Engineering Leadership

If you’ve recently stepped into leadership, you’re probably facing decisions that feel heavier than expected. Not because they’re complicated. Because they involve trade-offs. You might be circling: * A hire you’re unsure about * A pricing change with ripple effects * A pivot that feels risky * A messy internal process * A trade-off with no clean answer This is a small, facilitated working session (max 3 participants). We take real decisions and think them through properly. Not networking. Not theory. Not pitching. Structured thinking. ### Format • 3 participants • Each brings one real decision • We clarify the actual problem • Separate facts from assumptions • Map options and consequences • Identify trade-offs • Define the next move

Join fellow product people at The Product Group London on **Thu 2nd April** for an evening of learning, sharing and networking. **Topic of the Night: Product Outcomes Over Outputs** Product management is changing to be much more focused on achieving quantifiable outcomes over outputs and hitting dates. So how do product people make the shift and stay in the outcomes lane? On the night, we’ll explore what this really means incl. the important outcomes to focus on; making the culture shift to outcome focused; adjusting success metrics; using outcomes to drive product strategies, roadmaps, discovery and delivery; getting stakeholders onboard with a different way of thinking, and much more. **Featured Guest: Phil Hornby, Global Product Lead, ZF Group** Phil is a product leader, coach and technologist with over 20 years of experience across SaaS, IoT and Automotive. His career has spanned development, sales and operations, but product management is where he found his home, focusing on solving complex customer problems with scalable solutions. Today, Phil works as Global Product Lead at ZF, leading a tier 1 commercial vehicle diagnostics platform. As a senior IC, he works across multiple product teams to shape cohesive products that combine commercial thinking with deep technical expertise. He also founded a ZF community of practice to connect and grow digital product professionals. Alongside his ZF role, Phil continues to coach product leaders and teams, having supported thousands of individuals across hundreds of companies. He is known for helping people think clearly, make better decisions and take action that drives real impact. Phil is also a regular speaker and co-host of the Talking Roadmaps podcast. **About The Product Group London** The Product Group London is a monthly meetup designed to bring product people of all levels together for topical discussions, as a group and with our guest speakers. With attendees from startups to large enterprises, there is no shortage of opportunities to network and make new connections. And whilst the focus is on product management, we welcome product designers and engineers to join for some friendly and lively discussions. **A word about our sponsor and host, BrainStation** [BrainStation](https://brainstation.io/london) is a global leader in digital skills training, empowering businesses and brands to succeed in the digital age. Established in 2012, BrainStation has worked with over 500 instructors from the most innovative companies, developing cutting-edge, real-world digital education that has empowered professionals and some of the largest corporations in the world.

Come and join us every week day from 12.45pm - 2.45pm. Classes for levels elementary to upper-intermediate (A1+ - B2+) Improve your fluency, listening and reading comprehension, grammar and vocabulary with our friendly classes. No payment needed - the classes are **completely free** because the teachers are training with a University of Cambridge accredited program. Join us at 24 Great Chapel St, London, W1F 8FS Take the level test in advance for more information about classes for your level (link to the level test: https://forms.gle/mn3hqUgo3BRLyAUi7) and wait for up to one business day for more information. OR Come 15 minutes early on your first day to do a quick speaking test and find your classroom. See you soon!

