Scalable Path Blog Articles

Finding qualified technical professionals remains difficult, especially when companies need specialized expertise without committing to a lengthy recruitment process. Staff augmentation services help businesses add developers, designers, product managers, DevOps engineers, data specialists, and other professionals directly to their existing teams. However, providers vary considerably. Many providers combine these approaches, but they emphasize them differently: some lead with carefully vetted individual professionals, some specialize in […]

A company does everything the advice says to do. It hires offshore developers at a third of US rates. It buys the AI coding tools everyone is writing about. It moves onto a modern cloud stack and stops paying for servers it doesn’t use. On paper, engineering costs should be falling. Twelve months later, the burn rate is the same or worse. The roadmap has […

Somewhere in the past two years the economics of software development quietly flipped. Producing code became cheap. Verifying it did not. That second sentence carries a lot, so let me spell it out. An engineer can now generate a plausible implementation of almost anything in minutes. Reviewing that implementation, deciding whether it is actually correct, and being willing to answer for it when it misbehaves […

What if the AI industry does not primarily need more chips, but a better way to use the hardware it already has? In this episode of Commit & Push, host Damien Filiatrault talks with Justin Gelinas, Chief Business Officer at TAHO Labs, about the enormous amount of compute capacity lost to inefficient software, idle hardware, and infrastructure designed for an earlier era. TAHO is building […

Creating a quality job description has traditionally been a pain point in the hiring process, so we decided to build the Scalable Path Job Description Tool to guide our clients (and ourselves) through the process of writing a thorough, thoughtful Job Description (JD).  You may have seen AI tools that promise to write a full job description from a single sentence, but as developers, we […

In the competitive world of software development, the distance between finding a diamond-in-the-rough candidate and settling for a mediocre hire often begins with a single document: the Job Description (JD). While it is tempting to view a JD as a mere administrative hurdle, its quality is directly linked to the caliber of candidates you attract. A well‑crafted JD markets the role, filters unqualified applicants, and […]

In this episode of Commit & Push, Damien Filiatrault speaks with Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup and the new book Incorruptible, about startups, governance, financial pressure, and what it takes to build companies that stay true to their mission over time. The conversation begins with Ries’ origin story as a programmer. Long before he became known for startup methodology, he was a kid […

In the world of software development, consistency isn’t just a habit, it’s a

For a Seed or Series B founder, hiring isn’t just about “filling a seat.” It’s a high-stakes bet on your company’s survival. In a market where a single Senior Engineer in the U.S. can cost $180,000+, every addition to your engineering team either accelerates your trajectory or acts as a silent anchor slowing you down. We often talk about “bad hires”, the ones who clearly […

What does an AI agent actually do, beyond the hype? In this Commit & Push episode, Damien Filiatrault sits down with Micah Johnson, co-founder of Biggest Goal, to unpack a question many teams are still struggling to answer clearly: what is an AI agent, and where does it create real business value? Their conversation moves from definitions into practical examples. They cover how agents differ […]

This isn’t an anti-AWS rant. It’s a reminder that “default” is rarely the cheapest option

What happens when the internet stops being a place humans browse, and becomes a place models negotiate on our behalf? In this Commit & Push episode, host Damien Filiatrault sits down with Kevin Williams, founder of Ascend AI (Ascend Labs), to unpack what “agentic commerce” actually means in practice: from LLM-driven product discovery today, to automated purchasing tomorrow, and the messy standards battle forming underneath […]

What if the reason infrastructure automation feels brittle isn’t because teams are doing it wrong, but because the underlying assumptions are wrong? In this Commit & Push episode, host Damien Filiatrault talks with Brit Myers, VP of Engineering at System Initiative, about why the Terraform/GitOps era hit a ceiling, and what an “AI-native” platform looks like when you rebuild infrastructure automation around collaboration, simulations, and […]

Antigravity is Google DeepMind’s push toward an agent-first way of building software. Instead of treating AI like a smarter autocomplete, it treats AI like a capable collaborator that can take on real tasks, run with them, and come back with something you can review. What sets Antigravity apart is how it brings three surfaces into one workflow: a familiar editor for hands-on control, an Agent […]

