Research & Development Engineer

​Join **Orchestra**, **Tracer** and **Lightdash** for an in-person evening with London’s data engineering community. ​This event is built for **data engineers, analytics engineers, and platform teams** who enjoy going deep on real technical topics — from modern data stack architecture to reliability, observability, orchestration, and the practical lessons learned from running pipelines in production. ​Expect a relaxed atmosphere, good people, and plenty of time for conversation (with free 🍕 & 🍻). IMPORTANT: MEETUP IS TRYING TO BLEED US ALL DRY SO PLEASE [SIGNUP ON LUMA](https://luma.com/ml500u2m) AND SUBSCRIBE TO THE CALENDAR THERE. IF YOU DONT SIGN UP WE CANT GUARANTEE YOUR SPOT! [https://luma.com/ml500u2m](https://luma.com/ml500u2m) ​**Agenda** ​**6:00 – 6:30pm:** Arrivals, drinks, networking **6:30 – 7:30pm:** Technical talks + Q&A **7:30pm onwards:** Networking **Technical Speakers** * ​Data @ The Economist - **[Luca de Michele](https://www.linkedin.com/in/luca-de-michele-232432148)** * Data @ Lawhive - **[Pablo Fernandez](https://www.linkedin.com/in/pablofergui/) (Head of Data)** * ​**TBA** ​**Who should attend** * ​Data Engineers & Analytics Engineers * ​Platform Infrastructure Data Ops teams * ​Anyone building, scaling, or maintaining production data pipelines

We're hosting our first meetup of 2026 in collaboration with our friends from **DevSecOps London Gathering**. We'll be generously hosted at the AutogenAI offices near King's Cross, and we'll feature two talks that should be of interest to both audiences. **6:00pm - Arrival** **6:45pm - Introductions** **7:00pm - The Talks** **Concrete Evidence: Two Races, One RCE** - [Adrian Tiron](https://www.linkedin.com/in/tironadrian/) Concrete CMS, a popular open-source content management system, contains a critical flaw in its file upload functionality that can be exploited in two distinct ways. This talk demonstrates how a single upload can lead to a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF), allowing access to internal cloud resources, and a double race condition that enables Remote Code Execution (RCE) via a malicious backdoor. We’ll walk through the exploitation process, show how existing protections can be bypassed, and highlight practical steps to secure file upload mechanisms in real-world applications. Adrian is the Co-Founder and Principal Pentester/Red Teamer at Fortbridge, bringing over 20 years of hands-on experience in cybersecurity. Adrian is known for delivering highly technical, practical content drawn from real-world assessments, and is passionate about pushing the boundaries of modern application security. **Keeping login from taking down your product with an SRE approach to auth –** [Viola Lykova](https://www.linkedin.com/in/violaly/) Treat authentication as a production-critical system with its own failure modes and operational risks. In this talk, I break down real-world auth incidents involving JWKS rotation errors, refresh token storms, clock drift, and session store outages. I show how to define SLIs and SLOs that measure user impact and how to build monitoring and alerting that expose real reliability problems. I demonstrate practical guardrails such as token caching, exponential backoff with jitter, circuit breakers, and feature-flagged degraded modes. Finally, I walk through an incident runbook that helps teams diagnose, mitigate, and recover from authentication failures safely and quickly. Viola is a Senior Software Engineer in fintech with an SRE mindset, focused on authentication as a production system. I care about reliability, incident patterns, and the kind of testing that still holds up when traffic spikes, dependencies misbehave, or keys rotate at the worst possible time. Viola speaks on practical auth topics across security and reliability. **Participate in a future Meetup** If you'd like to speak at a future meetup, or if you are able to host or sponsor the event, please fill in this [form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1FYGHEWTeBb5vVztGGg2YoUJmKR03o9mZaFIghf6vjzo/viewform?edit_requested=true) and we'll get back to you.

