Where Data Drives Creation
Burning Studios is a data strategy and engineering studio. We build the platforms, practices, and cultures that turn data from a department into a competitive advantage.
What We Build
Strategic data leadership and hands-on craft for organizations becoming information-driven.
Fractional CDO
Strategic data leadership for organizations that need an executive voice setting direction — without the full-time C-suite commitment. We help define data strategy, build governance, align initiatives to business outcomes, and make sure the organization develops the muscle to sustain it all. This isn't advice from the sidelines. We embed with your leadership team, roll up our sleeves, and do the work — from setting the roadmap to coaching the people who'll own it after we're gone.
Data Culture
The hardest part of becoming data-driven isn't building the platform. It's changing how people make decisions. We help organizations move from "we have data" to "we actually use it" — by building the habits, trust, and shared practices that make evidence-based thinking the default at every level. This is organizational craft — not a training program. We assess how decisions really get made, design stewardship models that distribute data ownership, and build literacy programs that meet people where they are. The goal is a culture where reaching for data feels natural, not mandated.
Data Platforms
Modern data architecture built for the whole organization, not just the data team. We design and build on Databricks, Azure, and cloud-native technologies — pipelines, catalogs, quality monitoring, and self-service access layers that put trusted data in the hands of every decision maker. We've led enterprise transformations that cut time-to-insight by 60% and reduced costs by 40%. That experience means we build right-sized architectures — sophisticated where it matters, pragmatic everywhere else.
Governance & Quality
Governance that people actually follow — because it's woven into how they already work, not imposed as a separate bureaucracy. We design ownership models, quality standards, and security practices that make trusted data the norm rather than the exception. Data quality isn't a technical problem. It's a shared practice. We build the accountability structures, monitoring, and cultural expectations that make "who owns this data?" a question with a clear answer everywhere in the organization.
The Work Speaks
Enterprise-scale data transformation with measurable business impact.
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Enterprise Data Transformation
Led enterprise Azure/Databricks Data Lakehouse transformation — 60% faster insights, $600K+/year in savings, and self-service analytics adopted across the organization.
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Blueline
Premium fantasy hockey analytics — demonstrating how enterprise data craft translates into consumer-grade product design.
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SpaceRace Company
Space-themed apparel brand — a father-son creative venture and proof that the studio builds across more than just data.
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Built by Matthew Burns
Data engineering leader with 20+ years building platforms and the cultures that use them. Burning Studios brings CDO-level craft to organizations at every stage of their data journey.
Ready to Build Something?
Whether you need a fractional CDO to set direction or hands-on help building the platform and culture, we'd love to talk about the work.