Welcome to our second London meetup of 2026, where we discuss Gen AI and Kubernetes! Details below: **Location:** Civo Tech Junction, First Floor, 32-37 Cowper St, London EC2A 4AW **Time:** Doors open at 6PM **Drinks, snacks, talks, and networking.** We’re excited to invite you to our second in-person **DevOps Society Meetup** of 2026, proudly **sponsored by Cast AI**. This event is focussed around Gen AI and Kubernetes, with two really exciting speakers lined up for this one in Carly and Kunal. Format of the Meetup: 6:00pm – 6:30pm — Networking on arrival, with food and drinks provided by CastAI 6:30pm – 7:10pm — First speaker + Q&A 7:10pm – 7:20pm — Break for refreshments and networking 7:20pm – 8:00pm — Second speaker + Q&A 8:00pm onwards — More networking at the venue, then at a nearby pub. *Timings can vary slightly depending on Q&A.* We’re excited to welcome everyone to our next DevOps Society London meetup, where we’ll be diving into two incredibly relevant topics in modern infrastructure: observing GenAI applications in production and optimising Kubernetes clusters. We’ll be joined by two brilliant speakers from the ecosystem who are working at the forefront of developer tooling and cloud infrastructure. As always, expect a relaxed evening of technical learning, discussion, and networking with fellow engineers from across the London tech community. *** ## 🎤 Speaker 1 - Carly Richmond **Developer Advocate Lead @ Elastic** ### Observing AI Applications with OpenLit and OpenTelemetry Observability is the ability to measure the current state of a system. With the rapid emergence of LLMs and GenAI applications moving into production, teams now need deeper insight into how these systems behave in real-world environments. In this talk, Carly will explore best practices for observing production AI applications, covering how engineers can capture logs, traces, and metrics to better understand how LLMs interact within their application ecosystem. She’ll walk through a real example of instrumenting an AI agent application written in TypeScript, using OpenLit to generate OpenTelemetry signals. The session will show the types of telemetry data teams can capture to identify usage patterns, detect errors, and troubleshoot issues commonly seen in production GenAI applications. ### About Carly Carly Richmond is Developer Advocate Lead at Elastic, based in London. She’s a UI developer who also writes backend services, a keynote speaker, and a tech writer who is passionate about helping developers build better systems. Outside of tech, Carly enjoys cooking, photography, drinking tea, and chasing after her young son. *** ## 🎤 Speaker 2 - Kunal Kushwaha **Senior Developer Advocate @ CAST AI** ### Optimizing Kubernetes and Unlocking Blockers with Container Live Migration Kubernetes promises automation, yet most clusters run at around **10% CPU utilisation**, leaving large amounts of infrastructure sitting idle. With endless instance types, constantly shifting prices, and the complexity of modern workloads, maintaining efficient clusters can quickly become a full-time job. In this talk, Kunal explores the real-world challenges teams face when running Kubernetes in production. He’ll cover where Kubernetes automation works well, where it falls short, and why optimisation remains difficult for many teams. Topics include: * Why most Kubernetes clusters are underutilised * The realities of autoscaling in production environments * Challenges around instance types and Spot capacity * Common mistakes teams make with HPA and VPA Once these challenges are laid out, Kunal introduces Container Live Migration as a way to overcome some of these long-standing blockers. To bring the concept to life, he’ll run a live technical demo where Pods running a small video game are migrated across nodes in real time, while the audience participates. The game continues running without downtime, demonstrating how live migration can improve cluster efficiency without disrupting workloads. Please register below to secure your spot. Spaces are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. We’re really looking forward to getting the community back together again for our first event of 2026. [Our slack community](https://join.slack.com/t/devopssociety/shared_invite/zt-3mswuylw7-MhJg1IZ70rX_GpJTluG2Cw) \- join in and introduce yourself\! [Our Youtube Channel ](https://www.youtube.com/@DevOpsSociety)for regular podcasts with DevOps professionals + more DevOps content. [Website](https://thedevopsociety.com/) [To partner with us](https://thedevopsociety.com/partnerships) CAST AI website - https://cast.ai/ Thanks! From the DevOps Society team [Ben](https://www.linkedin.com/in/benwhitmarsh/) and [Vytas](https://www.linkedin.com/in/vytasdevops/)

We are excited to announce our upcoming Spring Community Showcase. This event is an opportunity for individuals at all skill levels to come together and share their experiences with Rust. Whether you’re working on a personal project, contributing to an open-source initiative, or teaching a concept related to Rust, we invite you to present your work and insights. Take this opportunity to build your confidence and share what you are doing. Speakers === If you would like to give a presentation, please send Ernest a direct message with your talk title and a brief abstract of approximately 60 words. Each presentation will last about 25 minutes, followed by 5 minutes for questions and answers, for a total of 30 minutes. We have four slots available this month. **Dan Groshev** Okmain Library: You have an image, but you want a colour How do you pick a colour that represents an image but also looks good? Dan will talk about his Okmain library, colour science, auto-vectorisation, SIMD, and his experience building it in Rust and PyO3. **Jérôme Étévé** Mockapot: A percolator library in Rust Jérôme is the author of the Mokcaccino library, which started as a way to marry my interests for Rust and for search technology. He will discuss the design, the tricky aspects of Rust he learned along the way, and how Rust and Python complement each other. **Evadne Wu** JavaScript Sandboxing using Deno on top of Elixir & Erlang/OTP. Intelligent AI agents can write code that calls existing APIs in secure sandboxes, allowing higher token efficiency, better performance, and lower per-turn latency. Deno’s primitives in Rust can be integrated into such an agent harness, utilising the Elixir programming language and the Erlang/OTP runtime, which allows you to construct agentic systems that are massively concurrent and fault-tolerant.

