About Me
I'm Matthias Walter, Co‑Founder & CEO at run_as_root and a backend architect for e‑commerce.
With 20 years in e‑commerce, I design and build reliable, maintainable e-commerce platforms and custom software.
In all projects I am part of, I have a strong emphasis on high quality and reliability, a solid software design, and clean system architecture.
Lately, I've taken an interest in AI based solutions and started applying my knowledge to build practical AI agents and automation.
My Approach
How I Work
- Reliability first
- Stable systems with clear monitoring and safe deployments. I prefer boring, predictable operations over heroics.
- Maintainable by design
- Simple architecture, clean interfaces, strong testing, and documentation as part of the work - not an afterthought.
- Automation everywhere
- CI/CD, quality gates, and repeatable processes so teams can move fast without breaking things.
- Clear communication
- I focus on clear, direct communication, practical solutions, honest estimates and transparent billing.
- A useful "no"
- Saying "no" to weak ideas saves time and budget. I propose better options - grounded in business value vs. effort.
- Sharing knowledge
- Keeping technical documentation close to the code, persisting lessons learned and help teams grow through knowledge sharing and mentoring.
- Exploring AI applications
- in e-commerce and business, I research and implement practical AI solutions that solve real problems.
- Continuous learning
- I invest time in understanding new technologies and their practical applications.
Current Focus
What I am currently focusing on
- Client work in e‑commerce
- From roadmap to reliable delivery
- clever design, automated QA, lean coordination
- Stable stores that scale without debt
- Client work on AI Solutions
- Retrieval, agents, and workflow automation
- From prototype to production
- Targeted use cases: RAG, Agents, content ingestion, etc.
- Custom Software Development
- Tailored software for custom workflow
- Clean architecture & APIs, automated tests
- Secure, maintainable, and cost‑aware
- Internal tools at run_as_root
- CI/CD, code quality and release automation
- Back-Office automations
- Interal AI applications
Let's build something together
Whether you need backend architecture, system integrations, or AI solutions, I can help.
Feel free to reach out on any platform — no fancy intro needed.
Company Focus
What I do at run_as_root
At run_as_root I lead the company end‑to‑end - finance, technology, operations, team communication, and contracts - and ensure delivery is predictable and transparent. Together, we design, build, and maintain e‑commerce platforms and custom software with a focus on integrations with external systems, data flows, automation, and clean architecture.
I care about stability, code quality, and making things easy to extend later. No drama, no surprises.
When a problem fits our strengths, we also build custom solutions outside of e‑commerce. The same standards apply: robust foundations, maintainable code, and a path for growth.
Also, I'm hands‑on with Magento 2 projects: technical planning, cross‑team coordination and consulting from discovery to go‑live.
Behind the scenes, I keep our foundation running smoothly: CI/CD pipelines, quality gates, automated testing, and release management so we can ship safely and often.
- Backend ArchitectureBuild robust, scalable backend systems that handle complex business logic and high-traffic loads.
- System IntegrationsSeamlessly connect different systems, APIs, and third-party services for unified workflows.
- Code QualityEnsure maintainable, testable, and well-documented code that stands the test of time.
What I do
Where I create impact
- Architecture
- Architecture that scales without chaos
- Standards across design, code, tests, and reviews
- Predictable releases and low cost of change
- Integrations
- APIs, webhooks, message queues
- ERP, PIM, CRM, PSPs
- Testable, fault‑tolerant, observability by default
- AI Solutions
- secure pipelines, human‑in‑the‑loop, observable
- Human‑in‑the‑loop for safety and accuracy
- RAG, agents, networks and workflows
- Performance & Reliability
- Diagnose bottlenecks, Identify root cause
- Caching, queues, and DB tuning
- Issue Tracking, Alerting, Log Management
- Technical Leadership
- Lead 10-15 developers with clear standards
- Lean planning, code reviews, mentoring
- Calm, transparent communication
- DevOps
- CI/CD pipelines and automated testing
- Fast feedback loops and pre‑merge quality
- Release automation and rollback strategies
Technologies & Skills
Expertise
Beyond Work
Hobbies and Interests
In my personal time, I like road cycling, casual gaming, building software, and lately it revolves a lot around AI. Those interests have become a rotating loop of rides, side projects, and experiments where small tweaks result in real improvements.
On the bike, I enjoy the mix of sport and tech: I ride a Canyon Ultimate with electronic shifting and a Karoo 2 head unit showing live data during the ride. I monitor power, heart rate, and cadence, and love how a route choice or small tweak can reshape a climb.
When I'm not riding, I'm probably testing a new tool, automating something, or playing a game. I tinker with tools, try the latest AI models, build an AI agent, try out the latest MCP, and sometimes dive into Linux and CLI tools. In general, I love TUIs and tools in the CLI. Most weeks I end up shipping a tiny automation that makes the next one easier.
Professional Journey
Experience
Leading an e-commerce agency and software team focused on building stable, maintainable, and future-proof systems. Specializing in backend architecture, integrations, and high quality.
- Resonsible for finance, operations, contracts, and engineering
- Establish and maintain company‑wide CI/CD pipelines and quality gates
- Delivery of e‑commerce platforms and custom software focused on backend architecture, integrations and data flows
- Built internal tooling and back‑office automations to reduce manual steps
Consulting & Development Services for various e-commerce clients and agencies
Head of Magento Developemnt, building Magento2 based solutions for enterprise clients
Building Magento based solutions for clients of various sizes
Developing for a custom e-commerce solution and marketplace, based on an internal framework
Let's build something together
Whether you need backend architecture, system integrations, or AI solutions, I can help.
Feel free to reach out on any platform — no fancy intro needed.