For twenty years, QCon has been at the forefront of tracking major industry inflections and trends. As the conference celebrates its 20th anniversary with events in 2026, its editorial stance remains steadfast: sessions are curated by senior engineers, focusing on what has genuinely worked—and what has failed—in production environments.
The upcoming programs for QCon London (March 16–19) and QCon San Francisco (November 16–20) will continue this commitment, directing attention toward pressing new challenges: transitioning artificial intelligence (AI) from experimental setups to dependable production, and establishing the return on investment (ROI) of platform engineering.
Moving Beyond Chatbots to Agentic Systems
This year, a significant emphasis will be placed on the transition from experimental uses of Large Language Models (LLMs) to the development of “agentic systems.” These systems are designed to integrate models, tools, and workflows while managing the challenges of non-determinism, observability, and security—especially in critical operational paths.
Tracks such as AI Engineering and Architecture in the Age of AI delve into these constraints. For instance, Hien Luu, Sr. Engineering Manager at Zoox, will lead the London track dedicated to AI Engineering. This session seeks to cut through the hype surrounding AI by discussing the rigorous testing and validation that are essential when introducing probabilistic models into production traffic.
Architecting for Survivability
As distributed systems become more complex, the 2026 agenda will prioritize “survivability” rather than mere uptime. The Architecting for Resilience tracks will explore strategies such as cellular isolation and fault containment, which aim to minimize the “blast radius” of inevitable failures, rather than trying to eliminate failures altogether.
This focus on analyzing failures is a hallmark of QCon’s identity. A long-time attendee remarked, “QCon is the place to learn about what failed, not just what succeeded. This distinction is what separates senior developers from staff-level engineers.”
The Human Side: Staff+ and Platform ROI
Technical decisions are not made in isolation, and the 2026 tracks will recognize the evolving scope of senior engineering roles:
- Staff+ Engineering: Led by Shawna Martell, Principal Engineer at Imprint, this track emphasizes “durable skills.” These include technical judgment, trade-off analysis, and the ability to influence others without formal authority, all of which remain relevant throughout various technological advancements.
- Platform Engineering ROI: Discussions are shifting toward assessing internal developer platforms based on tangible outcomes, such as developer throughput and operational costs, rather than solely relying on adoption metrics.
Registration and 2026 Schedule
The 2026 events are expected to feature over 75 peer-selected speakers in London and more than 60 in San Francisco.
- QCon London (March 16–19): Spots are limited, so secure your attendance now!
- QCon San Francisco (November 16–20): Registration is currently open, providing the best rates of the year.
Organizations can enjoy additional savings by registering teams of 10 or more, allowing for alignment among architectural groups around these advancing trends. For more information, reach out to the QCon team at info@qconferences.com.
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