Your survival depends on knowing who you can rely on. But how can you tell who your real friends are? How can you determine if a person will help make a joint venture successful? Is there a way to predict behavior? Yes. There are fundamental elements to human behavior. When you know them you have insight into your fellow man, and just by observing how people act, you will know *everything* about them. #### On this lecture you will learn: * The important role of trust in human relationships. * The Hubbard Chart of Human Evaluation—the tool to know true character and predict what people will do. * How to evaluate others accurately and guarantee a more certain future for yourself and those you care about. With the knowledge you learn on this course, you will have tools to know who you can trust and who you can depend on. *“Trustworthiness is a highly esteemed commodity. When one has it, one is considered valuable. When one has lost it, one may be considered worthless.”* *—L. Ron Hubbard*

Following the popularity of the Friday afternoon class at Le Pain Quotidien in Notting Hill, this is a NEW, MORNING mini-group class for a maximum of 4 students. The numbers are small so that everyone gets lots of opportunity to speak and be corrected by a native British English speaker (me!) We switch topics as the conversation flows, so that you can get used to talking about a variety of subjects, as you have to in everyday conversations with native speakers. I really look forward to welcoming you to this mini-group and helping you with your English!

**​Founders Running Club (FRC)** brings founders, investors, tech, creative people and startup enthusiasts together for weekly easy runs and networking. We like to be comfortable when we run and finish with coffee and conversations. Choose your pace or follow a pacer—pets, friends, family, are welcome. ​9:15 Bag drop at the Regent's Bar and Kitchen, Regent's Park: https://maps.app.goo.gl/MmZdAVM8yXT9euKc7 ​9:30 Warm Up starts at the Inner Circle & York Bridge, South Gate: [https://maps.app.goo.gl/qw45ehLmDQY7maMD6](https://maps.app.goo.gl/qw45ehLmDQY7maMD6) 🗓️ Launched in San Francisco, July 16, 2022 🌍 Now in 27 cities 📅 Running + Networking events + Community **Join the community [http://foundersrc.com/chats](http://foundersrc.com/chats)** **Stay updated:** **Instagram [http://instagram.com/foundersrc/](http://instagram.com/foundersrc/)** **Podcast [http://podcast.foundersrc.com/](http://podcast.foundersrc.com/)** **LinkedIn [http://linkedin.com/company/foundersrc/](http://linkedin.com/company/foundersrc/)** **Strava [http://strava.com/clubs/foundersRC](http://strava.com/clubs/foundersRC)** **Website [http://foundersrc.com/](http://foundersrc.com/)**

Welcome to our **Free Event - Master the Art of Communication**! Join us at the Church of Scientology **Life Improvement Centre** to learn valuable basics of communication and skills that will help you in both your personal and professional life. During this event, you will learn some fundamentals of communication - what is it, what are the vital parts of the communication formula.... and have the opportunity to participate in these new skills. Hear from trained and experienced communicators, and practice communication techniques in a supportive environment. Whether you struggle with public speaking, conflict resolution, or simply want to improve your relationships, this is for you! Come and discover the power of knowledge and how to achieve effective communication. Find out how you could guide and control communication in your life! Don't miss out on this opportunity to enhance your communication abilities and connect with like-minded individuals. We look forward to seeing you here!

