Ivan Maltsev - Email Deliverability Expert and MTA Architect in Prague

Ivan Maltsev

Director of Email Deliverability & Anti-Abuse Expert

About Me & Interests

Expertise

I am a 34-year-old Director of Email Deliverability with over 13 years of experience. Based in Prague since 2020, I previously spent years at Microsoft ensuring high-scale email systems work flawlessly.

Travel & Nature

I'm a true petrolheart and metalhead who finds peace on the open road listening to favourite metal bands and driving my classic Ford Cougar 2.5 V6. I love long-distance driving across different countries with my lovely wife and our two kids. I enjoy mushroom picking, fishing, and capturing beautiful views along the way with my family.

Personal

A dedicated "Cat Dad" to 5 wonderful felines. When I'm not behind the wheel, I'm likely grilling on my Traeger, crafting cocktails, or working on 3D printing projects while enjoying a perfectly balanced cup of coffee.

🛡️

Professional Focus: Email Deliverability & MTA Architecture

As a Director of Email Deliverability with a 13-year track record, I bridge the gap between deep technical infrastructure, email deliverability and compliance techniques and high-level business strategy. My journey began in the trenches of System Administration and NOC Engineering, providing me with a rock-solid foundation in the networking stack, MTA architecture, and the "physics" of mail transfer.

My core expertise in deliverability was forged during 5 amazinng years at SMTP, one of the true pioneers and oldest players in the email relay business. Working at such a cornerstone allowed me to gain invaluable "email wisdom" and a comprehensive technical base that fueled my progression to the highest levels of the field.

During next 5 years at Microsoft, I didn't just refine my delivery skills—I gained invaluable experience in leadership, project management, and product architecture. I was instrumental in defining the direction for marketing automation products, driving their deep integration with ML models and AI to stay ahead of the evolving digital landscape. Through dedicated effort and the unique opportunities offered by a global industry leader of this scale, I evolved from a deliverability engineer into a senior-level specialist recognized within the industry.

Today, at Tiny email, I lead the entire deliverability department, collaborating closely with engineers to build a truly modern platform for the email business. I oversee clients of every scale—from agile Shopify entrepreneurs to Enterprise-level corporations—focusing on strategic audience growth and long-term reputation sustainability.

Authentication&Compliance:
SPF, DKIM, DMARC, BIMI
Reputation:
IP/Domain Warming & ISP Relations
Security:
Anti-Spam Logic & Feedback Loops
Infrastructure:
MTA Config (PowerMTA, Postfix, GreenArrow, Kumo)
Strategy:
Audit, Migration & Scalability
Monitoring:
Real-time Alerting & Deliverability ROI

Work Experience

Director of Deliverability

tinyCo

2025 - Present

Prague, Czech Republic (Remote)

#Strategy#Deliverability#Leadership#EmailOps

Senior Email Deliverability Engineer

Microsoft

2024 - 2025

Prague, Czech Republic (Hybrid)

#SMTP#DNS#AntiAbuse#Security#Scale

Email Deliverability Engineer

Microsoft

2020 - 2024

Prague, Czech Republic

#MailingSystems#TechnicalSupport#ProblemSolving

Email Delivery Specialist

SMTP, Inc.

2015 - 2020

Odessa, Ukraine

#Deliverability#Infrastructure#Networking

Network Operations Engineer

SMTP, Inc.

2014 - 2015

Odessa Region, Ukraine

#NOC#Networking#Monitoring#Infrastructure

Senior Software Engineer / SysAdmin

JSC FINROSTBANK

2009 - 2013

Odessa

#Linux#WindowsServer#SQL#SysAdmin

Let's talk Deliverability

Whether you need a strategic audit, infrastructure scaling, or just want to discuss MTA configurations over a cup of coffee — my inbox is open.