Big Ideas in App Architecture

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Author Marianne Bellotti, with experience in building data infrastructure for the United Nations, discusses the challenges of modernizing legacy systems and the importance of balancing innovation and preservation. Topics include managing technology deployments, setting realistic expectations, and the potential of AI in software engineering.

Learn about Route's post-purchase platform and their impressive customer retention rate. Discover the power of customer-centric product development and the importance of using and improving your own product. Hear about the significance of selecting the right tech stack, the benefits of a comprehensive post-purchase platform, and the importance of continuous learning and effective communication.

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.

At Ameren, resilient infrastructure is what keeps the lights on for millions of residents across the Midwest. We caught up with Kishore Koduri, Ameren’s Senior Director of Enterprise Architecture to hear about what goes into modernizing such critical applications as well as what any enterprise can learn from his experiences.Join as we discuss:How to build roadmaps, create migration plans, and monitor progress during large-scale digital transformation projectsThe challenges of breaking down a monolithic application into microservicesWhy you shouldn’t just implement new technology for the sake of itFascinating practical use cases for ChatGPT and Google Bard

“Successful platforming means getting real product managers involved, promoting reuse, and measuring happiness and success. Letting the voice of the customer guide us is essential – we want to be a respected and effective platform”Jason Valentino, Head of Engineering Enablement at BNY Mellon sat down with us to share his highlights and valuable insights from his 10+ year history leading engineering teams at companies including Capital One Labs and Peloton.Join us as we discuss:Why it’s critical for enterprises to focus on good developer experiencesThe incubation projects that evolved into shipped-to-production productsCreative ways to keep engineering teams aligned on the latest technical trendsWhy Jason thinks GitHub is the most game changing engineering tool of the last decade