Platform Engineering • Ajay Chankramath & Nic Cheneweth • GOTO 2026

This interview was recorded for GOTO Unscripted. #GOTOcon #GOTOunscripted
https://gotopia.tech

Ajay Chankramath - Founder & CEO at Platformetrics & Co-Author of "Effective Platform Engineering" @achankramath452 
Nic Cheneweth - Principal Consultant at Thoughtworks & Co-Author of "Effective Platform Engineering" @NicCheneweth 

Check out more here:
https://gotopia.tech/articles/429

RESOURCES
Ajay
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chankramath
https://github.com/achankra
https://x.com/ajchantw
https://chankramath.com
https://platformetrics.com

Nic
https://www.linkedin.com/in/niccheneweth
https://github.com/ncheneweth
https://x.com/NicCheneweth
https://ncheneweth.com

Links
Get 45% discount on Manning products with code: GOTOchankramath
https://www.manning.com
https://effectiveplatformengineering.com
https://epetech.io
https://dora.dev
https://dora.dev/research/2025/dora-report
https://youtu.be/BPCcxYHLzkI
https://youtu.be/0vkY2H2QDC8
https://youtu.be/5QWQioN-aXc
https://youtu.be/Ff70GH3X5Ww
https://youtu.be/cW3yM-K2M08
https://youtu.be/_IKB4h9e4NA
https://youtu.be/fROpZ6EYa54
https://youtu.be/jB-OCXeEtrE

DESCRIPTION
Ajay Chankramath (founder and CEO of Platformetrics) and Nic Cheneweth  Cheneweth (Principal Technologist at ThoughtWorks) explore the evolving world of platform engineering. They discuss why a product mindset is critical for internal platforms, how control planes and API-first design create scalable foundations, the real challenges organizations face when implementing Backstage, and where AI and agents are beginning to change the platform landscape. Throughout, both speakers emphasize that cutting corners on architectural foundations ultimately compounds problems at scale.

TIMECODES
00:00 Intro
01:13 Why platform engineering needs a product mindset
04:03 Control planes, API-first design & golden paths
11:25 Backstage: Promise vs reality
17:46 Domain design: The foundation that makes platforms scale
22:23 AI & agents in platform engineering: What's actually working
33:29 Outro

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Chankramath, Cheneweth, Oliver & Alvarez • Effective Platform Engineering • https://amzn.to/3OnxN8i
Gregor Hohpe • Platform Strategy • https://amzn.to/4cxfYdb

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