Hi, my name is
I'm Matty.
I write about Postgres internals and the performance tradeoffs you usually learn the hard way.
I run Developer Relations at Tiger Data. I write about what’s actually happening inside Postgres: MVCC, write amplification, and the walls you hit when you run analytics on live data. The credibility comes from twenty-plus years of operating infrastructure (sysadmin, SRE, DevOps), not from a marketing deck. I’m also learning physical AI and robotics in public, which is going about as well as you’d expect.
About Me
I run Developer Relations at Tiger Data, where most of my writing time goes to Postgres: what it’s doing under the hood, why you hit performance walls, and how to tell a tuning problem from an architecture problem. That perspective comes from a couple of decades of actually operating the stuff. I started as a sysadmin, did the SRE and DevOps thing, and ran technology operations back before any of those were résumé words. That history is the whole point. It’s a lot easier to write honestly about database tradeoffs when you’ve been the person paged at 3am because of one. I’m also a longtime conference speaker, co-host of the Arrested DevOps podcast, and currently learning physical AI and robotics in public.
Skills / Expertise
- PostgreSQL
- Time-Series Databases
- Kubernetes
- DevOps
- Developer Relations
- Infrastructure as Code
- Physical AI / Robotics (learning in public)
Experience
Head of Developer Relations
Tiger Data · 2024 - Present
- Lead developer relations, helping engineers reason about Postgres and time-series performance at scale.
- Write about Postgres internals, performance tradeoffs, and when to reach for purpose-built data infrastructure.
Director, Developer Relations and Growth
Aiven · 2022 - 2024
- Led global team of developer advocates, educators, community program managers, and growth specialists.
- Launched online developer workshops program to drive user account signup.
- Implemented comprehensive metrics program, including trackable CTAs and DevRel Qualified Leads to measure impact on both user growth and account influence.
- Collaborated with GTM and sales teams to expand usage of Aiven within existing accounts.
- Built PLG-focused motion on direct adoption of the Aiven platform, including self-service accounts and Product Qualified Leads handed off to sales.
- Responsible for Self-Service Revenue targets for Direct Adoption.
Staff Developer Advocate
Pulumi · 2021 - 2022
- Keynote speaker at industry and community conferences on DevOps, Infrastructure as Code, and Cloud Engineering principles.
- Created and launched the “Puluminaries” community champion program to recognize and build advocates in the Pulumi user community.
- Engaged cross-functionally with Marketing to align community needs/voice with product marketing messaging and initiatives.
- Developed a community measurement program to correlate developer advocate actions to community growth, using the Orbit Model.
- Defined the concepts and pillars of the Cloud Engineering approach for Pulumi users and the larger industry community.
Transformation Specialist, NAPS Transformation Office
Red Hat · 2020 - 2021
- Built strategic relationships with executives and key leaders to promote Red Hat's portfolio of emerging tech products (cloud, OpenShift/Kubernetes, app dev, business process management, data federation, and more).
- Engaged as a trusted advisor with senior technology leadership in State/Local public sector agencies around cultural transformation.
- Created the “Five Elements Assessment” pre-sales tool to drive close of transformational services engagements.
- Represented the Public Sector Transformation Office at government-focused conferences and panels.
Senior Developer Advocate
PagerDuty · 2017 - 2020
- Spoke at industry events worldwide on DevOps, HumanOps, and more to share PagerDuty’s values and principles with the larger community.
- Authored open-sourced Ops Guides on Incident Response, Operational Reviews, and more.
- Focused on results-oriented metrics and measurement of the Community and Advocacy team’s effectiveness.
- Met with senior IT leadership at customers and prospects to share good practices around digital transformation and DevOps.
- Created and ran the PagerDuty “Breakathon” event, including infrastructure, content, and event management.
- Mentored other Community team members on speaking, industry practices, and content creation.
- Worked closely with Product, Marketing, and Sales to provide a voice of the community.
Senior Solutions Architect
Chef · 2014 - 2017
Managing Consultant
10th Magnitude · 2013 - 2014
Led the 10th Magnitude practice for Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Infrastructure Automation, and DevOps consulting engagements, helping clients streamline delivery, eliminate waste, and increase velocity.
Director, Technology Operations
Apartments.com · 2007 - 2013
Publications
A selection of some of my published work.
Understanding Postgres Performance Limits for Analytics on Live Data
tigerdata.com
Why Adding More Indexes Eventually Makes Things Worse
tigerdata.com
The Hidden Costs of Table Partitioning at Scale
tigerdata.com
Write Amplification in Postgres: The 3-4x Tax on Every Insert
tigerdata.com
ClickHouse Is Fast. Your Pipeline Isn’t.
tigerdata.com
Public speaking
A few of my favorite talks. The full list lives at speaking.mattstratton.com.
Zero Trust is for Networks, Not Your Teams
GOTO Chicago 2023
Where Do We Go From Here? The Next Level of DevRel Value
DevRelCon Prague 2022
Charting Your Own Course Through the Cloud Native Landscape
KubeCon Europe 2022
Avengers Assemble - The Thanos Incident
All Things Open 2019
Fight, Flight, or Freeze: Releasing Organizational Trauma
Monitorama 2019
Newsletter
Uncommitted
Monthly dispatches on Postgres internals, performance, and whatever else is rattling around in my head.
Contact
Get in touch
My inbox is always open. Whether you have a question or just want to say hi, I’ll try my best to get back to you!