What actually breaks AI agents in real teams, and how to fix it? In this Commit & Push episode, host Damien Filiatrault sits down with Rob Whiteley, CEO of Coder, to unpack a hard-earned lesson from the front lines of agentic development: most agents don’t fail because the models are weak, they fail because they’re dropped into environments with no context, no tools, and no

AI copilots and low-code tools have made it possible to go from idea to “working product” in a weekend. Designers, founders, and operations leaders can now assemble functional apps with a mix of prompts, templates, and copy-pasted snippets. The result is a new norm in many teams: prototypes that look polished, get stakeholder buy-in, and quietly slide into production long before they are truly ready. […]

In our main article on Spec-Driven Development (SDD), we explored the idea of beginning every AI-assisted project with clearly defined requirements, not jumping right into code. This companion piece takes that idea from theory to practice. Here, we’ll walk through the complete workflow, from the first line of a specification to long-term maintenance, using a real-world example. If you want to see how to bring […]

What happens when a 30-year UX veteran teams up with a Gen Z designer to rethink interfaces in the age of AI? In this Commit & Push episode, host Damien Filiatrault talks with Josh Clark and Veronika Kindred of Big Medium about their forthcoming book, Sentient Design—a framework for building adaptive, mindful interfaces that collaborate with users instead of dictating to them. Josh brings decades […]

In this Commit & Push episode, host Damien Filiatrault sits down with Iddo Gino, founder of RapidAPI (acquired by Nokia) and now CEO of Datawizz, to talk about the real blockers to AI integrations, why he’s skeptical of MCPs, and how smaller, specialized models can slash AI costs while improving results. As a teen in Israel, Iddo learned by building: Flash games, early websites, and, […]

AI has transformed how fast teams can build software, but not how easily they can build the right software. Too often, speed comes through what’s now called vibe-coding: describing an idea in tweet-sized sentences, letting the AI write the code, and fixing things as they break. It feels fast until the system starts to wobble under its own shortcuts. The gap between “done” and “done […]

Somewhere between the hype and reality, AI has quietly become part of everyday software development. It’s not science fiction anymore. It’s autocomplete that understands context, code reviews that write themselves, and prototypes that spin up from a one-line description. For engineering leaders, this isn’t a novelty.  It changes how teams deliver with faster releases, fewer repetitive tasks, and a new kind of collaboration between

On this week’s Commit & Push, host Damien Filiatrault sits down with Dutch developer-turned-founder Killian Valkhof to talk about Polypane, the purpose-built browser that’s quietly shaving hours off front-end workflows. From instant multi-viewport previews to live accessibility overlays, Killian shows us what happens when a browser is designed for developers, not end-users. Killian never meant to reinvent the browser. Ten years ago, he hacked together […]

Software Doesn’t Rust—But It Definitely Rots In this week’s Commit & Push, we sit down with economist with a background in software engineering Robin Hanson to probe a question most devs feel in their bones but rarely name out loud: Why do big codebases seem to decay no matter how many tickets we close? From the hidden cost of interdependencies to the looming impact

What separates decent CTOs from great ones? It’s not coding chops or architecture diagrams. It’s people—and the ability to lead them. In a recent episode of Commit & Push, host Damien Filiatrault talks with Zach Goldberg, CTO of Gruntwork and author of The Startup CTO’s Handbook, about what really matters when you’re scaling an engineering team. From avoiding overcomplicated tech to investing in developer experience,

AI agents are starting to reshape how businesses operate, from automating support workflows to enabling real-time data synthesis. As adoption grows, however, so do the challenges. Today’s AI agents lack memory, are prone to errors, and often get stuck without human intervention. That’s where LangGraph comes in. LangGraph is a framework for building stateful, multi-agent applications powered by large language models. It helps developers move […]

Most AI projects fail. That’s not clickbait—it’s a well-documented reality, with failure rates as high as 90% according to research from Carnegie Mellon, Gartner, and the Wall Street Journal. Dan Saffer, Associate Director of Outreach at Carnegie Mellon’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute, says the reasons are rarely technical. They’re human: bad data, poor UX, vague goals, and inflated expectations. In this post, we unpack the

