09:50-10:20

🎤 There is Some Jank in My App

Hashtags: #Technical #Frontend #UI #UX #CSS #Performance #BrowserFPS #Jank

Suitability: Junior Regular Senior

No, this is not a typo. Jank refers to sluggishness usually caused by executing long tasks on the main thread, blocking rendering, or expending too much processor power on background processes, and Ilko will start the conference with a focus on the rendering process and what might cause jankiness in user interfaces. Although it’s not a very popular topic, understanding and preventing jank can significantly improve the user experience. Ilko will explain the steps in the rendering process and provide tools like a CSS triggers list to help attendees understand what causes jank and how to prevent it. This talk will also delve into monitor refresh rates and browser FPS, making it a unique and insightful session for web developers.

Ilko Valchev

💼  IT Team Lead @ Enetpulse
✈️  Sofia, Bulgaria

Ilko is a Front End developer with 7 years of experience and a Team Lead with 3 years of experience. His team creates custom sport widgets with numerous options for customization. One of Ilko and his team's biggest achievements is making an easy-to-use and customizable product that works on any platform and at any size, without being a fully hosted solution. Personally, he takes pride in his team's growth as developers and professionals. Ilko's hobbies include dog training, playing board games, watching anime, going for walks and hikes, and most recently, car cleaning and detailing.

10:40-11:20

🎤 What is Linux kernel keystore and why you should use it in your next application

Hashtags: #Technical #OS #Linux #Kernel #Security #Cryptography #CloudNative

Suitability: Regular Senior

Did you know that Linux has a full-featured keystore ready to be used by any application or service it runs? Applications can securely store and share credentials, secrets and cryptographic keys, sign and encrypt data, negotiate a common encryption key - all this by never touching a single byte of the underlying cryptographic material.Imagine a world where you don’t have to run an SSH agent just to protect your SSH keys. On top of keeping your secrets secret, the Linux keystore nicely integrates with specialized security hardware, like TPMs and HSMs, and may provide a single entry point on the system for applications to obtain their secrets, and Ignat is going to tell us about all of this.

Ignat Korchagin

💼  Engineering Manager @ Cloudflare
✈️  London, UK

Ignat Korchagin is an engineering manager at Cloudflare, primarily focusing on Linux, platforms, and hardware security. His interests include cryptography, hacking, and low-level programming. Before joining Cloudflare, Ignat worked as a senior security engineer for Samsung Electronics' Mobile Communications Division, where his solutions can be found in many older Samsung smartphones and tablets. He began his career as a security researcher in the Ukrainian government’s communications services. In addition to his technical expertise, Ignat holds an Executive MBA from the Quantic School of Business and Technology, and is keen on Asian cuisine.

11:20-11:50

🎤 Terraform Practices to Enable Infrastructure Scaling

Hashtags: #Technical #DevOps #Cloud #Infrastructure #Terraform #IaC

Suitability: Regular Senior

Terraform is a powerful tool, but like many things, it comes with pitfalls and bad practices. Have you ever wondered how to structure your Terraform code effectively? Or how to scale your infrastructure as your organization grows? Hila returns to DEV: Challenge Accepted's stage to cover Terraform's essential best practices, common pitfalls to avoid, and major obstacles to anticipate. She will provide a clear path towards using Terraform resources, helping you to scale across many teams, avoid refactoring, and optimize for the future. Get ready to utilize Terraform beyond just an "infrastructure as code" tool.

Hila Fish

💼  Senior DevOps Engineer
✈️  Ramat Gan, Israel

Hila Fish has 15+ years of experience in the tech industry. She is an AWS Community Builder, Hashicorp Ambassador, and an international public speaker who believes the DevOps culture is what drives a company to perform at its best. Hila carries the vision to enhance and drive business success by taking care of its infrastructure. In her spare time, Hila is a lead singer of a cover band. She co-organizes DevOps-related conferences. She is also a mentor in “Baot,” the largest Israeli technical women’s community, and enjoys sharing her passion and knowledge wherever she can, including across diverse technology communities, initiatives, and social media.