Circling is a present-moment relational awareness practice. We’re bringing our attention to what’s unfolding in real time, repeatedly returning to what’s happening within ourselves, between us and in the shared space of the group. We practice approaching our own experience and the experience of others with curiosity, becoming more aware of the subtleties of what is present. The emphasis is on staying in contact with your experience as it unfolds. The unfolding may be quiet and internal or it may lead to words – naming sensations, thoughts, emotions, impulses or perceptions. It might also include movement or other non-verbal expression. The idea is not to try to change what’s there, but to become more aware of what it is and how we are meeting it and relating to it in the moment. Often awareness follows expression and this is okay too. We are all swimming in the ocean of the unknown. Occasionally the whale lifts its head above the surface and we catch a glimpse – a moment of seeing something about ourselves that we hadn’t noticed before. Over time, many people find that this kind of awareness practice deepens their sense of aliveness and helps them notice patterns in how they relate to themselves and others. With ongoing practice, some people discover an increased capacity to be with themselves and others in a more conscious, grounded, flexible and responsive way – where we can experience ourselves as active participants in our lives rather than passive reactors to what is happening internally or around us. Both those new to Circling and those with more experience are very welcome. **To reserve your place, transfer £18 via my eventbrite page:** **[https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/robyn-wilford-29457876735](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/robyn-wilford-29457876735)** Any questions, please direct message me here or email: [robyncontact365@gmail.com](http://robyncontact365@gmail.com) We’ll start at 7pm (arrive from 6.50pm) and will finish at 9pm. There will be some optional hang out time after 9pm. Opposite Elephant & Castle tube and Thameslink train station, and numerous bus routes. **Facilitation and Terms of Service** This is a facilitated group practice but not group therapy and not psychotherapy. Because of my NARM background and own personal journey, I value personal choice, agency and emergent self-awareness. Participants are encouraged to stay connected to their own pace and to keep checking in with themselves throughout the practice – noticing what feels supportive, what feels like too much, and what they may need in any moment. There’s no expectation to be vulnerable or to share anything that feels too personal or emotional and you are always welcome to speak, remain silent, pause, step back and take a break, leave or ask for what you want, including asking for support. Participants are also invited to respect one another’s pace and boundaries. The intention of my Circling leadership is to support myself and people in staying present with their experience while in relationship with others, and to develop greater awareness of how they are meeting that experience. Having said that, like solo meditation, it’s normal that we will all repeatedly lose presence and Circling can sometimes evoke strong emotions or reactions in people which can be difficult for them and challenging for others in the space to navigate. If you find the prospect of this potentially destabilising or overwhelming, or if you are currently experiencing significant emotional distress or instability in your life that might be exacerbated by this type of group environment, or if you are unsure you’ll be able to take care of yourself and ensure the practice works for you, then please contact me before registering so we can discuss further. By registering you acknowledge that you have read and agree to the above.

You want to do your best! You want to realise your potential! You want to make the right decisions at the right time! Obviously- you want to be a success! Do you have all the skills in place? Do you have areas in your life or personality that are weaker and you feel can stop you or hold you back? Would you like a free personal consultation to help locate your strengths and weaker areas? We can help you to maximise on your potential. If you would like a free 1 hour consult then register now! We have various times available for your own personal consultation This is hosted at the Scientology Life Improvement Centre in London. We use the Oxford Capacity Analysis test. https://www.scientology-london.org.uk/personality-test/

\#\#\#\# Step 1: TAKE THE TEST The Oxford Capacity Analysis identifies 10 vital personality traits that influence your entire future. It is a factual, scientific analysis taken from your answers, and it takes about an hour to complete. \#\#\#\# Step 2: GET YOUR RESULTS After you complete the test, your personality analysis is generated and displayed. Within minutes your analysis will highlight your strengths and weaknesses—which personality traits to take advantage of and which need help. \#\#\#\# Step 3: CONSULTATION While the analysis graph shows distinct personality traits, it is the interrelationship of these traits that provides the greater picture of your personality. We provide a complimentary consultation with one of our trained staff, who will give a detailed evaluation of your personality analysis. In this one-on-one consultation, you gain a better understanding of your personality strengths and weaknesses, and establish the recommended path to your fast and lasting success.

