Blacktail TechnologyAI • Software • Automation
R&D

Engineering Notes

Technical observations and patterns from our research work

On designing low-friction AI interfaces

2024-11

Exploring patterns for AI-powered tools that feel natural rather than "smart"—reducing cognitive load while preserving user agency.

AI Systems
UX
Product

Observability in AI-heavy systems

2024-10

Practical approaches to logging, tracing, and debugging when LLMs are part of your critical path. How to make black boxes more transparent.

AI Systems
Observability
DevOps

Cost modeling for LLM-powered applications

2024-09

Breaking down the economics of production AI systems—token costs, caching strategies, and when to fine-tune vs. prompt engineer.

AI Systems
Infrastructure
Economics

Workflow orchestration patterns for document processing

2024-08

Lessons from building resilient document pipelines: error handling, retry logic, and human review integration.

Automation
Architecture
Systems

Infrastructure as code: beyond the basics

2024-07

Moving past simple Terraform modules toward composable, testable infrastructure with proper abstractions and safety rails.

Infrastructure
DevOps
Platform

Engineering notes are published periodically as we explore new technical territories. These represent work-in-progress thinking, not final conclusions.