Blog

Thoughts on AI, insurance, and building systems

Designing a Scalable Search System for DoorDash

system design

A staff-level deep dive into building distributed search infrastructure at scale. Covers query understanding, multi-stage retrieval, indexing strategies (inverted index, geo-spatial, vector search), ranking algorithms, and scaling to millions of QPS with sub-100ms latency.

Search SystemsDistributed SystemsSystem DesignElasticSearchVector Search

RAG for Insurance: Navigating Data Scarcity in Regulated Markets

insurance

How retrieval-augmented generation enables intelligent insurance chatbots and automation despite limited training data, strict regulations, and the need for verifiable, compliant responses in a risk-averse industry.

RAGLLMsInsurance TechFeedback Loops

ML System Design for Starters

system design

A practical introduction to designing machine learning systems—from data pipelines and model serving to monitoring, scaling, and handling feedback loops. Essential patterns and trade-offs every ML engineer should understand.

ML SystemsSystem DesignMLOpsArchitecture

The LeetCode Framework for Rotting Brains

coding

Why you shouldn't attempt to solve problems when your thinking mechanisms are shot. Like a machine learning algorithm needs training data to recognize patterns, your brain needs exposure to solutions before it can generate good ones. Stop speculating with zero training data—consume solutions first, solve later.

LeetCodeLearning StrategyPattern RecognitionProblem Solving

Pricing Sophistication in Insurance

insurance

How insurers can move from manual rate filings to automated, data-driven pipelines that balance scale, accuracy, and regulatory compliance. Design principles for blending statistical rigor with flexible machine learning to enable transparent, regulator-friendly dynamic pricing.

InsuranceSystem DesignDynamic PricingGAMs/GLMs

Recommender Systems in Insurance

recsys

How collaborative filtering and content-based methods can personalize coverage recommendations, optimize cross-sell strategies, and improve customer retention while respecting regulatory constraints.

Recommender SystemsPersonalizationCross-SellCustomer Analytics

Feature Engineering for Price Modelling

insurance

Approaches to craft risk signals that improve predictive power while staying explainable to actuaries, regulators, and underwriters.

Feature EngineeringPrice ModelingStatistical Learning

Why Insurance Pricing Loves Gini and Lift

insurance

Understanding the metrics that matter for model evaluation in actuarial science—and why AUC alone isn't enough.

Model EvaluationGini CoefficientLift ChartsPricing Analytics