AI is evolving fast, but hiring the right talent to build with it? That’s a different story. Thanks to the rise of foundation models and the explosion of accessible tools—from open-source libraries to plug-and-play APIs—companies of all sizes are now experimenting with AI. However, turning those prototypes into real, scalable products takes a very different kind of team. The demand for machine learning engineers is […]

Svelte has ranked as the most admired front-end framework for several years in a row, according to both Stack Overflow and State of JS surveys. Developers love it for its simplicity, efficiency, and—above all—its remarkably satisfying developer experience. So when the Svelte core team decided to rebuild the framework from the ground up – effectively reworking the very things that made it so loved – it raised some eyebrows. […]

Getting into React Native app development? Then buckle up, because crafting a slick, consistent UI can feel like a wild ride!  One minute, you are tweaking styles, and the next, you’re drowning in component props. But hey, don’t panic. The React Native ecosystem has your back with libraries like React Native Paper, which packs a full set of Material Design awesomeness to keep your

React 19 was a major milestone in the framework’s evolution. Two of the biggest achievements were the release of Server Components and Server Actions, the server-side aspect of React 19’s full-stack vision. It’s no exaggeration to say these features are a colossal game changer in how React developers will create full-stack code. If you haven’t yet familiarized yourself with the client-side changes introduced in React […]

Agentic AI is changing what’s possible with automation. Unlike traditional AI tools that respond to one prompt at a time, agentic workflows can plan, critique their own outputs, use external tools, and adapt as tasks evolve, making them especially powerful for complex, real-world software and business processes.

React 18 was a major milestone in the framework’s journey, primarily because of the introduction of an interruptible, cancelable, concurrent rendering engine. This feature improved UI rendering, improved the interactions with Server Side React (SSR), and paved the way for many new features to be built upon React’s shiny new innards.  React 19 fulfilled the promise set by React 18 by leveraging its interruptible

If you work in tech, you’ve likely heard of dark patterns. If you haven’t, you have almost certainly encountered them; maybe you’ve even unknowingly designed one. A dark pattern is an intentional design choice that manipulates or misleads users. Businesses use them to boost key business metrics, like revenue or user growth. And they almost always come at the expense of the user.

AI, like much of tech, evolves at an exponential pace. Just a few years ago, we saw an explosion of LLM-powered tools that streamlined development tasks.  Innovations like ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and Tabnine serve as both code auto-completion tools and AI pair programming assistants.   These innovations seemed to mark a turning point. It’s clear now that AI tools and technology are here to stay, […]

Artificial Intelligence has been shaking up nearly every industry, and software development is no exception. Companies are constantly looking to optimize their processes and reduce costs, and this is where the promise of integrating AI into the daily routine of software developers shines the brightest. These tools not only boost developer productivity but also transform what we know about software development and its stages. Imagine […

Technical debt is a term many development teams know well. While often seen as a negative, it can also reflect your team’s ability to deliver quickly and innovate—prioritizing progress over perfection. In some cases, it’s a necessary trade-off for hitting critical deadlines or staying competitive in fast-moving markets. However, when left unmanaged, technical debt can slow progress, degrade software performance, and introduce security risks. The […

This blog post was inspired by an episode of the Software Engineering Daily podcast featuring Damien Filiatrault, Founder and CEO of Scalable Path. Listen to the episode. Developer productivity is a critical factor in determining the success of any software project. Whether you’re aiming to deliver features faster, reduce technical debt, or improve code quality, understanding how to optimize your team’s efficiency is essential.

Cloud computing has transformed the way we host applications by offering scalable, on-demand services. Serverless architecture, as part of this evolution, allows developers to run code without managing servers. In this guide, we’ll explore the benefits and use cases of serverless, and help you determine when it’s the right choice for your application. We’ll also dive into the history of cloud computing, options from major […]

Langchain has rapidly emerged as a game-changer in the development of AI-powered applications. As developers increasingly leverage large language models (LLMs), Langchain simplifies what was once a fragmented and complex process. By offering an open-source orchestration framework, Langchain allows developers to easily integrate LLMs into their projects, bringing a new level of efficiency and flexibility to the table. But Langchain’s relevance goes beyond mere convenience. […]

