Amazon Web Services

\*This event will be **ONLINE ONLY** Are you an experienced tech professional aiming for top-tier roles at MANGA, AI companies, hedge funds, or just the next step? Your coding skills are solid, but **can you perform under pressure?** * Do you freeze when the timer starts? * Struggle to articulate your thought process clearly while coding? * Pass the coding screen but get rejected after the onsite? * Find it difficult to demonstrate "Senior" scope during technical discussions? Top-tier tech companies don't just look for the correct code. At the senior level, it’s no longer just about solving the algorithm - it’s about **communication, trade-off analysis, edge-case handling, and clarity of thought.** We are bringing in a **Senior Engineer directly from Amazon** to conduct a **Live Mock Interview session**. This is your chance to see exactly what happens inside a top-tier technical interview and understand the specific rubric hiring managers use to grade candidates. **This is not a theoretical lecture.** This is a real-time simulation of the high-stakes interview environment, followed by a detailed breakdown of what went right and what went wrong. **What We Will Cover:** * **The Interviewer’s Lens:** How a Senior Amazon Engineer evaluates a candidate in real-time (beyond just the syntax). * **Structured Problem Solving:** How to approach ambiguous problems, ask the right clarifying questions, and drive the solution forward. * **Communication is Key:** Mastering the "Think Out Loud" technique effectively to show your reasoning. * **The Senior Difference:** How to demonstrate seniority through code modularity, optimization discussions, and handling constraints. **Who Should Attend:** ⚠️ **Please Note:** This event is tailored for **experienced professionals** in the tech industry (e.g., Senior Software Engineers and tech professionals with more than 2 years of experience) who want to crack the interview process at major tech firms. **RSVP today to elevate your interview game.** **Hosted by TopCoding**

Gaming, AdTech, EdTech, Media Streaming, and FinTech are just a few of the workloads where high-availability cloud infrastructure matters. Whether you’re doing battle daily in one of these spaces or are just curious about ways to improve performance, meet us in Reston for an in-person discussion on bare metal cloud architecture. You’ll meet our product lead, James MacKenzie, who will walk through how modern bare metal serves as a control plane for hybrid and private cloud architectures. **What we will cover** * Ways to leverage bare metal, containers, and orchestration for better performance and predictable economics; * Real-world hybrid, disaster recovery, and data-intensive architectures; * Our approach to eliminating ingress and egress fees. **Who should attend** * Cloud architects and platform engineers; * DevOps professionals and infrastructure leads; * FinOps stakeholders managing data-heavy or hybrid workloads. **Why attend** This is a technical, architecture-first conversation. You will leave with a clearer understanding of high-availability cloud infrastructure and how organizations are scaling cost-effectively. Food and drinks will be provided. Space is limited to keep the discussion interactive.

Volunteers collect, store, and deliver donated furniture and other household items, free of charge, to needy families in the Annandale, Bailey’s Crossroads, and Culmore areas. The furniture is stored in a building donated by Annandale United Methodist Church. ACCA receives requests for furniture through Fairfax County human services staff and specialized agencies, churches, and schools. ACCA churches and community volunteers take turns providing teams of volunteers to work at the warehouse located at 6935 Columbia Pike on Saturday mornings. [https://accacares.org/furniture/](https://accacares.org/furniture/)

We will be meeting at Starbucks to learn together. Come with an online class you're already going through or an interest and we will try to connect you with a course where you can learn it. Already have a skill you want to contribute to a Kaggle Datascience competition? We will work on these too! Laptop required :)

## **1 Million Cups Loudoun Workshop: How AI Can Work for Your Business** **Wednesday\, January 28 \| 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM** **Venture X Loudoun – Ashburn** Artificial Intelligence is no longer just a buzzword — it’s a practical tool that businesses of all sizes can begin using today. Join **1 Million Cups Loudoun** for a special **workshop-style presentation** led by **Victor Meer of AI Prime** and **Jay Jay Billings of Band Gap AI**, designed to help entrepreneurs understand how AI can realistically support their business operations. This workshop will provide: * A clear, practical overview of what AI actually is * Real-world examples of how businesses are using AI today * Insight into where automation can save time and reduce friction * Guidance on how to start leveraging AI without needing technical expertise Whether you’re AI-curious, overwhelmed by the noise, or ready to explore automation in your business, this session will help you think clearly about where AI fits — and where it doesn’t. As always, coffee, conversation, and community are at the heart of 1 Million Cups Loudoun. ### What Is 1 Million Cups? 1 Million Cups is a national program powered by the Kauffman Foundation that brings together entrepreneurs and community members for weekly conversations that educate, support, and inspire. Loudoun’s chapter meets on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month. Join us on **January 14 at 9:00 AM** for coffee, connection, and a meaningful conversation about reimagining after-school education in Loudoun County. **We look forward to seeing you there.**

Laser tag with the

In this talk, Sean Hoar will explore how AI assistants can accelerate different stages of software development. From idea generation and prototyping to coding, testing, and debugging, AI tools are transforming how developers work. He’ll provide practical examples of where AI can save time, reduce errors, and help teams focus on higher-level problem-solving. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies to integrate AI into their workflow and stay ahead in the evolving tech landscape.