x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Tilt Engineering

Welcome to Tilt Engineering, the podcast that brings you inside Tilt"s dynamic engineering world. Designed for curious problem-solvers and passionate technologists, we share our journey of innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. Each episode aligns with the content pillars of our engineering blog: Technical Deep Dives: Explore complex technical challenges we"ve faced and the solutions we"ve developed, enriched with practical examples, code snippets, and real-world

technology careers

All Episodes

2:01

(AI Gen) How We Built a Context-Aware Review Bot That...

Tilt Engineering ·

2025/10/26

Tilt (formerly Empower Finance) developed a context-aware review bot using Augment Code's context engine to transform code quality and velocity on its fintech platform. By leveraging Augment's deep codebase understanding of architectural patterns and team conventions, which distinguishes it from generic AI tools, the bot provides more consistent feedback and achieves faster review cycles, reducing cycle time by up to 40%. This solution allows engineers to focus on architectural decisions

en

5:25

(AI Gen) Beyond the Purchase Order: How We Actually...

Tilt Engineering ·

2025/09/11

Most companies think buying an AI tool is the hard part, but the real challenge is building the scaffolding that makes it useful. At Tilt, adoption only worked once engineers invested in documentation, rules, and workflows that embedded AI into daily practice. This post explores how that infrastructure was built, why it matters, and what other teams can learn from it.

en

10:44

(AI Gen) C# String Performance Considerations

Tilt Engineering ·

2025/08/28

In the era of blazing fast compute and memory it’s easy for the performance characteristics of System objects to feel like a thing of the past. However scale in the end, can defeat all our expectations. With Strings we need to be considerate because they are immutable! This means operations like ToUpper() create a new string in memory. With large datasets this can lead performance issues.

en

12:21

(AI Gen) Rapid-Fire iOS Releases

Tilt Engineering ·

2025/07/18

At Empower(Tilt), a data-driven fintech startup, our lifeblood is understanding our users and how they interact with our products. To do that effectively, we need to get new features and product updates into their hands fast. If you've ever worked in a startup, you know the pace is exhilarating, and the need for speed is paramount. For our iOS team, that meant taking a hard look at our release process. We went from a painstaking weekly manual ordeal to a highly automated, almost "set it and

en

11:54

(AI Gen) Removing Foreign Key Constraints against Hot...

Tilt Engineering ·

2025/04/04

A seemingly simple FK constraint drop turned into a high-stakes locking issue that threatened database stability. This post dives into the surprising chain reaction between two related tables and reveals a clever zero-downtime workaround using sp_rename. Perfect for engineers who love creative solutions to tricky schema changes—plus some spicy alternatives if you're feeling bold.

en

11:48

(AI Gen) Embracing AI at Empower: Beyond Code Generation

Tilt Engineering ·

2025/02/25

Empower's engineering team is redefining what it means to use "the best tools" in a world where AI isn’t just a novelty, but a game changer. In his latest post, James Garrett shows how innovative AI tools are transforming on-call support, QA, and code reviews—taking the timeless principles of the Joel Test into the future. Dive in to see how early adoption is turning everyday challenges into competitive advantages.

en

16:01

(AI Gen) EF Core N+1 Problem: Diagnosis and Solutions

Tilt Engineering ·

2025/02/19

Paul Gradie reveals how the notorious N+1 problem in EF Core—where seemingly simple data retrieval turns into a series of inefficient database trips—can be the hidden culprit behind performance woes. He breaks down how lazy loading and loops can lead to unnecessary queries, and shares actionable fixes to streamline your code. Dive in to uncover tips that will help you optimize your data access and keep your app running smoothly!

en

13:30

(AI Gen) Building Bonds Beyond the Screen

Tilt Engineering ·

2025/01/17

Onsites are crucial for remote teams to build strong bonds and a thriving company culture. While remote work offers flexibility and efficiency, in-person gatherings provide unique opportunities to deepen relationships, foster collaboration, and align on shared goals. Empower, a fully remote company, has successfully integrated onsites into their work culture by balancing purposeful work sessions with unstructured downtime and engaging team-building experiences. By thoughtfully planning

en

20:07

(AI Gen) Managing Disagreements as a Software...

Tilt Engineering ·

2024/12/20

Disagreements are a natural part of the software development process, whether you're debating architectural decisions, choosing the right tools, or prioritizing features. However, conflict doesn’t have to be a source of tension—handled with the right mindset, it can lead to better outcomes and stronger collaboration. Drawing insights from Think Again by Adam Grant, this blog explores how software developers can embrace a scientific mindset in navigating conflicts. By questioning

en

19:53

(AI Gen) How to Interview Your Interviewer: Finding...