The rise of low-code and no-code development platforms is making software creation accessible to a broader audience. These platforms are bridging the gap between the high demand for software solutions and the limited supply of skilled developers. In this article, we will explore what low-code and no-code development entail, their benefits, the types of platforms available, as well as best practices for using them effectively. […]

Machine learning (ML) has evolved from an experimental novelty to a fundamental part of the software landscape. As ML adoption has grown, development and deployment processes have had to adapt—and continue to evolve—to meet the demands of this field. ML models are built at first for experimentation, and as such, typically lack robust infrastructure for large-scale testing and deployment. Instead, teams often rely on numerous […]

We live in a world overflowing with data. So much of our world exists in the digital space – social media interactions, sensor readings, financial transactions, scientific observations – and all of it generates data. it’s estimated that nearly half a million terabytes of data are created each day, and that number is growing exponentially. This flood of information presents both opportunities and challenges. Businesses […

Hugging Face stands out as a transformative toolkit in the NLP ecosystem. In this article, we’ll dive into what sets Hugging Face apart, exploring its core features, the diverse tasks it supports, the vibrant community behind it, and a practical example showcasing its user-friendly interface.

Creating consistent and performant user interfaces across different devices and platforms has long been challenging in cross-platform app development.

I know what you’re thinking: “wow, yet another article on yet another JavaScript framework.” Well, if you’re thinking that, I’m here to say “not

Many developers are adopting AI tools to enhance productivity and code quality. This shift brings forth challenges in accurately evaluating technical skills.   As interviewers looking to assess which developers are the best fit for a given position, we have an important choice to make:  Should we allow candidates to use AI during their live coding exercises?   We began by discussing the issue internally, and the […

Health for California partnered with Scalable Path to find, evaluate, and hire a product development team to build a digital health insurance platform.

Prolucent, a trailblazer in leveraging technology and data to streamline hiring processes, sought to diminish hiring costs and time-to-hire rates significantly. Our collaboration focused on building an internal Vendor Management System (VMS) and assembling a robust development team to bolster Prolucent’s tech framework and operational efficiency. Prolucent is a technology company that helps healthcare organizations reduce labor costs and time-to-hire. Based in Dallas, Texas, Prolucent […]

Laravel is one of the most widely-used PHP frameworks today. A quick Google search will surface a plethora of tools that exist within this framework’s ecosystem, and it’s easy to understand why it’s become a go-to choice for various types of projects. Whether it’s being used to create an API, a command-line tool, or a full-stack app, Laravel enables developers to reliably build robust and […]

Many programmers, including myself, have hobbies or side projects that are tech related. Which at least somewhat explains why I decided to spend my recent vacation learning some new tech (but don’t worry, I also spent time doing nothing). After digging into a number of trends, I stopped on a web framework that piqued my interest: Remix. It’s a Next.js alternative that’s curious

We are at the cusp of an AI renaissance. This year, we’ve seen a surge of VC investment into the space: the market value of AI companies has surged $21 billion, and one in five new billion-dollar startups to join the Crunchbase Unicorn Board is developing AI tools. The influx has largely been driven by companies developing generative AI products, with applications ranging from natural […

Python is one of the most powerful and widely used languages in AI and ML development. Its rising popularity in artificial intelligence and machine learning projects is the result of its user-friendly syntax, flexibility, and most importantly, its rich library ecosystem.  Python’s comprehensive libraries streamline tasks from data wrangling to algorithm development. Because ML requires continuous data processing, Python’s library ecosystem enables developers to access,

Learn how we helped Unlock hire and onboard 27 full-time team members, including developers, designers, and QA engineers, over 16 months.

The JavaScript ecosystem is dynamic and ever-evolving. JavaScript Developers nowadays must make informed decisions not only of the libraries but of JavaScript runtime as well.

