# Ronald Bradford - Principal Data Architect and Data Strategist Source: https://hello.cv/ronaldbradford Trumbull ## Links - LinkedIn | https://linkedin.com/in/ronaldbradford ## 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 ### Senior Cloud Data Architect | DoiT https:// 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. - 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. ### Lead Data Architect - Reliability | Lifion by ADP https:// 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. - 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. ### Principal Database Reliability Engineer (DBRE) | Okta https:// 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. - 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. ### Principal Data Architect | RB42 (Single-member LLC) https:// 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. - 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. ### Director of Site Operations | SoulCycle https:// 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. - 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 ### Organizer | New York City MySQL Meetup Group https:// Organized and facilitated the New York City MySQL Meetup group for eight years, fostering community engagement and knowledge sharing among professionals. - 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 MySQL Community Peers | 2011-12-31 Received three international industry recognitions from community peers within the MySQL ecosystem for significant contributions and expertise. ### All-Time Top Blogger MySQL Community | 2011-12-31 Recognized as the all-time top blogger in the MySQL community for 2011, demonstrating thought leadership and influence. ## Publications ### RDBMS Solution Blogs & Podcasts DoiT | https:// 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 Various | https:// 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 https:// 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 https:// Served as a core contributor to the OpenStack Oslo project, a foundational component of the open-source cloud computing platform. ## Source Read this profile on Hello.cv: https://hello.cv/ronaldbradford Create your free profile at https://hello.cv