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Google SRE NYC proudly announces our last Google SRE NYC Tech Talk for 2025.

This event is co-sponsored by sentry.io. Thank you Sentry for your partnership!

Let's farewell 2025 with three amazing interactive short talks on Site Reliability and DevOps topics! As always the event will include an opportunity to mingle with the speakers and attendees over some light snacks and beverages after the talks.

The Meetup will take place on Tuesday, 16th of December 2025 at 6:00 PM at our Chelsea Markets office in NYC. The doors will open at 5:30 pm. Pls RSVP only if you're able to attend in-person, there will be no live streaming.

When RSVP'ing to this event, please enter your full name exactly as it appears on your government issued ID. You will be required to present your ID at check in.

Agenda: Paul Jaffre - Senior Developer Experience Engineer\, sentry.io One Trace to Rule Them All: Unifying Sentry Errors with OpenTelemetry tracing SREs face the challenge of operating reliable observability infrastructure while avoiding vendor lock-in from proprietary APM (Application Performance Monitoring) solutions. OpenTelemetry has become the standard for instrumenting applications, allowing teams to collect traces, metrics, and logs. But raw telemetry data isn't enough. SREs need tools to visualize, debug, and respond to production incidents quickly. Sentry now supports OTLP, enabling teams to send OpenTelemetry data directly to Sentry for analysis. This talk covers how Sentry's OTLP support works in practice: connecting frontend and backend traces across services, correlating logs with distributed traces, and using tools to identify slow queries and performance bottlenecks. We'll discuss the practical benefits for SREs, like faster incident resolution, better cross-team debugging, and the flexibility to change observability backends without re-instrumenting code. Paul’s background spans engineering, product management, UX design, and open source. He has a soft spot for dev tools and loses sleep over making things easy to understand and use. Paul has a dynamic professional background, from strategy to stability. His time at Krossover Intelligence established a strong foundation by blending Product Management with hands-on development, and he later focused on core reliability at MakerBot, where he implemented automated end-to-end testing and drove performance improvements. He then extended this expertise in stability and scale at Cypress.io, where he served as a Developer Experience Engineer, focusing on improving workflow, contribution, and usability for their widely adopted open-source community.

Thiara Ortiz - Cloud Gaming SRE Manager\, Netflix Managing Black Box Systems SREs often face ambiguity when managing black box systems (LLMs, Games, Poorly Understood Dependencies). We will discuss how Netflix monitors service health as black boxes using multiple measurement techniques to understand system behavior, aligning with the need for robust observability tools. These strategies are crucial for system reliability and user experience. By proactively identifying and resolving issues, we ensure smoother playback experience and maintain user trust, even as the platform continues to evolve and gain maturity. The principles shared within this talk can be expanded to other applications such as AI reliability in data quality and model deployments.

Thiara has worked at some of the largest internet companies in the world, Meta and Netflix. During her time at Meta, Thiara found a passion for distributed systems and bringing new hardware into production. Always curious to explore new solutions to complex problems, Thiara developed Fleet Scanner, internally known as Lemonaid, to perform memory, compute, and storage benchmarks on each Meta server in production. This service runs on over 5 million servers and continues to be utilized at Meta. Since Meta, Thiara has been working at Netflix as a Senior CDN Reliability engineer, and now, Cloud Gaming SRE Manager. When incidents occur and Netflix's systems do not behave as expected, Thiara can be found working and engaging the necessary teams to remediate these issues.

