Big Ideas in App Architecture

Latest Episodes:

Early Days at Google & Building CockroachDB with Peter Mattis Dec 20, 2023

Show notes

In this best of 2023 episode, Tim Veil talks to Peter Mattis, Co-founder and CTO at Cockroach Labs.
In this conversation, Peter goes way under the hood to talk about how CockroachDB is architected, how that architecture has evolved, and how the architecture will continue to evolve to make developers’ lives easier.
Join us as we discuss:

The origins of GIMP and early days at Google
How Peter built Pebble & how it compares to RocksDB
Lessons learned building Postgres compatibility
What the future of “serverless” databases will look like

Mastering Multi-Cloud with Erol Kavas Dec 05, 2023

Show notes

As a multi-cloud expert with 100+ certifications, author of the book “Mastering Terraform on AWS”, and Director of PwC, Erol Kavas has plenty of perspective across the cloud ecosystem.
Join as we discuss:

Implementing cloud infrastructure and migrating legacy applications to the cloud
What enterprises should consider before moving to multi-cloud
Why Erol fell in love with Terraform

[Buy “Mastering Terraform on AWS: Automate AWS Infrastructure with Terraform using streamlined frameworks and best practices” by Erol Kavas, click here]

From FedEx to Five Guys: Designing digital experiences with Yext’s VP of Software Engineering Nov 28, 2023

Show notes

If you have ever tried to find a local branch of a major retailer, left a review on a product page, or talked to an on-page chatbot, you have likely interacted with the frontend of Yext’s Digital Experience Platform. But what goes into the backend for a modular and composable platform that can deliver for enterprises of all sizes? To answer this question, we sat down with Matt Bowman, VP of Software Engineering at Yext.
Join as we discuss:

The biggest changes in the technical landscape over the last 20 years from cloud adoption to application development.
Leadership principles, hiring strategies, and advice for fostering innovation.
The challenges and opportunities that come with AI.

Reliability and scalability in a data-driven world with Fivetran’s VP of Platform Engineering Nov 14, 2023

Show notes

Fivetran, the automated data movement platform, helps Fortune 500 companies transport data across different sources from point A to point B. To learn about the leading tech management and engineering triumphs that have helped them in their mission to make data simple, we sat down with the VP of Platform Engineering at Fivetran (and former Googler) Mike Gordon.
Join as we discuss:

The influence of accessibility on data scaling in the cloud.
The impact of rapid technological advancements on data management.
The crucial role of efficiency in the process of data scaling.

Enabling a data-driven and innovative engineering culture at Amplitude Nov 07, 2023

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For the engineering team at digital analytics company Amplitude, real-time customer feedback and cutting-edge Northstar metrics play a significant role in helping them adapt their tech stack and stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market.
To learn more about the innovative approaches at Amplitude, we sat down with their SVP of Engineering, Shadi Rostami, for a discussion on the significance of ownership, accountability, and a founder's mindset in shepherding a company's growth.
Join as we discuss:

Developing a growth mindset to enable a successful engineering career
Shadi’s engineering principles including “ship fast with quality”
How to scale platforms through informed data-driven prioritization and strategic product focus

How Estée Lauder scales strong engineering culture Oct 31, 2023

Show notes

Meg Adams has had a remarkable journey to tech leader — from special education teacher, to retail sales manager at Victoria's Secret and learning to code, to managing teams at Etsy at Condé Nast — and now, her current role as Executive Director of Platform Engineering at Estée Lauder.
To learn about her approaches to leadership, the intricacies of managing cloud infrastructure and analytics, and what it takes to build powerful platforms and top-tier teams, our host David
Joy catches Meg for a first-ever in-person recording.
Join as we discuss:

Implementing engineering best practices and testing to ensure uptime and performance on a singular platform.
The pivotal shift from on-premises infrastructure to the cloud for ease of use and scalability.
Career advice from Meg's incredible journey into the tech world.

Can I take your order? Building conversational AI to improve the customer experience Oct 17, 2023

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Indecisiveness at the drive-through is just one of the many factors that ConverseNow’s conversational AI software for restaurants has to design for. To see what tools, programming languages, and more go into enabling a successful automated food order, we sat down with Akshay Kayastha, Senior Engineering Manager at ConverseNow.
Join as we discuss:

How to design systems with good customer service as the key objective.
Tackling technical challenges in speech-to-text transcription such as low audio quality, background noises, and more.
Building for Super Bowl scale while achieving low latency.
Why Akshay’s team took a Kubernetes-first approach from Day 1.

Engineering resilient systems: Rescuing old treasures and unleashing modern capabilities Oct 10, 2023

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Are legacy systems just outdated systems? The answer is, it’s complicated…
In this episode, we’re joined by Marianne Bellotti, author of “Kill It With Fire”. Marianne has built data infrastructure for the United Nations and tackled some of the oldest and most complicated computer systems in the world as part of the United States Digital Service.
Join as we discuss:

Marianne’s fascinating and often surprising insights from the field.
The art of balancing innovation with preserving the best of legacy systems.
Managing technology deployments, pushing back on load test results, and setting realistic expectations throughout a modernization project.
Why AI has potential to change the world of software engineering.

The Full Package: How Route architects its all-in-one post-purchase platform Sep 19, 2023

Show notes

A purchase may seem complete after a user checks out, but the package itself still needs to make the voyage to the customer’s doorstep. Route’s post-purchase platform is designed to handle every step of this journey from offering package insurance to providing transparent tracking information, and is currently used by big companies including Alo Yoga and Cotopaxi.
Route’s astounding 98.1% customer retention rate is the result of a feedback-driven and cross-departmental culture that translates data into actionable improvements. To learn about the engineering and architecture that makes better customer experiences possible, our host David Joy sat down with their Engineering Manager, Siddhartha Sandhu.
Join as we discuss:

The power of customer-centric product development
Why the best way to improve your product is to use it
How to choose tooling that will enable faster product growth

A historical journey in developer technologies with the CTO at Spark Labs Sep 12, 2023

Show notes

As the CTO at development agency Spark Labs, Mike Willbanks gets the opportunity to work with every technology under the sun. This episode is a free-flowing conversation about the trends that have defined the modern developer experience as well as what’s next.
Join as we discuss:

The biggest challenges that come with building applications including authentication and payment processing.
Why enterprises are responding to the serverless paradigm.
How Mike’s team uses Copilot and ChatGPT Pro and what the benefits & limitations are.
Why the world of databases will always be a wild west.