👋 General Info Hi friends, We’re excited to kick off our next React meetup on **February 18**! Join us for an evening of practical insights, great conversations, and community vibes — from real-world React talks to networking with fellow engineers. **🗣 Call for Proposals** Have an idea or story to share? Submit your talk proposal through our[ ](https://forms.gle/8gZfT3Qkfd71CxyK6)[CFP form](https://forms.gle/rCiQ8Y4jajiC8AHMA) and take the stage at one of our upcoming meetups! **🤝 Organized by** This event made possible thanks to the support from[ React Summit](https://reactsummit.com/) and[ JSNation](https://jsnation.com/) organizers –[ GitNation](https://portal.gitnation.org/). **🤝 Hosted by** Huge friends to our friends [Figma](https://www.figma.com/) Figma is a browser-based design and prototyping tool enabling real-collaboration. Built for developers, Figma's Dev Mode gives you the power to easily inspect designs and translate them into code—without changing the design file. Headquartered in San Francisco, in 2020 Figma opened its EMEA HQ in London. We’re a team of makers who celebrate our differences and share a passion for our community. Our London based engineering team is growing quickly and working on some of Figma's top company priorities. 🤝 **Want to support our community?** We’re looking for venue partners and sponsors for future meetups. Let’s discuss collaboration — [contact us](https://forms.gle/zWYxsanfbhV64dEr5)! **🕑 Event Schedule** * 18:00 - Doors open - snacks, beer, socialization * 18:50 - Opening notes * 19:00 - **The Lost Art of Debugging: Why Your Browser is Smarter than AI - [Abdullah Ola Mudathir](https://www.linkedin.com/in/cruxcodes/)** * 19:25 - **Why Your Marketing Scripts and Cookie Banners Are Ruining Your Lighthouse Scores - [Christopher Burns](https://www.linkedin.com/in/burnedchris/)** * **19:50 - Networking, Open Mic Lightning Talks** * Mingle until 21:00 pm 🗣️ **Talks** ➡️ **The Lost Art of Debugging: Why Your Browser is Smarter than AI - [Abdullah Ola Mudathir](https://www.linkedin.com/in/cruxcodes/)** *The easiest thing to do is often what causes hours of debugging down the line. With LLMs becoming increasingly normalized in the industry, an overreliance on them can allow bugs to slip through the cracks.* *In this talk, I'll demonstrate a practical debugging workflow: Debug first. Prompt second. I'll show how browser DevTools reveal what's actually happening faster than any AI can guess.* *You'll learn:* * *Essential DevTools features that improve your bug-fixing prowess* * *When to reach for your browser and when AI can actually help* * *The almost forgotten art of breakpoints and strategic console messages* *AI in your codebase represents growth, but understanding your runtime state represents mastery. This talk is about balancing both and knowing which tool to reach for first.* ➡️ **Why Your Marketing Scripts and Cookie Banners Are Ruining Your Lighthouse Scores - [Christopher Burns](https://www.linkedin.com/in/burnedchris/)** *Most marketing scripts and cookie banners run on the critical path. They block the main thread, delay first paint, and inject third-party code before the page is interactive.* *Consent managers often make this worse by synchronously loading vendors, mutating the DOM repeatedly, and re-hydrating UI after page load. The result is slower LCP, higher TBT, and unstable CLS.* *The fix is not fewer scripts, it is better orchestration. Treat consent as infrastructure, load vendors after intent, and keep compliance off the critical path.* — **👍 Code of Conduct** By registering for this event you agree to comply with our [CoC](https://gitnation.com/coc) **📩 Contact** events@gitnation.org https://twitter.com/ReactAdvanced http://youtube.com/ReactConferences https://bsky.app/profile/reactadvanced.gitnation.org