Andrew Espira - Platform and Site Reliability Engineer\, Founding Engineer kustode ML-Powered Predictive SRE: Using Behavioral Signals to Prevent Cluster Inefficiencies Before They Impact Production SREs managing ML clusters often discover resource inefficiencies and queue bottlenecks only after they've impacted production services. This talk presents a machine learning approach to predict these issues before they occur, transforming SRE from reactive firefighting to proactive system optimization. We demonstrate how to build predictive models using production cluster traces that identify two critical failure modes: (1) GPU under-utilization relative to requested resources, and (2) abnormal queue wait times that indicate impending service degradation. The SRE practitioners will learn how to extract early warning indicators from standard cluster logs, build ML models that provide actionable confidence scores for operational decisions, and take practical steps to integrate predictive analytics into existing SRE toolchains to achieve 50%+ reduction in resource waste and queue-related incidents This talk bridges the gap between traditional SRE observability and modern predictive analytics, showing how teams can evolve from reactive monitoring to intelligent, forward-looking reliability engineering" Andrew has over 8 years of experience architecting and maintaining large-scale distributed systems. He is the Founding Engineer of Kustode (kustode.com), where he develops cutting-edge reliability and observability solutions for modern infrastructure in the Insurance and health care solutions space. Currently pursuing graduate studies in Data Science at Saint Peter's University, he specializes in the intersection of reliability engineering and artificial intelligence. His research focuses on applying machine learning to operational challenges, with publications in peer-reviewed venues including ScienceDirect. He's passionate about making complex systems more predictable and maintainable through data-driven approaches. When not optimizing cluster performance or building the next generation of observability tools, Andrew enjoys contributing to open-source projects and mentoring early-career engineers in the SRE community.

Our Tech Talks series are for professional development and networking: no recruiters, sales or press please! Google is committed to providing a harassment-free and inclusive conference experience for everyone, and all participants must follow our Event Community Guidelines. The event will be photographed and video recorded.

Event space is limited! A reservation is required to attend. Reserve your spot today and share the event details with your SRE/DevOps friends 🙂

In today’s data-driven world, trust is everything — and yet, it’s often the missing piece.

This focused session is designed to help analytics and BI professionals identify the gaps that cause mistrust in data and learn how to fix them through clear, structured processes.

You’ll discover how to turn raw data into reliable insights and how to build a culture of analytical thinking across teams — from data developers to business leaders.

Key takeaways: • How to build a data management strategy that turns information into a strategic asset • Understanding the why behind every business question and metric • Creating unified measurement policies to ensure consistent analysis • Reducing data risks and ensuring information quality • The step-by-step journey of building and implementing dashboards that people actually trust This session offers practical tools for BI developers, analysts, and decision-makers who want to make data a trusted partner in every business decision.

Step into your power at the “Amplifying Women’s Voices in Data Leadership” workshop, where influence meets impact.

Brought to life through the inspiring partnership between Women in Big Data Berlin and Thoughtworks, this interactive evening is dedicated to advancing women in data-driven roles. United by our shared commitment to building a strong, inclusive community, we’re creating a space where women can connect, learn, and lead with confidence.

Expect meaningful mentorship, dynamic networking, and practical insights designed to elevate your voice and your career in data leadership. Let’s amplify together.

Event Details

• Date: Thursday, 15 May
• Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
• Location: Thoughtworks Event Space (Revaler Str. 31, 10245 Berlin)

Event Format Begin the evening with engaging keynote speeches from influential voices in the data field, followed by hands-on workshops designed to strengthen leadership capabilities. This collaborative setting offers a space to connect, strategize, and develop key skills for navigating your data leadership path.

Agenda 6:30 - 7:00 PM \| Keynote speakers

• Introduction of Women in Big Data Berlin and Thoughtworks
• Katarzyna (Kasia) Stoltmann, Head of Data Science & Artificial Intelligence @AstraZeneca\| Founder & Founder @Women in Big Data Berlin and Aliya Boranbayeva\, communications & Events @Hertie School Data Science Lab

Community Development Gain perspective on creating value through AI innovation or building meaningful communities.

• Neil Metzler\, Founder @Stealth AI Startup \| Host\, 'Your Next Big Thing' \| Ally in Tech

The Role of Allyship Understand how allyship supports inclusion and drives lasting impact in leadership.

7:10 - 8:30 PM \| Workshop sessions

1. Developing a Data-Driven Leadership Mindset

Led by Maria Beiner - Product Manager Pricing at thermondo Learn how adopting a data-driven perspective can refine decision-making and leadership.

