Beyond Developers - Building an IDP for Data Scientists and Quants

Explore the unique challenges of building Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs) for data scientists, machine learning engineers, and quantitative analysts in this 12-minute conference talk from PlatformCon 2025. Discover how traditional IDP models often fall short when serving data-heavy environments, particularly in specialized sectors like clean energy, and learn why off-the-shelf solutions frequently fail to meet the complex needs of data professionals. Examine EQ's approach to rethinking platform design by focusing on user empowerment while maintaining the critical balance between development velocity and governance requirements. Gain insights into the specific platform challenges faced in the clean power sector, where data and research teams demand rapid experimentation capabilities and resource-intensive workloads without compromising security or compliance standards. Understand practical strategies for building scalable platforms in complex, data-intensive industries, including lessons on fostering effective collaboration between platform teams and data professionals, selecting appropriate tooling that supports both speed and control, and navigating the governance challenges unique to data science workflows.