**BOOK YOUR FREE TICKET TODAY** Are you looking to take your business skills to the next level? Join us at the London Self Development & Business Tips Group for an empowering event focused on boosting your professional development. Our speakers will share valuable insights on communication skills, personal development, motivation, and success. Learn effective strategies for self-empowerment and gain practical tips for enhancing your business strategy. Whether you're an entrepreneur, professional, or someone looking to improve yourself, this event is designed to help you build confidence, develop self-esteem, and achieve your goals. Don't miss this opportunity to network with like-minded individuals and take charge of your self-help and self-improvement journey. Invest in your future success and register today! Note: This event is open to all levels of experience and backgrounds. Join us and discover the power within you to become a confident and successful individual in both your personal and professional life. *Hosted by Dianetics & Scientology Life Improvement Centre, London.*

Elixir London Meetup; February 2026 edition. All are welcome. **Session 1: Bryan Hunt - Faria Data Platform: Building a data platform in Elixir** How to build an ETL pipeline using Amazon Athena, and Elixir: techniques, tools, UX, lessons learned. **Session 2: Christoph Beck** **\- Structured Generation and Logits Processing with Elixir** Ever tried to get a poem from an LLM doesn't contain the letter \`e\`? Large Language Models are kind of amazing and surprisingly unreliable at the same time. Using Elixir's Bumblebee and open source LLMs, you can get much better control over the generation. We introduce you to logits processing, and how it can be used to achieve what ChatGPT can not accomplish. *The event is kindly sponsored by* [Verna](https://verna.earth). **Time** Doors open at 18, start at 18.30. **Venue** Geovation F4, Sutton Yard, 65 Goswell Rd., London EC1V 7EN **Refreshments** Food and drinks will be provisioned on the day. **IMPORTANT**: **If you wish to take photos and post online during the event, please notify organisers first, so that attendees can opt-out from being in photos.**

We are delighted to announce an evening of demos and a roundtable discussion on what you want to see from the meetups. There is also still time to feedback with the link below [Umbraco London Meetup Questionnaire](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfISk1q_ZEoN82_vhiBeWwuVG3fUUB4uqkK-PqWtArajUErJw/viewform) We are welcome from 18:30, we shall look to get started around 18:45. We'll finish by 21:00 when we take the conversations to a local pub. \-\-\-\-\- **Experiments in V17** *by Matt Bliss - Technical Director* Matt will guide us through some of his experimentation in V17 and his learnings. **AI: Am I Too old for this \*\*\*\* (stuff)** *by Andy Hawken* Andy asks the big questions and he's going to talk about his experiences with Claude AI in January and a bit of February too. **Meetup feedback rountable** *by Richard Thompson and the meetup team* Richard will run us through the results of the feedback survey on the meetup and we'll have a discussion on what people want to see from the meetups. \-\-\-\-\-\- This is Embrace will be kindly providing some refreshments. Space is a bit limited so if you realise you can't make it please be sure to change your RSVP to No in case there are people on the waiting list. \-\-\-\-\- If you would like to contribute to our meetups please in touch by email ([hello@umblondon.co.uk](hello@umblondon.co.uk)) - we are always looking for people to give talks, or London-based Umbraco agencies to host us for the evening. Please read the [Code of Conduct](https://bit.ly/UmbLondonCodeOfConduct) for all our events.

🏎️ **If you’re not automating yet… you probably are.** Be honest: how much of your job are you already secretly automating, and how much of it is just automation in disguise? In this session, **[Ellis Pratt](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellispratt/)**, director of **[Cherryleaf](https://www.cherryleaf.com/)**, will take a clear, no-hype look at automation in technical communication. He’ll rewind to where things stood just over a year ago, then discuss what’s changed since. We’ll explore how automation shows up across the technical writing lifecycle, and common pitfalls that come with it. Finally, we’ll look ahead. What does increasing automation really mean for our careers as technical writers and documentarians? Join us for an honest, practical conversation about what to automate, what not to, and how to stay relevant as the tools keep changing. **📣 This event is aimed at technical writers and those working in closely related roles. The discussion will focus on automation and AI specifically in the context of technical documentation and technical content workflows.** **When:** Thursday 19 February, from 6.30pm **Where:** The Yellow Room @ Remark! 18 Leather Lane, EC1N 7SU **What:** 18.30 - 19.00 Arrival 19.00 - 19.45 Presentation 19.45 - 20.00 Short break 20.00 - 20.45 Presentation 20.45 - 21.30 Networking *All times are approximate.* **Photos:** Note that the organizers will take some photos for the WTD group.