Tilt Engineering ·

2024/12/13

Finding the right engineering job goes beyond matching your technical skillset—it’s about creating a balance between your professional ambitions and personal lifestyle. As James shares from his own experience at Empower, achieving long-term career satisfaction means pinpointing your non-negotiables, asking insightful questions during interviews, and ensuring the culture, team dynamics, and leadership style truly align with your unique values and goals.

en

16:36

(AI Gen) Building Trust in Remote Teams

Tilt Engineering ·

2024/12/06

Drawing parallels between online gaming and modern work environments, this blog explores the challenges of fostering trust and collaboration in virtual teams. Discover actionable insights to accelerate team cohesion, improve communication, and harness the unquantified power of shared experiences—even from miles apart.

en

18:04

(AI Gen) Technical Debt, Quality, and Trade-offs:...

Tilt Engineering ·

2024/11/29

Struggling to balance speed, quality, and technical debt in your software projects? Discover actionable strategies to manage trade-offs, prioritize critical decisions, and deliver reliable products faster. Dive into insights from Empower's CTO, Justin Ammerlaan, and learn how to leverage technical debt without compromising on quality. Read now to transform your engineering processes!

en

10:00

(AI Gen) INT → BIGINT, a SQL Story

Tilt Engineering ·

2024/11/22

Running out of range on a primary key in SQL Server is a ticking time bomb, especially for high-traffic production tables. This article dives deep into the process of migrating a primary key column from INT to BIGINT, tackling challenges like constraints, clustered indexes, and data synchronization. Learn the tested strategies, performance tweaks, and lessons from a real-world scenario involving 650 million rows—ensuring scalability and reliability for your database. Perfect for engineers

en

12:48

(AI Gen) Three Strategies That’ll Accelerate your...

Tilt Engineering ·

2024/11/15

Transitioning from Senior Engineer to Staff Engineer is a defining moment in your career—one that demands more than just technical expertise. At this level, your ability to influence, strategize, and lead initiatives takes centre stage. But how do you stand out and pave your way to the next milestone? In this post, we’ll explore three game-changing strategies to elevate your impact, showcase your achievements, and take control of your career trajectory. Whether you're eyeing a Staff

en

13:22

Measure Twice, Cut, and Have Fun

Tilt Engineering ·

2024/11/07

This blog post, written by James Garrett, a software developer at Empower, discusses the importance of metrics in software development and how Empower uses them to guide feature development, prevent premature optimisation, and build a fun and supportive work environment. It details how Empower's focus on metrics helps them avoid building features with no business value, optimize performance without unnecessary effort, and foster a strong team culture through remote working and team

en

12:22

6 Design Principles for Azure Pipelines

Tilt Engineering ·

2024/11/07

This article outlines six core principles for developing robust and maintainable Azure pipelines. The author, Paul Gradie, highlights the importance of decoupling build processes from deployment processes to improve efficiency and speed. He also emphasises designing pipelines at the job level to ensure clarity and maintainability. Furthermore, Gradie advocates for the use of templates as functions to encapsulate logical groupings of behaviours within pipelines, promoting reusability and

en

8:58

Let's Talk 1:1

Tilt Engineering ·

2024/11/07

This article from Empower Finance discusses the importance of 1:1 meetings between managers and their direct reports. The author, Dirko Swanepoel, outlines the benefits of regular 1:1s, including building trust, providing feedback, and resolving issues before they escalate. The article provides practical advice on how to make 1:1s more effective, such as preparing an agenda, maintaining a regular cadence, and scheduling them at a time when both parties are focused. Ultimately, the author

en

12:51

Server-driven UI from Scratch

Tilt Engineering ·

2024/10/31

The concept of Server-driven UI (SDUI), a technique that allows for more rapid iteration and deployment of mobile applications by shifting client-side logic to a remote server. The author, Hamish Cundy, details Empower's implementation of SDUI, using Kotlin and GraphQL to decouple the client app from the backend, enabling quicker updates and product experimentation. He provides a detailed overview of the architecture, including components, actions, and screen definitions, illustrating how

en

13:57

How Functional Programming Made Me A Better C# Developer

Tilt Engineering ·

2024/10/31

Adopting functional programming concepts can improve the quality of C# code. The author, James Garrett, highlights four key concepts – immutability, state management, LINQ, and functional programming in general – and explains how they can simplify complex logic and reduce bugs. The post uses several code examples to demonstrate the benefits of functional programming, including the use of immutable variables, factory methods, and LINQ queries to streamline operations and avoid unnecessary

en

16:46

Modeling World-Class Delivery Systems

Tilt Engineering ·

2024/10/31

This post from Empower Finance’s blog discusses a conceptual model for optimising software delivery by decoupling the build and deployment processes. The author, Paul Gradie, explains how to create a “language” for automation through the stages of versioning, publishing, testing, and deploying. He emphasizes the importance of structured steps and clearly defined concepts for efficient and high-quality software delivery. The article highlights how this approach has led to a significant

en

21 results

Similar Podcasts

Lead With AI

Tamara Nall

Linux in the Ham Shack

Black Sparrow Media

Data Engineering Podcast

Tobias Macey

Eye On A.I.

Craig S. Smith

Reflections

Livewire Labs