Jimmy Angelakos

About the Speaker

• Tell us about yourself: career, family, passions

  I'm a Staff Software Engineer at pgEdge, based out of Edinburgh, Scotland. I'm married to an amazingly supportive woman, and when I'm not working, my biggest passions are music and just building things (software, database, and systems design).

• What’s your favorite way to break the ice or start conversations at PostgreSQL events?

  I was diagnosed late in life with Autism Spectrum Disorder, which finally explained why I historically had trouble approaching people at conferences. Now that I understand the reasons why, I make a conscious, extra effort to speak to people I haven't met yet. My go-to icebreaker is simple: I just look at the company named on their badge and ask them what they do there.

• What would you say is your superpower?

  Cutting through the noise to get straight to the core of the problem.

• What is your favorite hobby?

  I don't really think of them as hobbies, but two of my absolute favorite group activities are participating in (and often winning!) pub quizzes, and karaoke, especially at Postgres gatherings.

About the Talk

• Tell us about your talk? Why did you choose this topic?

  I chose this topic because I am endlessly fascinated by the obscure failure modes that emerge in production systems.

• Who would benefit the most from your talk and why?

  Backend software engineers and database administrators, especially those who are dealing with high-traffic, high-concurrency systems.

• What do you hope attendees will walk away with after watching your talk?

  I want attendees to walk away equipped with an understanding of a wonderfully useful feature (LISTEN/NOTIFY), along with a clear view of its potential risks and exactly what you can do to mitigate them.

• Which talk at POSETTE 2026 are you most looking forward to? And why?

  Definitely the PG Hackers' panel for more insight into what's cooking behind the scenes, and Richard Yen's talk on pg_stats.

• How do you balance technical depth with engaging storytelling in your conference presentations?

  Without being dramatic about it, it really pays off to build a narrative with the proper context and to inject real feeling into your story. It not only keeps the audience engaged, but it makes the presentation more fulfilling to deliver.

About PostgreSQL

• What inspired you to work with PostgreSQL?

  Beyond just the outstanding software itself, it was the warmth and the willingness to help from the Postgres community.

• What is your favorite PostgreSQL feature, extension or tool? And why?

  The integrated statistics system. It's invaluable for helping you monitor and analyze workloads, and for troubleshooting when things go wrong.

• What is the single thing that you think differentiates PostgreSQL most from other databases?

  The attention to detail and the relentless focus on efficiency.

• What advice would you give to someone starting their journey with PostgreSQL?

  Start talking to other Postgres people and start attending PG events. Discover their user stories and learn from them.

• What are your favorite resources for learning about PostgreSQL?

  Conference talks and PostgreSQL books; in fact, I believe in them so much I've even written and co-written a couple myself!

• In your opinion, what are the most common pitfalls or mistakes developers make when working with PostgreSQL?

  Well, I actually wrote an entire book about this topic: PostgreSQL Mistakes and How to Avoid Them.

• What is the most overlooked thing about PostgreSQL?

  People overlook just how highly optimized it has become over 30 years of development for certain types of operations, while simultaneously remaining incredibly good at general-purpose database tasks.

• If you had a magic wand, what single thing would you change in PostgreSQL as it is today?

  The PostgreSQL development workflow and the pgsql-hackers mailing list.

• Are you involved in any volunteer or community efforts around PostgreSQL? If so, what do you do and why did you get involved?

  Yes, I'm a member of PostgreSQL Europe and US, and I volunteer at their events. I'm also a member of the PostgreSQL Europe Diversity Committee, and locally, I am an organizer for the PostgreSQL Edinburgh User Group meetups.

About POSETTE & Events

• What advice would you give to fellow speakers preparing for a PostgreSQL conference?

  Don't try to be too serious and academic about it. People learn far more from a good story, and they can always look up the technical details later their own.

• What would be helpful to know for a first-time speaker?

  Don't be afraid to step into the spotlight. We all began by doubting ourselves the first time. Your story is definitely worth hearing, and you can never predict who will be interested or why!

• Could you share a memorable moment from a previous PostgreSQL conference you attended or spoke at?

  Simon Riggs's farewell speech and the emotional standing ovation he received, followed, of course, by his keynote speech at the very next conference! :)