**Quick heads up: RSVPing here helps us gauge interest, but you’ll need to complete your registration on AI Camp to save your spot and get event updates. It only takes a minute. Sign up [here](https://www.aicamp.ai/event/eventdetails/W2026021910) and you’re all** **set**. **[https://www.aicamp.ai/event/eventdetails/W2026021910](https://www.aicamp.ai/event/eventdetails/W2026021910)** AI is already part of how developers work: Coding assistants. Autonomous agents. Background tasks. PR reviews. But in most companies, AI usage is either completely ungoverned or quietly blocked. This meetup is for developers who want to understand what AI governance actually means in practice, without turning their workflow into a compliance nightmare. We’ll focus on how teams are introducing guardrails that protect source code, credentials, and infrastructure while still letting developers move fast. No policy decks. No buzzwords. Just real examples of how AI agents are being used safely inside modern dev environments. **You’ll walk away with:** \- A clear understanding of what AI governance actually means for developers\, not just security teams \- Insight into why AI agents need different permissions than humans and where most teams get this wrong \- Practical examples of how guardrails can speed teams up instead of slowing them down \- A simple mental model you can apply whether you’re experimenting with AI locally or rolling it out across a team **Who this is for:** \- Beginner → intermediate software developers \- Platform engineers and DevOps folks supporting dev teams \- Anyone using \(or wanting to use\) AI tools beyond simple autocomplete **Agenda:** \* 6:00pm\~6:30pm: Checkin, Food and Networking \* 6:30pm\~6:45pm: Welcome/community update \* 6:45pm\~8:30pm: Tech talks and Q&A \* 8:30pm\~9:30pm: Open discussion & Mixer

