Big Ideas in App Architecture

Most observability platforms are built around siloed signals, metrics, logs, and traces; not the rich context engineers actually need. The architecture of observability tooling hasn’t kept pace with the architecture of today’s distributed systems. In this episode, David sits down with Charity Majors, co-founder and CTO of Honeycomb.io and co-author of Observability Engineering, to rethink how modern teams understand production systems. Charity argues that the “three pillars” model is outdated, making the case for wide, structured events that preserve context and embrace high-cardinality data so engineers can ask better questions in real time.Drawing on lessons from operating Parse  and its challenging acquisition by Facebook, Charity explains how those experiences shaped Honeycomb’s fast, custom-built observability engine. The two also  explore how AI agents could soon close the loop between code changes and production validation, and Charity previews the upcoming second edition of Observability Engineering, including a new focus on observability governance for CTOs. Links for Charity:charitydotwtf.substack.com,honeycomb.io/blog, x.com/mipsytipsy

Most CI/CD pipelines are built to detect failure, not to resolve it. As software systems grow more distributed and complex, that limitation is becoming a bottleneck for resilience.In this episode, David sits down with Tomer Karin, a seasoned software architect in the automotive industry, to explore a new paradigm he calls Continuous Integration and Continuous Solution (CI/CS). Tomer argues that the future  of automated software development isn’t just faster feedback loops, it's systems that can autonomously remediate failures using AI.Tomer shares how his years of working on large-scale automotive software revealed the inefficiencies of traditional development pipelines, where engineers spend significant time diagnosing and fixing issues instead of building new capabilities. With CI/CS, AI agents don’t just identify failing builds, they apply fixes that are verified through existing test pipelines, allowing teams to start the next day with a healthier codebase.Join us as we discuss:Why traditional CI/CD breaks down as systems scale and complexity increases What Continuous Integration and Continuous Solution looks like in practiceHow AI agents can safely diagnose and fix software failuresWhere human oversight fits into autonomous development pipelinesThe economic and productivity impact of autonomous software workflows

Most databases are designed for success cases. Real systems fail– the difference is whether they’re built and tested for it. In this episode, David sits down with Spencer Kimball, co-founder and CEO of Cockroach Labs, to explore the architectural and testing decisions behind CockroachDB, and why validating systems under worst-case conditions is essential to building reliable infrastructure at scale. Spencer shares the origin story of CockroachDB, tracing it back to his time at Google, where working on large-scale data systems and helping build Google Spanner exposed the limitations of existing database technologies. Motivated by the limits of existing database designs, Spencer and his co-founders left Google to build a resilient, scalable, open-source database designed for a world where failure isn’t an edge case, it’s the norm.Plus, Spencer and David discuss how emerging AI workloads are reshaping expectations for database infrastructure by increasing scale, stressing latency budgets, and raising the cost of failure.Join us as we discuss:How Google Spanner inspired the creation of CockroachDBDesigning a database that assumed failure by default What resilience means at massive scaleHow AI is changing the demands placed on modern databasesHow the Cockroach Labs–IBM partnership reflects a broader shift in enterprise modernization Spencer’s futuristic vision for databases, from AI automation to outer space

In this episode, David sits down with Nishant Raman, a seasoned data infrastructure expert, to explore the evolving world of data engineering, AI integration, and building scalable systems from the ground up. With experience across logistics, healthcare, and fintech, Nishant shares hard-won insights from years of building resilient, cost-conscious infrastructure that scales with company growth and technical complexity.From choosing the right database to navigating the post-LLM explosion in tooling, this conversation offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to thrive as the first data hire and beyond.Join us as we discuss:Nishant’s accidental path into data engineering and lessons from startup lifeThe tradeoffs that can come with building scalable, cost-efficient data systemsThe growing role of AI in data infrastructure and what’s coming next for data teams

In this episode, David sits down with Masaru Hoshi, a cloud architect at Qlik, to explore his unexpected journey into cloud architecture, the cultural influences that shaped his career, and the evolving disciplines transforming enterprise technology today.  Join as we discuss:Masaru’s path from developer to cloud architect and his open-source contributionsThe rising importance of site reliability engineering (SRE) and finops in modern enterprisesThe role of AI in reshaping SRE and predictive reliability managementWhat songs should go in a playlist for a Site Reliability Engineer

In this episode, David sits down with Peter Mattis, co-founder, CTO, and CPO of Cockroach Labs, to dive into the world of resilient databases, the evolution of AI in tech, and the journey of building a company that’s transforming how engineers approach scalability and performance. Peter shares insights from Cockroach Labs’ mission to create CockroachDB, a distributed SQL database designed to be virtually unbreakable and easily scalable in the cloud.Join us as we discuss:Peter’s personal journey in the tech industry and the founding of Cockroach LabsHow CockroachDB is pushing the limits of resilience, scalability, and performanceThe transformative impact of AI on engineering workflows and productivity, and how it will reshape industries like medicine, education, and daily lifeThe importance of embracing AI in the workplace and developing AI literacy among employees

In this episode, David sits down with Joe Duffy, CEO of Pulumi, to explore the revolutionary changes in cloud infrastructure and the power of Infrastructure as Code (IaC). Pulumi is redefining how developers and organizations manage cloud resources by enabling them to use familiar programming languages for scalable, efficient infrastructure management.Join us as we discuss:The evolution of cloud infrastructure and how IaC is transforming engineering workflows.How Pulumi simplifies cloud management by bridging the gap between developers and operations.The impact of AI on infrastructure automation and the future of cloud computing.The challenges organizations face in scaling their cloud environments and how Pulumi helps overcome them.

Connectivity has become as essential as power and water—without it, our modern world would grind to a halt.In this episode, David sits down with Anand Bajaj, Chief Architect at Ericsson, to explore the revolutionary shifts taking place with 5G technology. Anand breaks down the evolution from wired networks to the unparalleled flexibility of 5G, highlighting the power of network slicing in creating tailored, high-performance connections. From his early days coding in India to leading groundbreaking projects at Ericsson, Anand argues that connectivity is just as vital as our basic utilities. This conversation unveils how mobile technology powers the on-demand services we take for granted today, driving a transformative revolution in our world.Join us as we discuss:How 5G enables scalable networks and the role of automation in managing complexity.Why the shift to virtualized networks and cloud-native design can be better for scalability and recovery.The convergence of telecom and IT, leading to flexible, hybrid infrastructures without vendor lock-in.

What does it take to build systems that thrive in today’s fast-evolving tech landscape?In this episode, we talk with Jim Hatcher, Solutions Engineer at Cockroach Labs, about the future of application architecture. From cloud commitments and database optimization to the transformative role of AI, Jim shares expert insights into building resilient, scalable systems. We explore the shift to cloud-native architectures, containerization, and how CockroachDB delivers unmatched reliability for mission-critical operations.Join us as we discuss:Breaking free from vendor lock-in with cloud portability for greater flexibility.Revolutionizing database management with AI and NVIDIA’s Jetson Nano.Ensuring high availability for essential applications in industries like finance and e-commerce.

Ari Levigny, a Senior Cloud Solutions Architect at GitHub, shares his passion for enhancing developer productivity using cloud solutions and AI tools like GitHub Copilot. The discussion dives into the importance of effective cloud solutions for security and data protection, as well as GitHub's evolution and innovative milestones. Ari highlights how GitHub Copilot revolutionizes coding efficiency and emphasizes the need for strategic planning during cloud transitions. The conversation is sprinkled with personal insights and future possibilities in software development.