12:10-12:40

🎤 Rapid Prototyping & Staying in the Backend Lane

Hashtags: #Technical #Backend #Prototyping #HTMX

Suitability: Regular Senior

Nowadays, as software engineers, we have an overwhelming number of options when it comes to building something. Many of these options are shiny and exciting, attracting our attention like crows to shiny objects. However, to stay practical and pragmatic, especially when building a proof of concept or a rapid prototype, it might be better to stay in the backend lane and leverage the power of existing and mature frameworks. For basic interactivity, frameworks like HTMX can be invaluable. This talk will demonstrate how we can utilize the mature backend ecosystem to aid in both software and product development for what we want to build.

Radoslav Georgiev

💼  Co-founder @ HackSoft
✈️  Sofia, Bulgaria

Radoslav Georgiev is a software developer with nearly 15 years of professional experience. He is the co-founder of HackSoft, a development partner that goes beyond code. Over the years, Radoslav has participated in the creation of numerous software projects, apps, and tools, and has witnessed horror stories resulting from excessive engineering complexity. When he is not busy running his company, talking with clients, and closing deals, he works on various internal tools, side projects, and products, including open-source ones. Radoslav is a core maintainer of the Django Styleguide, a popular open-source project in the Python and Django community.

12:40-13:10

🎤 Mastering Feature Flags: A Guide to Controlled Rollouts

Hashtags: #FeatureToggles #CI/CD #Frontend #Backend #DevOps #Testing #Agile

Suitability: Junior Regular Senior Management

Time to deep dive into the strategic use of feature flags in software with Martin, who comes again on the stage of DEV: Challenge Accepted! Feature flags, also known as feature toggles, have become a cornerstone in modern software development, enabling teams to deliver features incrementally, test in production, and respond quickly to market changes. Learn how to categorize and manage feature flags, navigate their lifecycle, and balance the benefits and risks. Ideal for architects, developers, product managers, and business leaders aiming for safer deployments, streamlined testing, and agile responses to market changes.

Martin Chaov

💼  Lead Software Architect @ DraftKings Inc.
✈️  Sofia, Bulgaria

Martin Chaov is a Lead Software Architect at DraftKings Inc. with over 15 years of experience in the IT industry. Martin has been sharing his knowledge at various events since 2013. At DraftKings, he is responsible for a highly performant distributed system facing near real-time latencies and terabytes of data. His expertise includes designing highly available, scalable, and resilient systems. Martin is passionate about system design, CI/CD, effective team dynamics, and the performance and quality assurance of software systems. Outside of work, Martin contributes significantly to the tech community by mentoring, organizing events, and creating educational content. He is also actively involved in initiatives like Hackafe Plovdiv and collaborates with Sofia University to craft courses. Martin's contributions to the field have earned him multiple awards for innovative products and solutions.

14:00-14:30

🎤 Shooting for the Stars with Astro: Blazing-Fast Websites Ahead

Hashtags: #Frontend #Tools #WebPerformance #JS #React #VueJS #Svelte #Astro

Suitability: Junior Regular Senior 

Astro is an excellent static site generator that allows you to build fast websites with little to no production JavaScript. You can use Astro components, as well as components from other frameworks like React, Vue, and Svelte. This talk will explore Astro's ability to deliver lightning-fast performance by only loading essential JavaScript and leveraging partial hydration. Learn how Astro helps developers create high-performance, dynamic web applications without compromising on user experience.

Ruby Jane Cabagnot

💼  Frontend Developer - Consultant
✈️  Oslo, Norway

Ruby Jane Cabagnot, a proficient web developer, speaker, and co-author of Practical Enterprise React, is an active figure in the tech world. Passionate about programming languages like TypeScript, C#, and React, RJ's ongoing learning fuels her drive for innovation and boundary-pushing. She believes that to be interesting, one must be interested. Dedicated to educating and promoting women in technology, she is a prominent speaker at numerous conferences, including Dotjs.io, IJS London, Confoo Montreal, NDC London, EpicHey! Lisbon, JSDay Verona, and many more across the globe.

14:30-15:00

🎤 A Guide to WCAG 2.2: Because Everyone Deserves to Use Your Website (Even Your Weird Uncle Larry)

Hashtags: #Frontend #Accessibility #WCAG #InclusiveDesign #Testing #Social

Suitability: Junior Regular Senior Management

Are your websites truly accessible, or are you unintentionally shutting out millions of potential users? Joanna will expose the latest success criteria of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and challenge you to rethink how you design and develop digital content. As the European Accessibility Act approaches in June 2025, it's not just a moral obligation but a legal one to make your content accessible. Joanna will strip away the dry, technical jargon of WCAG and present the new success criteria in plain, relatable language. She will showcase real-world examples where accessibility issues lurk and provide actionable solutions in both code and design to overcome these barriers. This isn't just about ticking boxes — it's about transforming your mindset and making accessibility an integral part of your development process.