**——————————** **Event Description:** **——————————** Welcome product enthusiasts! We're a meet-up group that hosts regular speaking events for those interested in the world of **digital products** and **doing things differently!** Each meet-up features new guests from some of the most influential product companies around the world, providing unique insights, tangible ideas, and new techniques to help drive change from the inside out. **————————** **Event Format:** **————————** 🚨 **This is an in-person event only.** 🚨 **————** **Venue:** **————** **Our Product Unleashed London Event:** We are hosted in the beautiful event space @ **[Accurx](https://www.accurx.com/)** We're looking forward to seeing you there! **———————** **What to expect:** ⚡ This event will be made up of 3 X speakers dropping knowledge bombs in the form of 20 minute talks straight into your minds 🤯 **———————** **SPEAKER 1** **———————** **Micaela Dixon** Micaela Dixon is a Senior Product Designer at Picsart, working on AI-powered creative growth experiences used by millions of people worldwide. She specialises in designing human-centred AI systems that balance trust, delight, and user agency. Alongside her industry work, Micaela is the founder of The AI UX School, where she teaches designers how to confidently design, prototype, and think critically about AI products. Her work sits at the intersection of UX, AI, growth ethics, and product strategy. **————————** **About the Talk:** **————————** **Building Trust and Encouraging Critical Thinking: Designing AI Experiences That Do Both** In this talk, Micaela explores how teams can intentionally build AI experiences that create trust without encouraging blind reliance. Through real product examples and practical UX patterns, she shows how interaction design, language, feedback loops, and system transparency can help users stay engaged, informed, and thoughtful when working with AI. ***The session reframes trust not as “users believing the system,” but as users feeling supported, capable, and in control.*** **———————** **SPEAKER 2** **———————** **Erin Casali** Erin is a VP/Director of both product and design, with over 10 years of experience in each. She has a hybrid approach with design, product, and engineering in her background, and a skillset including psychology and change management. Her unique blend of skills, including psychology and change management, enables her to foster collaboration and break down silos. Driven by a passion for improving lives through her work, she empowers teams to reach their full potential. She advocates for purpose, transparency, and diversity, fostering a culture of trust and agency. **————————** **About the Talk:** **————————** **Engaging with genAI Beyond the Hype** The world of genAI is split between doomers and boomers (the other kind), where it can be really hard to distinguish between what’s useful and what’s not. According to one side, everything is amazing and our jobs are going to disappear soon. According to the other, genAI is evil and needs to be resisted at all costs. ***This talk will provide pragmatic tools to navigate the world of hype between the two sides, and define how to gain valuable skills.*** **———————** **SPEAKER 3** **———————** **Chris Compston** Chris is a London-based product coach who has led product operations for brands like Bumble, Farfetch and Reward Gateway. He specialises in designing Product Operating Models that drive organisation toward impact. A prolific speaker and writer, Chris focuses on how intentional, repeatable practices help modern product teams thrive. **————————** **About the Talk:** **————————** **How to Woo** How do you steer the ship when you aren't the captain? In product development, your success rarely depends on your ability to give orders. Instead, it relies on your ability to influence people that you have no direct power over. We often call this stakeholder management, but in reality, it is the art of the "Woo". An approachable, human way of winning people over to your side. In this talk, we will explore why the hard sell often leads to friction and how you can shift from pushing requirements to pulling people toward a shared vision. Drawing on real-world successes and failures from Bumble, Farfetch, and Reward Gateway, we’ll look at how to navigate conflicting interests and complex personalities. ***You will learn a practical approach to understanding hidden motivations, shaping the narrative around your ideas, and ultimately empowering others to feel they are making the right choice for themselves. The goal isn't just to get a yes. It is to build a partnership where everyone feels they’ve won.*** **—————————————** **Support from:** **—————————————** We are kindly hosted by our friends at Accurx. **——————————** **About your hosts:** **——————————** Product Unleashed is brought to you by your hosts **[John Griffin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-griffin-designer/)** and **[Dominic Port](https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-port/)**. The duo has worked on the design of products of all shapes and sizes and bring their energy and enthusiasm to this unique meet-up, packed with great guests and knowledge - for anyone interested in levelling up their game in the world of products.

This event is open to anyone who works in or is interested in the tech industry, whether you are a developer, designer, engineer, entrepreneur, student, or hobbyist. You will be able to meet new people, share your experiences, learn from others, and find potential collaborators or mentors. Attending our events earns you [Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points](https://gcs.civilservice.gov.uk/how-to-get-cpd-points). CPD offers numerous benefits, including skill enhancement, career progression, and up-to-date knowledge. It helps professionals stay competent, advance in their careers, and maintain professional credibility. We usually start around 2 p.m. at The Exmouth Arms, which offers a wide range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks to suit all tastes and burgers, sandwiches, and snacks to suit most dietary needs. The pub also offers a Lunch Special between 12 and 4pm for a Cheeseburger with fries for £9 & schooners for £4. It is worth noting that whilst the event is free, the food and drinks aren't. Come thirsty, curious, and ready to have a great time!

