Big Ideas in App Architecture

​Most teams moving AI into production quickly discover that generating an output is the easy part; running it reliably, efficiently, and at scale is a discipline of its own.In this episode, David talks with Philip Kiely, engineer at Baseten and author of Inference Engineering, a free guide to building and operating AI inference systems. Philip argues that every company will soon need a dedicated team to own inference, and draws on his work at Baseten to explain why it demands fluency across GPU optimization, distributed systems, model correctness, and developer experience all at once. He walks through how agentic workloads are reshaping inference demands, which open-weight models are worth watching, and key optimization techniques including KV cache reuse, quantization, and speculative decoding. Grab your copy of Inference Engineering here: https://www.baseten.co/inference-engineering/

In this episode, David welcomes Ari LiVigni, Senior Cloud Solutions Architect at GitHub, for an engaging conversation about cloud infrastructure, cloud adoption, AI, and security. Join us as we discuss:The importance of effective cloud solutions for data protection and security, including a look at tools from GitHub, AWS, and Azure.GitHub's significant milestones, including its acquisition by Microsoft and the launch of innovative tools like pull requests and forking.How GitHub Copilot enhances productivity by enabling developers to focus on code prompts while automating routine tasks.

This week, David is joined by Dom Scandinaro, CTO at Cameo, the platform that allows users to send personalized videos from celebrities and creators. Scandinaro gives an in-depth overview of Cameo’s rapid growth from a simple idea into a robust and deeply personalized fan experience platform with the digital infrastructure to match. Join us as we discuss:How Cameo’s tech stack has evolved as the company expands globallyWhy leaders need to have an in-depth understanding of their team’s abilities and limitationsHow Cameo is harnessing Generative AI for new products and platform features.

In this episode, we dive into the heart of cloud architecture, disaster recovery, observability, and more with OneStream’s Senior VP of Cloud Architecture, Ryan Berry. Whether you're a tech enthusiast or finance professional, this episode offers indispensable knowledge on navigating modern cloud landscapes and optimizing financial software solutions.Join as we discuss:The importance of learning new cloud patterns for cost-effectiveness and higher migration success.The intricacies of scaling infrastructure, particularly during high-demand scenarios such as month-end and quarterly financial modeling.What companies need to consider when adopting the cloud.

This week, David is joined by Unmesh Joshi, Principal Consultant at Thoughtworks and author of “Patterns of Distributed Systems” for a conversation on the technical intricacies that keep modern applications running smoothly. Join as we discuss:Key concepts behind distributed systems, including fault tolerance and consistency models, consensus algorithms, and more.Unmesh’s inspiration behind “Patterns of Distributed Systems,” and how he hopes to simplify complex concepts for developers.Technical predictions for distributed systems over the next five years.

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 careerShadi’s engineering principles including “ship fast with quality”How to scale platforms through informed data-driven prioritization and strategic product focus

“Customer experience is top priority, if the customer isn’t happy and you scale it, it doesn’t matter, nobody's gonna use it!”This week, David is joined by Sachin Joshi, Director of Enterprise Architecture at Vimeo, to discuss customer experience as the north star of architecture work, the evolution and impact of AI, and Vimeo's code-to-cash process for business efficiency. Join us as we discuss:Vimeo's enterprise architecture, integration, and automationHow to prioritize customer experience when scaling applicationsMonolithic vs microservices architecture

Developers need a toolkit to build AI into their applications – models, functions, & data, Hypermode does just that. To learn how the world of data and databases have been rapidly evolving for the age of AI, we sat down with their CTO Gajanan Chinchwadkar (previously Chief Systems Architect at Visa). Join as we discuss:The evolution of database technologies from niche markets to a $100 billion industry with over 8000 options. Scaling databases in different organizational contexts, and strategies for staying up-to-date with industry trends.How AI will impact the programming landscape.