Staff Engineer · Stripe
I build the boring parts of the internet.
Staff software engineer. Distributed systems, Postgres internals, observability. Currently at Stripe; previously at Datadog and Heroku.
$ whoami
Eight years across early-stage startups and big-co teams. Comfortable from React all the way down to the database. I prefer fewer abstractions, faster builds, and code reviews that catch real things.
- TypeScript · Go · Postgres · Tailwind
- Past: two Series B startups and one platform team
- Open to staff/principal roles or contract
- 8 yr
- Shipping in production
- 14k++
- GitHub stars, combined
- 99.9%
- Uptime on what I've built
- 4k++
- Teams on my tracing library
Projects
A tracing library used by 4k+ teams
MIT licenseGoOSS2022–Rebuilt the API gateway at a Series B fintech
ContractGoInfra2024Internal deploy platform, 40 engineers
Staff ICTypeScriptK8s2023
What the tracing library looks like to use
Three lines to instrument a handler, sub-millisecond overhead, exporters behind an interface so nobody is locked in.
package main
import "github.com/example/trace"
func main() {
// One exporter, one flush. No agent, no sidecar.
tp := trace.New(trace.WithExporter(otlp.Default()))
defer tp.Flush()
http.Handle("/checkout", tp.Wrap(checkoutHandler))
log.Fatal(http.ListenAndServe(":8080", nil))
}
// Spans nest automatically from the request context —
// the boring part is the part worth getting right.
func checkoutHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
ctx, span := trace.Start(r.Context(), "checkout")
defer span.End()
if err := charge(ctx, order); err != nil {
span.RecordError(err)
}
}MIT licensed. Benchmarks and the overhead regression test live in the repo.
How I work
Understand
Get clear on the actual problem and the constraints before touching the keyboard.
Spike
Smallest end-to-end thing that proves the approach. Throwaway by design.
Harden
Tests, telemetry, and the edge cases the spike skipped.
Hand off
Docs and a runbook so the team owns it from day one.
What former teammates say
Selected writing & talks
A handful of essays and conference talks on what I think about most:
- "Why your tracing library is slow" — Systems Week 2024
- "Edge functions, plainly explained" — Frontend North 2023
- "Postgres for engineers who keep avoiding it" — blog series, 12 parts
$ man --availability
Are you open to full-time roles?+
Selectively, yes. I am most interested in staff/principal IC roles at engineering-led companies. Open to remote-first or hybrid; not relocating.
Do you take contract work?+
Yes — usually 6-12 week engagements in dev tools, infra, or systems work. Day rate for senior+, monthly retainer for longer engagements.
What stacks are you most fluent in?+
TypeScript + Go + Postgres + Tailwind day-to-day. Comfortable in Rust + Python when the work calls for it. Less interested in heavy enterprise Java.
Will you fly out for an on-site?+
For a final round or kickoff, absolutely. For day-to-day work I am remote-first; the work is better when nobody is performing presence.
Do you mentor / advise?+
I take on a small number of advisory roles at early-stage startups (typically pre-Series A) for equity. Reach out with the company + the question.
Open source?+
A handful of my libraries are MIT-licensed and used in production at companies I have never heard of. Issues and PRs welcome; sponsorship via GitHub.
Got a problem worth talking about?
Best way to start is a paragraph about what you are building and where I might fit. I read everything and reply within two business days.
Let's talk
Quickest way is the form, or you can email me directly.
- sam@samreilly.dev