**Important:** Register on the [event website](https://www.aicamp.ai/event/eventdetails/W2026021910)[ ](https://www.aicamp.ai/event/eventdetails/W2025110510)is required for admission. We are excited to partner with Coder for a special edition of our AI Meetup in February, focusing on AI governance and compliance for developers. AI is already part of how developers work: Coding assistants. Autonomous agents. Background tasks. PR reviews. But in most companies, AI usage is either completely ungoverned or quietly blocked. This meetup is for developers who want to understand what AI governance actually means in practice, without turning their workflow into a compliance nightmare. We’ll focus on how teams are introducing guardrails that protect source code, credentials, and infrastructure while still letting developers move fast. No policy decks. No buzzwords. Just real examples of how AI agents are being used safely inside modern dev environments. **You’ll walk away with:** * \- A clear understanding of what AI governance actually means for developers\, not just security teams * \- Insight into why AI agents need different permissions than humans and where most teams get this wrong * \- Practical examples of how guardrails can speed teams up instead of slowing them down * \- A simple mental model you can apply whether you’re experimenting with AI locally or rolling it out across a team **Who this is for:** \- Beginner → intermediate software developers \- Platform engineers and DevOps folks supporting dev teams \- Anyone using \(or wanting to use\) AI tools beyond simple autocomplete **Agenda:** \* 6:00pm\~6:30pm: Checkin, Food and Networking \* 6:30pm\~6:45pm: Welcome/community update \* 6:45pm\~8:30pm: Tech talks and Q&A \* 8:30pm\~9:30pm: Open discussion & Mixer **Tech Talk: AI Governance for Developers** **Speaker:** Eric Paulsen, Field CTO, Coder **Abstract:** In this session, we will deep dive into AI governance for developers. We will explores the often-unseen risks developers face when using AI tools—from unintended data exposure to tool lock-in—and how teams can implement lightweight, developer-friendly governance. Learn how to build secure, standardized AI workflows that provide guardrails without slowing innovation, so you can ship with confidence. **Speakers/Topics:** Check the [event website](https://www.aicamp.ai/event/eventdetails/W2026021910) for speakers and topics. If you have a keen interest in speaking to our community, we invite you to submit topics for consideration: [Submit Topics](https://forms.gle/JkMt91CZRtoJBSFUA) **Sponsors:** We are actively seeking sponsors to support AI developers community. Whether it is by offering venue spaces, providing food, or cash sponsorship. Sponsors will not only speak at the meetups, receive prominent recognition, but also gain exposure to our extensive membership base of 20,000+ AI developers in London and 500K+ worldwide.

NOTE: This meetup is more technical than our normal subjects! Everyone is welcome to join but the content will be designed for developers and engineering leaders. Shaping our future with AI. Creating opportunity through AI fluency, connection and community. No jargon. No hype. No confusing terminology. **Join us for our next in-person meetup in London on Thursday February 19th.** Our theme for this meetup is **AI Coding the right way.** We'll be joined by Daniel Jones (AI Consultant, re:cinq) who has taught over 100 developers how to get the most of AI tools. Then we welcome a panel of engineering leaders to discuss the lessons they have learned on getting the best from their teams with new tools! **Where and When?** * Thursday, February 19th * Doors open at 18:00 * Talks start at 19:00 * Tessl HQ, 210 Pentonville Rd, London N1 9JY, UK **Talk: Agentic Coding For 100 Developers** (Daniel Jones) How has a $3b Stockholm SaaS company transitioned 100 developers to AI-native development over a few weeks? Deejay shares how he helped Odevo with exactly this, but the answer might be more than you expect - it involves just as much discovery and psychology and it does training. Learn about the social and business pre-requisites for such a transformation, the syllabus that enables developers to use multi-agent workflows, and how 'one-and-done' training is insufficient for this type of behavioural change. **About Deejay:** Deejay is an AI Consultant at re:cinq, and has over a decade of experience in assisting organisations with tech transformation. He's been a developer, manager, entrepreneur, keynote speaker, father, bassist, martial arts instructor, games developer, and wearer of a rather silly moustache. **Expert Panel: Leading Dev Teams Through AI Adoptions** There are no right answers but there is certainly a lot of talk about when it comes to adopting AI coding tools in the right way. This expert panel will share the lessons they've learnt so far and what's working for their teams. * Norberto Lopes, VP Engineering, Incident.io * Corey Leigh Latislaw, Head of Engineering at JustEat Takeaway * Daniel Jones, AI Consultant, re:cinq **About Norberto** Norberto is focussed on the intersection of building technology and how humans behave and work together. Currently VP Engineering at Incident.io, Norberto has enjoyed a varied career from startups to large companies. Growing teams across IT, product delivery, security, data infrastructure, and infrastructure. Read Norberto's excellent blog here: [nlopes.dev](https://nlopes.dev/) **About Corey** Corey Leigh Latislaw is Head of Groceries and New Verticals at JustEat Takeaway and previously led AI adoption alongside her day job at Trainline and Kin + Carta. She believes the human capacity for creativity is key to thriving in the age of AI. **Code of Conduct** This event has a code of conduct that you can [review here.](https://aifortherestofus.live/code-of-conduct) **Providing Your Name and Email** To register for this event you'll be asked to provide your full name and email address. This is a requirement for building security so please provide your real name and email address. After the event you will be automatically subscribed to event updates from AI for the rest of us and AI Native Dev. You can unsubscribe at any time.