1. Bias-Free AI-Driven End-to-End Solutions and Personal Branding and Data-Driven Visibility

Led by Katarzyna (Kasia) Stoltmann and Aliya Boranbayeva Delve into the principles of creating AI solutions that are equitable, ethical, and impactful. Build your personal brand and amplify your presence in the data field through powerful storytelling.

1. From Data Strategy to Seat at the Table

Led by Amy Raygada - Principal Data and AI Strategist at Thoughtworks Explore strategies for crafting a data vision that propels you to the heart of business leadership.

1. Our crisis of trust calls on allies to champion inclusion & belonging

Led by Neil Metzler - Founder @Stealth AI Startup

More about the workshops:

From Data Strategy to Seat at the Table - by Amy Raygada

Data is everywhere, yet influence is often unevenly distributed. This workshop is designed to empower women in data roles with the skills to lead with confidence and secure a strategic seat at the table. Join us for an evening of practical advice, collaborative activities, and candid conversations aimed at helping you transform data insights into influence. You’ll leave with actionable strategies to align data work with business impact, engage stakeholders effectively, and overcome challenges with resilience and clarity.

Key Takeaways

• A clear framework that links data strategy to business initiatives.
• Tools and tactics for crafting compelling narratives to engage stakeholders.
• Real-world, scenario-based activities to refine your influence skills.
• A supportive environment for networking and sharing experiences with other women in data leadership.

***Bias-Free AI-Driven End-to-End Solutions - ***by Katarrzyna (Kasia) Stoltmann and Build your personal brand and amplify your presence in the data field through powerful storytelling - by Aliya Boranbayeva

In today’s digital world, standing out isn’t just about technical skills, it’s about how you tell your story. This interactive workshop is designed for data professionals, aspiring analysts, and tech enthusiasts who want to build a strong personal brand and communicate their value with clarity, confidence, and authenticity. We'll explore how to craft your unique narrative, showcase your expertise, and strategically position yourself on platforms like LinkedIn and beyond. You’ll leave with actionable steps to develop your personal brand, create meaningful content, and network with intention — all through the lens of impactful storytelling.

Key Takeaways

• Understand the foundations of personal branding in the data/tech field
• Learn how to identify and shape your unique story
• Discover storytelling techniques that make your profile, posts, and presentations more engaging
• Explore strategies to increase visibility on LinkedIn and other professional platforms
• Get a simple framework to talk about your career journey with confidence
• Learn how to build trust and connection with your audience — online and offline

Learn how adopting a data-driven perspective can refine decision-making and Leadership - by Maria Beiner

In today’s fast-moving business world, data is most valuable when it drives thoughtful, strategic decisions. In this hands-on session, you’ll explore what it means to lead with data—not just analyse it. Through real-world examples from pricing and product strategy, Maria will share practical tools to help you align data with business goals, communicate insights clearly and lead with confidence in data-rich environments. Whether you're influencing stakeholders or shaping key decisions, this workshop will help you strengthen your leadership mindset and turn insight into impact.

Key Takeaways

• Practical strategies and tools for turning data insights into strategic leadership decisions
• Approaches for effectively communicating data insights to influence Stakeholders
• Mindset shifts to move from analysis to impactful leadership

Our crisis of trust calls on allies to champion inclusion & belonging - by Neil Metzler

There is a deep, persistent crisis of trust in the workplace. Trust in organizations, leaders, and management has never been lower. This crisis underscores the challenges and opportunities for inclusion and belonging at work. Allies in particular have a critical role to play. Allies who seize the opportunity will succeed and emerge as top performing leaders. They will prove themselves capable of managing through change, driving innovation and navigating uncertainty. Leaders who fail to invest in I&B to nurture and grow trust at work will become expendable and sidelined in role.

Take this opportunity to amplify your voice, showcase your expertise, and step confidently into your role as a data leader. We look forward to seeing you on 15 May!

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Please note: By attending this event, you consent to being photographed and/or recorded on video. These materials may be used for promotional purposes by Women in Big Data Berlin and Thoughtworks, including on social media, websites, and future event materials. If you prefer not to appear in photos or videos, please let a member of the organizing team know upon arrival.