Nikhil Sontakke
About Nikhil Sontakke
Nikhil Sontakke is the Core PostgreSQL Database Tech Lead at Timescale, specializing in Postgres custom code development and database internals. He has extensive experience in the PostgreSQL community and has held various engineering roles throughout his career.
Work at Timescale
Nikhil Sontakke serves as the Core PostgreSQL Database Tech Lead at Timescale, a position he has held since 2021. In this role, he focuses on developing a comprehensive suite of management capabilities for TimescaleDB, which includes features such as elasticity, data rebalancing, and high availability. His work contributes to enhancing the performance and reliability of TimescaleDB, a time-series database built on PostgreSQL.
Education and Expertise
Nikhil Sontakke holds an M. Tech in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. He also earned a B.E. in Computer Science from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology. His educational background provides a strong foundation for his specialization in PostgreSQL custom code development and database internals. He has developed proficiency in programming languages such as C and Rust, particularly on Linux and Unix-based platforms.
Background
Nikhil Sontakke has extensive experience in the database technology sector. He began his career as a Senior Software Engineer at Veritas Software India Ltd., where he worked from 2001 to 2004. He then transitioned to EnterpriseDB, where he served as a Lead Engineer and later as a Technical Architect. His entrepreneurial spirit led him to co-found SecureDB Inc., where he was the VP of Engineering from 2015 to 2016. He also played a significant role at StormDB as a Senior Architect and Founding Member.
Contributions to PostgreSQL Community
Nikhil Sontakke actively contributes to the PostgreSQL community project by developing features and enhancements. He has been involved with the PostgreSQL and Postgres-XL Global Development Group since 2006. Additionally, he co-organizes PGCONF.in, the annual Indian PostgreSQL conference, which fosters knowledge sharing and collaboration among PostgreSQL users and developers.
Previous Work Experience
Before his current role at Timescale, Nikhil Sontakke worked at 2ndQuadrant as a PostgreSQL Consultant for five years, from 2016 to 2021. He also held a position at SecureDB Inc. as Co-Founder and VP of Engineering. His earlier experience includes significant roles at EnterpriseDB and Veritas Software, where he developed his expertise in database technologies and architecture.