## Details Welcome to the DevSecOps London Gathering February Event on Wednesday 19 Feb in collaboration with London DevOps! We bring you two amazing talks, as well as the usual conversations, pizza and beer! 📍 **Hosted at Autogen AI, Pentonville Road, London** 📅 **Wednesday, 19 February** 🕕 **6:00–8:00 PM** ## Talk 1 **Abstract:** Concrete CMS, a popular open-source content management system, contains a critical flaw in its file upload functionality that can be exploited in two distinct ways. This talk demonstrates how a single upload can lead to a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF), allowing access to internal cloud resources, and a double race condition that enables Remote Code Execution (RCE) via a malicious backdoor. We’ll walk through the exploitation process, show how existing protections can be bypassed, and highlight practical steps to secure file upload mechanisms in real-world applications. ## Talk 2 **Abstract** Treat authentication as a production-critical system with its own failure modes and operational risks. In this talk, I break down real-world auth incidents involving JWKS rotation errors, refresh token storms, clock drift, and session store outages. I show how to define SLIs and SLOs that measure user impact and how to build monitoring and alerting that expose real reliability problems. I demonstrate practical guardrails such as token caching, exponential backoff with jitter, circuit breakers, and feature-flagged degraded modes. Finally, I walk through an incident runbook that helps teams diagnose, mitigate, and recover from authentication failures safely and quickly.

**Important time note:** Please plan on arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 as the elevators lock after 6 and you'll need to message us and we'll need to come get you. The building address is 4450 Bridge Park The entrance is 6620 Mooney St, Suite 400 You will need to scan your ID at the door to get a visitor badge. **Abstract** *Spec-Driven Development with GitHub Spec-Kit: From Intent to Implementation* Spec-driven development flips the traditional workflow on its head: instead of code being the source of truth, the specification becomes the backbone of design, collaboration, and delivery. In this session, we’ll explore how GitHub Spec-Kit enables teams to treat specifications as first-class artifacts—living documents that drive architecture, implementation, and verification. You’ll learn how Spec-Kit helps teams clearly express intent using structured, version-controlled specs that live alongside code. We’ll walk through a practical workflow that starts with defining system behavior and constraints, then progressively refines those specs into testable, automatable outcomes. Along the way, we’ll show how specs can reduce ambiguity, improve cross-functional collaboration, and make design decisions explicit before a single line of production code is written. This talk will cover: --What spec-driven development is (and what it isn’t) --How GitHub Spec-Kit fits into modern developer workflows --Using specs to align product, engineering, and AI-assisted development --Real-world examples of turning specs into implementations with confidence Whether you’re building greenfield systems, integrating AI into your stack, or trying to reduce costly rework, spec-driven development offers a scalable way to move faster without sacrificing clarity. Attendees will leave with concrete patterns and a clear mental model for adopting GitHub Spec-Kit in their own projects. **YouTube Link** TBA

Bring your Raspberry Pi, Arduino, microcontroller, or any other electronic project and join fellow electronics makers for a night of creativity and collaboration! This session is open forum to share your current projects—whether complete or in progress, it’s all interesting! Whether you’re deep into embedded systems, exploring new ideas, or just getting started, you’ll find a welcoming space to collaborate, share, and get inspired. (NOTICE - Location change!) This session will be at the Karl Road Branch of the Columbus Library in the Conference Room 2.