Your survival depends on knowing who you can rely on. But how can you tell who your real friends are? How can you determine if a person will help make a joint venture successful? Is there a way to predict behavior? Yes. There are fundamental elements to human behavior. When you know them you have insight into your fellow man, and just by observing how people act, you will know *everything* about them. #### On this lecture you will learn: * The important role of trust in human relationships. * The Hubbard Chart of Human Evaluation—the tool to know true character and predict what people will do. * How to evaluate others accurately and guarantee a more certain future for yourself and those you care about. With the knowledge you learn on this course, you will have tools to know who you can trust and who you can depend on. *“Trustworthiness is a highly esteemed commodity. When one has it, one is considered valuable. When one has lost it, one may be considered worthless.”* *—L. Ron Hubbard*

**The Data-Driven Brand: Using Analytics to Shape Perception** Can you use analytics to improve tacos? This being CBUSDAW, we think the answer is probably “yes”, but we’re not sure how to implement or test this theory. For our April meetup we’ve got Sara Kear, CMO of Condado Tacos, to investigate this delicious question. Sara will explore how she blends quantitative data and qualitative customer feedback to shape brand positioning and drive business decisions. We all know that marketing and analytics go way beyond attribution. Sara will show how Condado uses customer insights to inform product and pricing strategy. She’ll also highlight how Condado leverages customer feedback at scale to influence operational priorities, positioning marketing as the voice of the customer across the organization. In the last 12 years Condado has gone from one location in Columbus to 52 locations across 10 states, so we’re guessing there’s more to that growth than really good guac (though the guac probably helps). Ultimately, this talk focuses on the intersection of art and science—using data to inform creativity and build a brand that resonates with customers in a measurable way. **About Our Speaker** Sara Kear is Chief Marketing Officer at Condado Tacos, where she oversees brand, restaurant design, menu and pricing strategy, off-premise including catering, and customer data strategy. Since joining in 2021, she has helped grow the brand from 19 to 52 locations while building a data-driven marketing organization focused on loyalty and customer insights. Condado has since been named to the Inc. 5000, recognized as Breakout Retailer by Chain Store Age, and consistently ranked among FastCasual’s Top 100 Movers & Shakers. Thanks to our 2026 sponsors: [Clarivoy](https://www.clarivoy.com), [What Box Consulting Group](https://www.whatboxconsultinggroup.com), [Conductrics](https://www.conductrics.com), and [Piwik PRO](https://piwik.pro) More info at [cbusdaw.com](https://cbusdaw.com)

This is a free, in-person meeting on the subject of betrayals, losses and how to get over them so you can build lasting relationships. Burdened by a stressful relationship? Unhealthy relationships can trigger feelings of anger, despair or self-doubt. They can create dwindling spirals of fights and seeking to make-up, or trying to “pin the blame” on someone or something. If you don’t find the RIGHT reasons, or select the correct sources of the problem, the problem can just get worse and worse. Whether in love or personal ties, with friends or at work, our life really IS affected by the quality of our relationships. Good ones can promote pleasure and survival while less optimum ones can lead to annoyance, anger, self-doubt, stress, or even affect our health and ability to survive well. Whether you are suffering from a divorce, or a painful break-up, don’t know who to trust (or who to CHOOSE) as a partner, friend, boss or employee - the anxiety of relationship troubles can really make a mess of things. Maybe you’ve suffered a betrayal, or are dealing with hostility or criticalness or invalidation. Dwindling relationships can involve destructive behavior, where we hurt those we love, or start succumbing to self-destructive thoughts, attitudes or behaviors that spiral out of control and affect much more than our immediate relationship. Past losses in love or life can affect how we act or react to new people and situations and hold us back from even starting to create new, possibly great relationships! How can one get back onto a saner course of action? Come to our Meetup, where we can introduce you to some of the knowledge, tools and techniques of the breakthroughs in the field of the mind that we can apply to this ever important area of life: human relationships! Break free from self imposed limitations Here we will discuss: • How to “erase” the trauma of past hurts and betrayals so that one isn’t always repeating past mistakes. • Why and how do the negative emotions of others affect you? • Why is my partner withdrawing and what can I do about it? • Why do we sometimes feel compelled to hurt the ones we love? • Fights & arguments - what's really behind them? • What underlies “corrosive criticism” or the need to invalidate self or others? • How one can stably change one’s outlook on life so they can affect positive change? • Where do compulsive destructive behaviors come from and what can be done about them? • How to form closer bonds & keep growing the relationships with the people you care about? • How to enhance one’s own ability to survive and create positive healthy relationships whether in love, family & friendships or in work, business or one’s career? Relationships can be hard and life itself IS challenging. Why not arm yourself with the knowledge and breakthroughs that have been made about the mind, mental reactions & interpersonal relationships, so that one has better awareness and control over themselves and life in general. Learn where painful experiences are “stored” and how they can unknowingly affect us. You will also find out how one can “erase” those past painful experiences so that one is free to move forward without being tripped up by the past. Learn too, about what can lead some people to become “toxic” personalities and how to identify those traits in others so you won’t be tripped up trusting the wrong person. Our free Meet-ups occur in a safe environment where one can learn, without fear of judgment or criticism, and without the recommendation of harmful mental techniques or therapies, just how YOU can get yourself onto a happier & more successful path: in love & in life. We look forward to having you join us! This class is sponsored by the Dianetics & Scientology Life Improvement Center of Central Ohio.