Joanna Falkowska

💼  Senior Quality Assurance Engineer @ VML Enterprise Solutions
✈️  Poznań, Poland

Joanna is a Senior Quality Assurance Engineer at VML Enterprise Solutions, with 7+ years of experience in testing desktop, mobile, and native applications. Before her career in IT, she worked as a translator and conference interpreter after graduating from the Department of English Studies. Joanna learned Polish Sign Language and taught English as a foreign language to the Deaf community. Transitioning to the IT industry, she continues to advocate for inclusion within the digital universe. She is well-known for her expertise in accessibility matters, both in software testing and knowledge-sharing. In her spare time, Joanna enjoys reading books, volunteering at a local charity shop, and playing board games. She dreams of a future where universal design becomes a natural concept for anyone creating products and services.

15:20-15:50

🎤 Hackers vs. APIs: The Hidden Weaknesses in Your Code

Hashtags: #Technical #Frontend #Backend #API #Security

Suitability: Junior Regular Senior

Are your APIs truly secure, or are they a ticking time bomb waiting to explode? Lukáš Ďurovský will uncover the dark side of API security, revealing common vulnerabilities that hackers exploit and provide you with the knowledge to fortify your defenses. Expect to dive deep into the world of secure API design, where Lukáš will share real-world examples of security breaches and dissect the anatomy of these attacks. He will also present best practices for building robust APIs that can withstand the most cunning hacking attempts. By the end of this session, you'll walk away with actionable insights on securing your APIs and a heightened awareness of the hidden weaknesses lurking in your code.

Lukáš Ďurovský

💼  Staff Software Engineer @ Thermo Fisher Scientific
✈️  Bratislava, Slovakia

Lukáš has 10+ years of experience crafting clean, efficient, and secure software solutions. He is passionate about building robust and scalable systems, particularly within the realm of distributed systems architecture. A strong advocate for clear and maintainable code, Lukáš believes that well-written code is essential for long-term project success. Lukáš is proud of his international educational experiences, having studied abroad in Spain, South Africa, and Mexico. He is also a devoted husband and father, striving for a fulfilling life with his family. In his free time, Lukáš enjoys traveling, hiking, and exploring new technologies.

15:50-16:20

🎤 Boomers, GenX, Millennials and GenZ in IT - And how to talk to them?

Hashtags: #Social #Leadership #Communication #GenerationsDifferences

Suitability: Junior Regular Senior

The conflict between generations - an eternal topic! There have always been the older ones (wise, experienced, but also decrepit and hampering progress), and the younger ones (creative, brave, world changers, but also demanding, naive, unmannered). But are they really? Are the generations of Gordon Moore, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Greta Thunberg different from each other? What is the Culture of Mysterious Children and Reverse Mentoring? Does history go in circles with a diameter of 80 years? What do we owe to the silent generation, and what does the future hold? And above all – how does all this affect the labor market and the IT world? Stay awhile and listen to Paweł and this final session.

Paweł Zajączkowski

💼  Dev Manager @ Xebia
✈️  Wrocław, Poland

Paweł has been working in the IT sector since 2009 in various industries including Finnish telecom, German logistics, a Swiss bank, a car factory, a travel startup, British compliance, and villa rental. Currently, he has gone to the dark side and takes care of a flock of programmers and team leaders, a mentoring program, a guild and is sticking his nose wherever else he can. Also writes about software, peopleware and dragons on HowToTrainYourJava.com. Paweł likes to read, play board games, analog and computer RPGs. He practices powerlifting and collects vintage Lego Technic.

16:40-17:10

🎤 Lightning Talks

Lightning talks are a type of presentation format where speakers are given a short amount of time, five minutes or less, to present a topic or idea. If you want to speak from our stage, you will have the opportunity to do so and share your insights and ideas with a larger audience. You will be able to sign up during the event. While we try to leave the format as free as possible, consider short talks (max 5 min), English language, and our code of conduct policy.