There’s no denying we’re currently in a tough economic climate. Inflation is currently soaring to the highest levels seen in decades, while high interest rates are leading many businesses to cut spending. Many companies are facing stagnant sales, declining revenue, and higher borrowing costs, leading them to look for ways to reduce costs and generate more revenue. For tech companies, product and engineering departments

This blog post was inspired by an episode of the Jess Get Hired podcast, where Damien Filiatrault, CEO and Founder of Scalable Path, shares his valuable insights and experiences in the remote talent industry. Since founding Scalable Path in 2010, the company has amassed a freelance network of over 30,000 software developers in 178 countries. Podcast Technology is constantly evolving. Because of the growth of […

In this article, I’ll walk you there my discoveries and revelations that unfolded during these weeks of coding with ChatGPT. First, we’ll dive deep into the various functions and capabilities I used, such as code analysis and suggestions, code refactoring, debugging assistance, documentation generation, and code reviewing. There, I’ll showcase real-life code examples from my TypeScript, GraphQL, NestJS, and MongoDB projects.

React and Vue are two of the most popular frameworks. Learn which one will fit best in your project.

Learning to use AI tools like ChatGPT has become increasingly important for developers to stay relevant and competitive. It’s clear that developers who master these tools and embrace innovation will stand apart from developers who lag behind and who choose to ignore them. We’ve dug into ChatGPT and found the best use cases and technical prompts so you can start to pair programming with ChatGPT and […]

Since its release, ChatGPT has taken the world by storm. Seemingly out of nowhere, we had a computational system so effective that it could generate human language and dialogue good enough to pass expert evaluation tests like the bar or medical exams.  One of the reasons ChatGPT became so popular is the simplicity of the user experience. It allows users to access the power of […]

Recruiting is broken. I don’t say that to be dramatic – I truly believe it. Through traditional job boards, it’s just too easy for candidates to apply for positions they may not be suited for – or even have the qualifications to do. The resulting avalanche of applications and resumes makes it incredibly difficult to separate high-quality candidates from poorly suited ones, and hiring a

Read how we worked with Odaptos to launch an MVP that helped them raise a $1.2M seed round in just 4 months.

Web3 has the potential to completely transform our digital lives. Decentralized applications, non-fungible tokens, and other blockchain-based innovations have opened up new possibilities for online interactions and commerce. But for all of Web3’s potential in creating a more open and transparent internet, blockchain technology has sparked a heated debate, and for good reason: its environmental impact is massive. Bitcoin, the world’s leading cryptocurrency, consumes an […]

ChatGPT has quickly become a go-to tool in the world of AI since its launch. And it’s easy to see why: ChatGPT can generate cohesive, grammatically correct written content based on prompts, translate text, write code, and perform countless useful tasks for marketers, developers, and data analysts. Don’t feel like reading? We made a video that you can listen to or watch at your leisure. […]

Explore React’s new features, benefits for users & developers, implementation, and upcoming plans for the framework’s future.

ChatGPT, the AI language model from OpenAI, is transforming the job search and interview process for software developers and hiring managers.

Preact is a lightweight alternative to React that’s quickly becoming a go-to choice for building high-performance web applications. But is it worth developing your app with Preact, or sticking with a more mature framework, like React? We dig into this question and consider the tradeoffs of each library in this article.

In the final chapter of this 3-part tutorial series, we build the front-end and implement the user-facing features of our full-stack application.

Learn how to execute a review strategy that encourages open dialogue, accurately measures performance, and aligns employees with your business goals.

In this series, we share the stories of developers from our talent network. Here, we interview software developer Luiz, highlight some of the projects he’s worked on, and insights for other developers looking to break into the U.S. software development market.

Vue has been gaining attention among the developer community lately for its powerful features. But will it become the most popular front-end framework in 2023?

Trying to decide between Web 2.0 and Web3 for your next project? In this article, we’ll break down how Web3 works, as well as its advantages and limitations, through a series of questions aimed to help you answer the question: should I consider Web3 for my next project?

Remote employee monitoring has become a popular practice in recent years. Here’s what employers looking to monitor performance should consider.

After a year of closed beta, GitHub Copilot is now publicly available to developers and is gaining a lot of attention for its ability to enable developers to harness AI while writing code. So does GitHub Copilot speed up daily work? Are the AI suggestions valid? Is it worth the cost? We answer these questions and more in this full review of the tool.

In part two of this tutorial series, we look at the key features of GraphQL and how to integrate it with PostGraphile to enhance the back-end of our full-stack application.