Pay attention! We’re delaying a week for those of you who may be on Spring break and/or celebrating the holiday. Ok, no pancakes, but waffles-a-plenty. Join the local UX and Digital Design community for a casual monthly breakfast. Look for us upstairs!

Attend a free seminar on how to have successful and lasting relationships. At this seminar you will learn: How to spot and handle negative and toxic relationships. How to get through the "rough patches" in a relationship. How to choose the right people to work with. The three things that make or break any relationship. How to make a good relationship great. All are welcome. Be sure to click on the red "Attend" button below to come to this local event. We look forward to seeing you there. Hosted by the Dianetics and Scientology Life Improvement Center of Central Ohio.

The global Azure community is coming together again, and Columbus is officially on the map. View the session lineup and speakers at [Global Azure Columbus 2026](https://coazure.github.io/cbus-global-azure-2026/) On **Saturday, April 18, 2026**, the Azure Columbus Meetup, DevOps Meetup, and Code and Coffee Meetup are hosting our local edition of Global Azure 2026. This is a free, community-driven event packed with learning, networking, and all things Microsoft Azure. Whether you’re building modern cloud-native apps, experimenting with AI agents, deploying containers, automating infrastructure, or just beginning your Azure journey, this event is for you! **What to Expect** * Engaging technical sessions * Real-world Azure architecture & cloud-native patterns * AI, agents, automation, and modern DevOps * Food and drinks (because learning burns calories) * Time to connect with fellow engineers, architects, and cloud enthusiasts **Who Should Attend?** * Software engineers (any language, any stack) * Cloud architects * DevOps engineers * Data professionals * AI explorers * Platform builders * Anyone who loves solving hard problems with great tools If you build, deploy, automate, scale, monitor, or optimize in Azure, you’ll feel right at home. **Why Global Azure?** Global Azure is a worldwide community event where Azure user groups host learning sessions on the same day across the globe. It’s grassroots. It’s technical. It’s practical. And it’s powered by people who genuinely love sharing what they’ve learned. And yes, it’s free to attend!

Calling all founders, CEOs, lawyers, doctors, and entrepreneurs to join our special *Founder Edition* of Sip & Read meetup event. Let's sip on fine wine and discuss our first book **The 5AM Club- Own Your Morning Elevate Your Life, by Robin Sharma**. We will pair this book with our favorite wine at **Wine on High** and engage in thought-provoking discussions on startup businesses and entrepreneurship, and network with like-minded individuals in a cozy book club setting. Come prepared to discuss this month's book. At the end of each book club meeting, we will take next book and venue suggestions from the participants for the next meeting. Whether you are a book lover, women entrepreneur, or a content creator, this event is perfect for sharing ideas and insights with other funders and founders in the entrepreneurial world. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to connect, learn, and grow together. Sign up now to reserve your spot! *Fun fact! This meetup was established in 2015 and had over 1,000 members. I had to shut down operations while attending law school, but we're back!!*

Central Ohio Radio Enthusiasts—CORE—is an informal community for anyone enthusiastic or curious about radio—whether you're new to radio and want to learn or you've been tinkering for years and want to share. Ham radio operators, GMRS users, Meshtastic fans, software-defined radio nerds, makers, and technical and non-technical folks are all welcome. No experience required or expected. This month we have **WiFi HaLow: Introduction and Practical Use** with **Alex Barbur**. Details are are [core.radio](https://core.radio).