Tech Summit 2026: Full Schedule

10:00am CDT

The New Consumer of Engineering Context -- How AI Changes the Economics—and Design—of What We Know

Thursday September 3, 2026 10:00am - 10:30am CDT

This presentation argues that AI's impact depends less on model quality and more on organizational context—ownership clarity, decision visibility, and system knowledge. It explains why identical AI tools can produce wildly different results across teams, and makes the case that the real competitive edge in the AI era comes from making an organization's knowledge and systems legible, not from smarter models alone.

Speakers

Sunny Liu

Sunny Liu joined OnDeck in DC seven years ago and stuck around through the Enova acquisition. Her employer has been considerably more stable than her address: she moved from DC to Dallas during the pandemic and, most recently, to Chicago. Before entering software engineering domain... Read More →

Thursday September 3, 2026 10:00am - 10:30am CDT
Marquee East

Tech Talk

10:35am CDT

Why We Dig In: Putting our Shovels Down to Harness the Power of Conflict

Thursday September 3, 2026 10:35am - 11:05am CDT

Marquee East

This talk explores why engineers' natural problem-solving instincts can backfire in disagreements, causing them to defend fixed positions ("dig in") rather than explore ideas together, which turns healthy debate into unproductive conflict. Using familiar scenarios like architecture discussions and code reviews, it offers approaches for "putting the shovel down"—reframing conflict as a tool for better technical outcomes and stronger teams rather than something to avoid.

Speakers

Christine Schwerdtfeger

Christine is a Tech Lead II on the Payment Services team. She has been at Enova for 11 years and worked on NetCredit, Headway, and Platform teams. Beyond her work at Enova, she also enjoys studying German and being active outside by running, walking, and hiking, preferably up a mountain... Read More →

Thursday September 3, 2026 10:35am - 11:05am CDT
Marquee East

Tech Talk

11:10am CDT

AI Reliability at Enova

Thursday September 3, 2026 11:10am - 11:40am CDT

Marquee East

Why traditional monitoring isn't enough for LLM-based systems, and what we're doing about it

Thursday September 3, 2026 11:10am - 11:40am CDT
Marquee East

Tech Talk

11:40am CDT

Get your group photos!

Thursday September 3, 2026 11:40am - 12:00pm CDT

Marquee East

Have a Kodak moment.

Thursday September 3, 2026 11:40am - 12:00pm CDT
Marquee East

BREAK

1:45pm CDT

How planning projects helped plan my wedding

Thursday September 3, 2026 1:45pm - 2:00pm CDT

Marquee East

Applying work skills to real-life projects

Speakers

Lindsay Ladewig

Lindsay is a Software Engineer Tech Lead I on the Platform Services team. She works remotely from her home in Elk Grove Village, a suburb of Chicago. Her work from home coworkers include her dog, Moby, and her two cats, Shrimp and Ebi. Outside of work, Lindsay enjoys playing video... Read More →

Thursday September 3, 2026 1:45pm - 2:00pm CDT
Marquee East

Lightning Talk

2:20pm CDT

Outside the Context Window: The Real Price Tag of Everyday AI

Thursday September 3, 2026 2:20pm - 2:35pm CDT

Marquee East

From a developer who has fully embraced it in his day-to-day work. I will be touching on token costs, cognitive debt and technical skill atrophy, and the environmental price tag of AI

Speakers

Sam Ciucci

Sam has worked at Enova for just over a year in the SMB division, first on the Headway team and now on X-men. When he’s not working, you’ll find him running marathons, playing tennis, and competing in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournaments.

Thursday September 3, 2026 2:20pm - 2:35pm CDT
Marquee East

Lightning Talk

2:35pm CDT

20-minute Break

Thursday September 3, 2026 2:35pm - 2:55pm CDT

Marquee East

Have a Coke and a smile.

Thursday September 3, 2026 2:35pm - 2:55pm CDT
Marquee East

BREAK

2:55pm CDT

Project Prioritization - What I Learned From Video Games!

Thursday September 3, 2026 2:55pm - 3:35pm CDT

Marquee East

Every gamer knows the eternal question: grind the side quest for XP, or push the main story? Turns out, that same instinct you use to decide whether to farm loot or fight the boss is basically project prioritization in disguise. In this talk, I'll level up your prioritization skills by raiding real examples from video games — unpacking what actually makes a task 'worth it,' and how to build your own priority meter so you're always making the highest-value move next.

Speakers

Jay Ives

Jay plays too many video games.

Thursday September 3, 2026 2:55pm - 3:35pm CDT
Marquee East

Tech Talk

3:30pm CDT

Create an AI Skill Pipeline for Fun and Profit (to decompose and optimize large sql queries)

Thursday September 3, 2026 3:30pm - 4:00pm CDT

Marquee East

This talk shows how that fix turned into a 7-skill AI pipeline (complete with orchestrators, adversarial reviews, and cross-session memory) for turning any gnarly SQL query into something your future self won't dread touching.

Speakers

Mark Hilkert

Mark joined Enova mid-2025 after moving back to the Chicago area from San Francisco. He lives in Naperville with his wife, 4-year old son, and two dogs. Recently he's been tinkering around with his homelab and started running local LLMs, but when he's not doing that you'll likely... Read More →

Thursday September 3, 2026 3:30pm - 4:00pm CDT
Marquee East

Tech Talk

Tech Summit 2026

10:00am CDT

Sunny Liu

10:35am CDT

Christine Schwerdtfeger

11:10am CDT

11:40am CDT

1:45pm CDT

Lindsay Ladewig

2:20pm CDT

Sam Ciucci

2:35pm CDT

2:55pm CDT

Jay Ives

3:30pm CDT

Mark Hilkert

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