Ronald Bradford

Principal Data Architect and Data Strategist
Trumbull, US.

About

Highly accomplished Principal Data Architect and Data Strategist with three decades of hands-on technical experience delivering automated, resilient, and scalable data solutions. Proven leader in transforming technical teams and modernizing critical data infrastructures, recognized for driving significant business outcomes, including multi-fold increases in customer authentications and bookings. Leverages deep expertise in database technologies, cloud economics, and strategic leadership to optimize performance, reduce costs, and enhance reliability for global enterprise clients.

Work

DoiT
|

Senior Cloud Data Architect

Summary

Led data team initiatives at DoiT International, optimizing costs, enhancing performance, and driving large-scale data migrations for global clients by championing data-driven solutions and automation.

Highlights

Developed advanced diagnostic tools for AWS metadata analysis, significantly reducing manual effort in initial triage processes for complex cloud environments.

Designed the architecture for the AWS Cloud Economics Accelerator, enabling strategic cost optimization and improved resource utilization for clients.

Served on the Governance Technical Oversight Committee, establishing critical best practices and standards for internal tooling development and deployment.

Authored influential blogs and hosted podcasts on RDBMS solutions, significantly enhancing DoiT's industry visibility and thought leadership.

Lifion by ADP
|

Lead Data Architect - Reliability

Summary

Led the data engineering team at Lifion, owning all AWS database infrastructure for the ADP Lifion HCM platform, while modernizing capacity planning, cost optimization, scaling, and monitoring of Aurora services.

Highlights

Set business quarterly objectives and a comprehensive database strategy in collaboration with key management stakeholders, driving alignment with organizational goals.

Reduced annual RDS Aurora expenditure by 15-20% year-over-year through strategic optimization and efficient resource management.

Streamlined the database upgrade process, significantly improving application reliability and monitoring capabilities across the platform.

Delivered an automated cross-account/cross-region production data migration with real-time data replication, ensuring business continuity and data integrity.

Transformed 20+ inconsistent legacy source-code repositories into one extensible and clean code solution, drastically reducing technical debt.

Okta
|

Principal Database Reliability Engineer (DBRE)

Summary

Contributed to Okta's infrastructure success team, driving dynamic scaling for critical customers and coordinating AWS infrastructure automation, while developing real-time cost reporting and forecasting.

Highlights

Directed the successful execution of c-suite strategic customer migrations, managing technical resources within an 11-member cross-functional team.

Re-architected and automated the customer data migration process, slashing complexity by 66% and enabling seamless transitions.

Decreased annualized EC2/EBS AWS costs for all MySQL infrastructure by $1M through targeted optimization and resource management.

Streamlined MySQL orchestration with a strong emphasis on automation, reducing technical debt by a factor of 10x and improving operational efficiency.

Contributed to Okta achieving a 15-20x increase in authentications, supporting massive user growth and platform stability.

RB42 (Single-member LLC)
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Principal Data Architect

Summary

Provided specialized consulting and strategic technical advisory services to customers as Principal Data Architect at RB42, implementing solutions for site reliability, optimal performance, scalability, and business continuity.

Highlights

Implemented comprehensive data strategies aligned with diverse customer needs, significantly improving site reliability, performance, and scalability.

Mentored and trained engineering and operations staff, enhancing team capabilities and contributing to successful hiring initiatives.

Advised management on critical technical decisions, ensuring business continuity and strategic alignment of data architecture efforts.

Drove the adoption of best practices in data management and system design across various client engagements, fostering long-term stability.

SoulCycle
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Director of Site Operations

Summary

Built and managed the technical operations team for SoulCycle, supporting key systems across 36 nationwide locations and leading multiple critical projects including real-time reservation, consumer management, and POS payment systems.

Highlights

Successfully led and executed multiple projects across various products, including real-time reservation, consumer management, and POS payment gateway systems.

Transformed flash-sale bookings with a 35x improvement by optimizing system performance and user experience.

Managed critical systems for 36 nationwide locations, ensuring high availability and seamless operation for business-critical functions.

Collaborated cross-functionally to implement new features and maintain existing infrastructure, supporting rapid business expansion.

Volunteer

New York City MySQL Meetup Group
|

Organizer

Summary

Organized and facilitated the New York City MySQL Meetup group for eight years, fostering community engagement and knowledge sharing among professionals.

Highlights

Fostered a vibrant community of MySQL professionals in NYC, facilitating regular knowledge exchange and networking events.

Coordinated over 50 technical presentations and workshops, significantly contributing to the local tech ecosystem's development.

Awards

International Industry Recognition

Awarded By

MySQL Community Peers

Received three international industry recognitions from community peers within the MySQL ecosystem for significant contributions and expertise.

All-Time Top Blogger

Awarded By

MySQL Community

Recognized as the all-time top blogger in the MySQL community for 2011, demonstrating thought leadership and influence.

Publications

RDBMS Solution Blogs & Podcasts

Published by

DoiT

Summary

Regularly published insightful blogs and hosted podcasts on RDBMS solutions, significantly elevating DoiT's industry visibility and thought leadership in cloud data architecture.

Technical Books on MySQL

Published by

Various

Summary

Authored four comprehensive technical books on MySQL, covering critical topics such as performance, scalability, and business continuity, establishing a strong reputation as a subject matter expert.

Skills

Data Architecture

Data modeling, Data warehousing, Business Intelligence (BI), ETL, Big data analytics, Data governance, Observability, Data migrations, Data pipelines, Architectural design patterns.

Development & Operations

Test-driven development (TDD), Continuous integration (CI/CD), Performance benchmarking, Scalability, Disaster readiness, Agile methodologies, XP, Scrum, Best practices, Microservices, APIs, DevOps, SRE.

Database Technologies

RDBMS, NoSQL, MySQL, AWS Aurora, AWS.

Projects

MySQL Plugin for New Relic

Summary

Created a critical plugin for the New Relic SaaS performance and monitoring platform, enabling enhanced performance and monitoring capabilities for MySQL databases.

OpenStack Oslo Project Contribution

Summary

Served as a core contributor to the OpenStack Oslo project, a foundational component of the open-source cloud computing platform.