: Optional[Dict[str, str]] = Field(
+    options: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = Field(
         default_factory=dict,
         description="Extra inputs to provide to the autoloader. For a full list of inputs, "
         "see https://docs.databricks.com/ingestion/auto-loader/options.html",
     )
+    schema_: Optional[Union[str, StructType, List[str], Tuple[str, ...], AtomicType]] = Field(
+        default=None,
+        description="Explicit schema to apply to the input files.",
+        alias="schema",
+    )
 
     @field_validator("format")
     def validate_format(cls, format_specified):
@@ -107,9 +115,12 @@ def get_options(self):
         return self.options
 
     # @property
-    def reader(self):
-        """Return the reader for the autoloader"""
-        return self.spark.readStream.format("cloudFiles").options(**self.get_options())
+    def reader(self) -> DataStreamReader:
+        reader = self.spark.readStream.format("cloudFiles")
+        if self.schema_ is not None:
+            reader = reader.schema(self.schema_)
+        reader = reader.options(**self.get_options())
+        return reader
 
     def execute(self):
         """Reads from the given location with the given options using Autoloader"""
diff --git a/tests/spark/readers/test_auto_loader.py b/tests/spark/readers/test_auto_loader.py
index ca07f55..8f2b168 100644
--- a/tests/spark/readers/test_auto_loader.py
+++ b/tests/spark/readers/test_auto_loader.py
@@ -21,10 +21,13 @@ def test_invalid_format(bad_format):
 
 
 def mock_reader(self):
-    return self.spark.read.format("json").options(**self.options)
+    reader = self.spark.read.format("json")
+    if self.schema_ is not None:
+        reader = reader.schema(self.schema_)
+    return reader.options(**self.options)
 
 
-def test_read_json(spark, mocker, data_path):
+def test_read_json_infer_schema(spark, mocker, data_path):
     mocker.patch("koheesio.spark.readers.databricks.autoloader.AutoLoader.reader", mock_reader)
 
     options = {"multiLine": "true"}
@@ -49,3 +52,51 @@ def test_read_json(spark, mocker, data_path):
     ]
     expected_df = spark.createDataFrame(data_expected, schema_expected)
     assert_df_equality(result, expected_df, ignore_column_order=True)
+
+
+def test_read_json_exact_explicit_schema_struct(spark, mocker, data_path):
+    mocker.patch("koheesio.spark.readers.databricks.autoloader.AutoLoader.reader", mock_reader)
+
+    schema = StructType(
+        [
+            StructField("string", StringType(), True),
+            StructField("int", LongType(), True),
+            StructField("array", ArrayType(LongType()), True),
+        ]
+    )
+    options = {"multiLine": "true"}
+    json_file_path_str = f"{data_path}/readers/json_file/dummy.json"
+    auto_loader = AutoLoader(
+        format="json", location=json_file_path_str, schema_location="dummy_value", options=options, schema=schema
+    )
+
+    auto_loader.execute()
+    result = auto_loader.output.df
+
+    data_expected = [
+        {"string": "string1", "int": 1, "array": [1, 11, 111]},
+        {"string": "string2", "int": 2, "array": [2, 22, 222]},
+    ]
+    expected_df = spark.createDataFrame(data_expected, schema)
+    assert_df_equality(result, expected_df, ignore_column_order=True)
+
+
+def test_read_json_different_explicit_schema_string(spark, mocker, data_path):
+    mocker.patch("koheesio.spark.readers.databricks.autoloader.AutoLoader.reader", mock_reader)
+
+    schema = "string STRING,array ARRAY<BIGINT>"
+    options = {"multiLine": "true"}
+    json_file_path_str = f"{data_path}/readers/json_file/dummy.json"
+    auto_loader = AutoLoader(
+        format="json", location=json_file_path_str, schema_location="dummy_value", options=options, schema=schema
+    )
+
+    auto_loader.execute()
+    result = auto_loader.output.df
+
+    data_expected = [
+        {"string": "string1", "array": [1, 11, 111]},
+        {"string": "string2", "array": [2, 22, 222]},
+    ]
+    expected_df = spark.createDataFrame(data_expected, schema)
+    assert_df_equality(result, expected_df, ignore_column_order=True)