Signal · 17 September 2026 · Berlin
SIGNAL/2026
The annual conference for engineers, security researchers, and designers who would rather hear the talk than network through it.
/// the lineup
Ten talks. One day. One track.
We do not run multiple tracks because we want everyone in the room for the same talk at the same time. We do not accept proposals; we invite speakers. The full list is below.
01
Anya Petrova
Distributed systems researcher
What you give up when you stop thinking about clocks
A practitioner argument against eventual consistency for the systems most teams actually run.
02
Marcus Yeboah
Security operator
Threat models for systems your team did not write
When the supply chain is the codebase. Practical guidance on third-party trust budgets.
03
Priya Shroff
Compiler internals, performance
The 30 percent you leave on the table
Specific compiler-level moves that buy real performance, with measurable demos.
04
Dario Linares
Reverse engineer, embedded
Writing for the screen you can read in sunlight
Hardware-aware UI engineering. Why the brightness story matters more than your team thinks.
05
Hannah Whitford
Programming languages
Why the type system loses
A friendly polemic on the failure modes of static typing in real production codebases.
06
Tomás Reyes
Cryptography, post-quantum
The migration nobody is doing
What it actually takes to move a real system to PQC. Hard truths and partial victories.
07
Iva Kowalski
Distributed databases
Consistency models nobody asked for but you needed
The shape of consistency that survives a real production load. Less academic, more honest.
08
Bram Hesse
Graphics, game engines
The renderer that fits in your head
A 4,000-line renderer that runs at 120fps. The case for systems you can keep.
09
Sade Okonkwo
Operating systems
What POSIX still gets right
A reread of the abstractions that have outlived three platform cycles and counting.
10
Riku Tanaka
Filesystems, storage
Durability versus the wallet
Storage architectures graded on what they cost when something breaks at 3am.
/// the schedule
Doors at 09:00. Last talk closes the room.
One track, ten talks, two breaks. The schedule below is the public version. Late changes are announced from the stage, not from a banner.
| Time | What | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | Doors and coffee | Hallway |
| 09:30 | Opening | The organizers |
| 09:45 | What you give up when you stop thinking about clocks | Anya Petrova |
| 10:30 | Threat models for systems your team did not write | Marcus Yeboah |
| 11:15 | The 30 percent you leave on the table | Priya Shroff |
| 12:00 | Lunch break | Hallway |
| 13:00 | Writing for the screen you can read in sunlight | Dario Linares |
| 13:45 | Why the type system loses | Hannah Whitford |
| 14:30 | The migration nobody is doing | Tomás Reyes |
| 15:15 | Afternoon break | Hallway |
| 15:45 | Consistency models nobody asked for but you needed | Iva Kowalski |
| 16:30 | The renderer that fits in your head | Bram Hesse |
| 17:15 | What POSIX still gets right | Sade Okonkwo |
| 18:00 | Durability versus the wallet | Riku Tanaka |
| 18:45 | Closing remarks and the bar opens | Hallway |
/// the ticket
One tier. €350.
We do not run an early-bird program. We do not sell VIP. The ticket includes the day, the food, the bar after, and the recordings published the following week. Capacity is 480. Tickets are released in waves. Refunds available up to four weeks before the event.
/// sponsors
Eight names, distributed across the room.
Sponsors do not get logo walls. They get the stage announced by name, a hallway table to talk shop, and the recordings named alongside us. The full list is below.
- StratumStage
- Helix CloudStage
- GradientStage
- Northwind ComputeFloor
- Atlas StorageFloor
- Arboria LabsFloor
- Ember TelemetryHallway
- Specturm CodeHallway
/// archive
Past Signal.
Recordings, talks, and the post-conference field notes from the organizers. We publish what worked and what did not.
- SIGNAL/2025Held in Lisbon. 12 talks, one keynote moved off-track in week six. Recordings published the following Tuesday.
- SIGNAL/2024Held in Rotterdam. The year we tried two tracks and went back to one. Field notes available.
- SIGNAL/2023The first year. Held in Berlin in a converted brewery. Two-thirds of attendees came back the next year.