Redux or Context API: which tool is better for React state management? In this article, we dig into how each tool manages data flow through React nested components.

Learn how to build a GraphQL API in a Node.js back-end using TypeScript in part one of this full-stack app tutorial.

Being a software developer can be stressful. Here’s how mindfulness can help you balance your routine and manage everyday stressors.

A LATAM developer’s guide to improve your English and grow your programming career.

Should you choose Flutter or React Native for your next project? Here’s how these frameworks compare for cross-platform development.

Test-Driven Development: should you try it? Michel Sabchuk shares why he loves this process, the benefits that TDD can provide and how to implement it on your next project.

Laravel is an open-source PHP web application framework that provides a structure and starting point for building both simple and complex web apps. Learn everything you need to know about the framework’s latest updates and upgrading your app to Laravel 9.

Node.js has been a popular choice for both startups and well-known giants such as NetFlix, Medium, GoDaddy and LinkedIn. Here’s so many continue to choose this tool for their back-end.

The data preprocessing phase is the most challenging and time-consuming part of data science, but it’s also one of the most important parts. Learn best techniques to prepare and clean the data so you don’t compromise the ML model.

If you are looking to work as a remote freelancer through Scalable Path, completing your profile is the best way to get noticed and increase your chances of being matched with client projects. Here’s how to get started.

Will learning to speak a new language make you a better developer? What if we told you it can reshape how your brain works, enhancing both your soft skills as well as your technical capabilities? Read about some of the benefits of language acquisition.

.NET has become the framework of choice for millions of developers around the world, equipping them to create solid applications for any platform, and Microsoft has done an impressive job making top-notch tools to support them.

Although the fundamental principles of software development have remained the same for decades, technology is always changing with new ideas, libraries, and tools arising every day, making it that much more important to keep up-to-date.

Kotlin is hot right now, but is all the hype justified? We asked mobile expert Abdu Adilovic to see how it measured up against the ever-popular Java. Here are some of the issues he finds with Java and how Kotlin offers solutions to all of them.

There is a divide among the front-end community right now when it comes to Tailwind CSS. From people madly in love with it claiming that “it fixes CSS” to those who discard it as “just abstracted inline styles”, It would seem that no month can go by on Tech Twitter without a flame war about Tailwind. This article goes beyond the arguments of the framework itself and unpacks the deeper conversations at the heart of the debate.

Java has been kicking it for over 20 years in the world of web development, but what is its current popularity status amidst the rise of dynamic languages? Full-stack developer Nicolae tackles this question by explaining how Java is architecturally inclined toward scalability and isn’t going away anytime soon.

Back in the early 2000s, the applications built with .NET were aimed exclusively for Windows desktop and the framework itself was strictly developed and maintained in a closed source format. However, with the introduction of .NET Core, Microsoft made a complete shift and revolutionized software development.

Here are the guiding principles behind Agile’s ideology that help teams become more flexible, speed up the development process, and bring products to market faster.

Learn 7 qualities that set the best programmers apart from the crowd and how to evaluate candidates for these skills.

In an era where everyone is looking at performance, accessibility, and developer experience, there’s a new contender in the JavaScript ecosystem that promises to deliver all of these through a radical new approach to building apps: Svelte.

Working remotely is on the rise not just because it’s more cost-effective, but because of its clear benefits to productivity and increased access to talent. The leap from in-house to a remote workforce can be unnerving for many, but embracing a few key ideas can smooth the transition.

Aside from being a top 25 US-based Unicorn, what do Instacart, Doordash, Airbnb, and SpaceX all have in common? They use Python. Far-reaching versatility has been a long-time factor in the language’s popularity, but what really what makes Python such a valuable development tool? Read more about Python and why it continues to trend upwards, taking place as the most popular programming language of the year.

Improve the quality of candidates applying for your role with these tips on crafting a stand-out job description.

In this guide, learn how to define your role, where to look, and how to attract and evaluate top candidates.

Estimating is, by definition, a guess about the future. The fact is that the majority of software projects aren’t delivered on time, run over budget, and end up with fewer features than originally planned. Over the past 10 years, we’ve developed a methodology