**Web Design Decoded: Tools, Practices, and Proven Processes:** **Semantic HTML** At WebDev Columbus, we are exploring some of the most important topics of professional high-end web design and page building. Primarily focused on site building in the WordPress environment, our group explores tools, tips, and techniques for building the best WordPress sites possible. Additionally, we focus on disciplines and technologies that take website design from visually appealing to optimized spaces for delivering you and/or your client's message effectively and with a nod towards extended reach. Each session combines practical demonstrations with real-world insights, giving you actionable knowledge you can apply immediately. Whether you're a seasoned developer looking to enhance your design skills or a newcomer wanting to understand design best practices, this series offers valuable insights for every skill level. **What to expect:** * Hands-on demonstrations of popular design tools * Best practices for design-to-development workflows * Tips for creating responsive, accessible designs * Real-world problem-solving scenarios * Interactive Q&A sessions * Networking opportunities with fellow developers **Each meetup features:** 60 minutes of focused presentation 30 minutes of live demonstrations 30 minutes for questions and discussion **See you there!** Our casual, collaborative environment encourages learning from both presenters and fellow attendees. Bring your questions, share your experiences, and connect with Central Ohio's web development community! **Stay tuned for specific session topics and dates.**

Join other experienced and aspiring agile coaches and professionals to: * develop and practice your coaching skills in a peer-to-peer environment * share current successes and challenges in your work environment and get support from each other * learn from each other, build better relationships and experiment with new ideas

Happy Holidays! The first Wednesday of January is 7th, and this is Orthodox Christmas. And i will be wishing everyone Merry Christmas in January, and i am sure many of you will be tired from all this socializing. That is why we are going to meet on February 4th. And we will continue discussing the Hot topic of our age an AI. We’ve spent the last few sessions learning how to *talk* to AI. We’ve mastered prompt engineering and "vibecoding" to build things faster. Now, it’s time for the next leap: **letting AI work for us while we sleep.** In this session, we are moving beyond simple chatbots to explore **Autonomous AI Agents.** Unlike standard tools that wait for you to type a command, Agents are designed to perceive a goal, plan a series of tasks, and execute them independently within your WordPress site. We will discuss **Generative vs. Agentic AI:** Understanding the shift from *"Write me a blog post"* to *"Monitor local Knoxville news and draft a weekly summary every Friday."* I am sure many of you have seen WordPress ads offering different Agentic tools like **Uncanny Automator**, **AI Engine**, or **n8n**. What do these tools do? How successful they are? And how implementable all these agents are for your current WordPress site? I will gather some info and make research. But please join us and bring your stories and experience on topic. See you!

Christians in Tech is a community at the intersection of faith and technology. Our meetups are designed to spark meaningful conversations, promote knowledge sharing, and encourage growth—both in your career and your spiritual walk with God. Whether you're an experienced professional or just starting your tech journey, CIT welcomes you. Our Website [https://linktr.ee/citcbus](https://linktr.ee/citcbus) Sponsors and Partners * Improving (Venue Sponsor) * Bethel World Prayer Center (Fiscal Sponsor) * Fruits & Roots (Coffee Partner)

Join the Columbus AI community for our quarterly gathering — a casual, community-focused evening where everyone has a chance to share, learn, and connect. These open mic–style events give anyone in the community up to **5 minutes** to present a project, share a tool, pose a question, or offer a perspective on the evolving AI space. No slides required — just a welcoming space to exchange ideas and keep the local AI conversation moving. If you’d like to take the stage, message **Chris (the organizer)** with a **title and short description** of what you’d like to share. Whether you’re deep in the field or just getting curious, come connect with others building and exploring AI in Columbus. Sponsored by [Transform Labs](https://www.transformlabs.com/services)