Xuneng Zhou

About the Speaker

• Tell us about yourself: career, family, passions

  I’m Xuneng, a PostgreSQL hacker at HighGo. I’m passionate about working on PostgreSQL internals, systems performance in general, and fitness training.

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

  My experience attending PostgreSQL events is still fairly limited, so I wouldn’t say I have a preferred way to break the ice yet. Usually, I start with something simple like:

  “I think we interacted on a mailing list thread before — how have you been?”

• What would you say is your superpower?

  I wish I could use the line Batman says in Justice League…

• Which book are you reading right now and why did you choose it?

  I’m currently reading The Power Broker by Robert Caro. It’s an incredible biography, and I’m deeply impressed by Caro’s level of research, storytelling, and insight.

• What is your favorite hobby?

  Fitness training. I enjoy both the discipline and the sense of long-term progression it brings.

About the Talk

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

  My talk is about how to start contributing to PostgreSQL. It’s a guide shaped by my own hacking journey. If you want to contribute to Postgres but don’t know where to begin, this talk is for you.

  I chose this topic because I think making PostgreSQL hacking more accessible and inclusive is meaningful for the community.

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

  I think newcomers would benefit the most, since they are the primary audience I had in mind while preparing this talk.

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

  I hope attendees will walk away with the basic mindset and practical skills needed to start hacking on PostgreSQL.

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

  I’m looking forward to many of the deep PostgreSQL internals talks. POSETTE brings together many hackers I admire, so it’s a great opportunity to learn from the community.

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

  I try not to dive too deeply into implementation details too early. Instead, I focus on building intuition and presenting the material in a way that is approachable, especially for people who may not be familiar with the topic yet.

About PostgreSQL

• What inspired you to work with PostgreSQL?

  For fun, for community, and for profit — just like the saying goes.

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

  I really like AIO because it’s an enabling feature for many kinds of future performance improvements.

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

  PostgreSQL is both open source and vendor-neutral. Maintaining both qualities at the same time while continuing to evolve is extremely difficult, and very few open-source projects have managed to achieve it successfully. A lot of credit should go to the incredible community behind PostgreSQL.

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

  Start small, but aim big. And maybe watch my talk first.

• What are your favorite resources for learning about PostgreSQL?

  The PostgreSQL mailing list archives are a gold mine. Many insightful discussions have happened — and are still happening — there.

• Could you share a memorable experience or challenge you faced while working with PostgreSQL?

  Getting my first patch merged was definitely memorable. It was committed by Alexander Korotkov.

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

  I think one common mistake is treating PostgreSQL as a black box without taking the time to understand its architecture, documentation, and operational characteristics.

• Which skills are a must-have for a PostgreSQL user/developer?

  For users, being able and willing to read the official documentation is important.

  For developers, being able and willing to work on the mailing list is essential. Mailing lists may no longer be a common collaboration model in the broader industry, but they are still central to how PostgreSQL development works. Being comfortable reading and writing decent C code is also very helpful.

• What is the most overlooked thing about PostgreSQL?

  I think the most overlooked thing is the community behind it.

  “Postgres is nothing without its people.”

• PostgreSQL is open source. Has that ever helped you personally, and how?

  Absolutely. Because PostgreSQL is open source, anyone can contribute to it without first needing an official job title or permission to participate.

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

  I’d make it fully multi-threaded and vacuum-free — without introducing additional complexity or pain.

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

  I volunteer at PostgreSQL conferences and review patches on the mailing list. I got involved because I’ve benefited a lot from the community myself, and I want to help others grow as well.

About POSETTE & Events

• Have you enjoyed previous POSETTE (formerly Citus Con) conferences, either as an attendee or as a speaker?

  This is my first time attending POSETTE, and I’m excited to be part of it.

• What motivated you to speak at this year’s POSETTE: An Event for Postgres?

  POSETTE is a fantastic conference, and many PostgreSQL hackers I admire participate in it. I’m very happy to have the opportunity to contribute as a speaker this year.

• What other PostgreSQL events in 2026 are you excited about and why?

  I’m especially excited about PGConf.dev 2026. It’s where the PostgreSQL community comes together, and there are always many deep technical talks about internals and development.

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

  Be open to feedback. Keep your target audience in mind. Think carefully about the key takeaways you want people to remember after your talk.

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

  You don’t need to know everything. Focus on sharing something valuable clearly and honestly. The PostgreSQL community is generally very supportive of new speakers.

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

  Giving my first PostgreSQL talk at the HOW conference was definitely memorable.

Open Forum

• Is there anything you’d like to share with the Postgres community attending this year’s POSETTE: An Event for Postgres?

  PostgreSQL is one of the most welcoming and inspiring technical communities I’ve ever been part of. I hope more people will join the community, start contributing, and help shape the future of Postgres together.