CIS 6930 Spring 26
Data Engineering at the University of Florida
Guest Speaker: Mikhail Sinanan
Date: Friday, February 13, 2026 Time: 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM EST Format: Fireside chat
About Mikhail
Mikhail Sinanan is the Global Head of Engineering for Audiobooks Supply Chain at Spotify, where he leads the technical infrastructure that brings stories to millions of listeners worldwide. His career has been defined by building systems at the intersection of massive data and human creativity.
Born in Trinidad and Tobago and raised in Miami, Mikhail’s journey through technology has taken him from mobile development to fintech to streaming at global scale. Throughout this path, he has maintained a core belief that technology should serve people, not just process bits.
At Spotify, Mikhail has driven transformative results: scaling the music platform infrastructure by 4x while simultaneously cutting cloud costs by 40%. He architected the foundational systems behind global moments like Spotify Wrapped, which processes billions of data points to create personalized year-end experiences for hundreds of millions of users.
Career Journey
Spotify - Global Head of Engineering, Audiobooks Supply Chain (2021-Present)
- Leads technical infrastructure for audiobooks delivery at global scale
- Scaled music platform infrastructure 4x while reducing cloud costs 40%
- Architected foundational systems behind Spotify Wrapped
- Drives data engineering practices across international teams
Capital One - Engineering Leadership (2017-2021)
- Modernized payment systems driving $3 billion in consumer spending
- Led digital transformation initiatives in fintech
- Built scalable data pipelines for financial services
NPR - Lead Engineer (2013-2017)
- Architected award-winning apps across iPhones, smartwatches, TVs, and connected cars
- Received J.D. Power Awards and Google Material Design honors
- Led media innovation in the mobile and connected device space
Early Career - iOS Developer (2010-2013)
- Built first wave of mobile apps for media and enterprise
- Established foundation in mobile development and user experience
Education & Community
Florida State University - Go Noles!
Mikhail is a proud FSU alumnus who gives back to the tech community by serving on the FSU College of Business Board, helping shape the next generation of data leaders. For him, engineering is about creating inclusive environments where talent can thrive and digital experiences feel truly human.
Technical Focus Areas
| Area | Details |
|---|---|
| Data at Scale | Processing 1.4+ trillion data points daily |
| Event Streaming | Kafka-based systems handling 50M+ events/second |
| Cloud Infrastructure | Cost optimization at massive scale |
| Platform Engineering | Building foundations for product teams |
| International Systems | Multi-region data processing and compliance |
Pre-Session Preparation
Please review these resources before the session to understand Spotify’s data infrastructure:
Required Reading/Listening
| Resource | Description | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Spotify’s Data Platform Explained | Overview of how Spotify processes 1.4 trillion data points daily. Covers data collection, processing, and management architecture. | 15 min |
| NerdOut@Spotify: A Trillion Events | Podcast episode on handling 50M events/second, transitioning from Kafka to cloud solutions, and maintaining data quality at scale. | 38 min |
Optional Deep Dives
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| Spotify Engineering Blog | Latest posts on Spotify’s technical challenges and solutions |
| Backstage by Spotify | Open-source developer portal created by Spotify |
Come Prepared With Questions
Think about technical questions you’d like to ask Mikhail:
Data Platform Architecture
- How does Spotify’s data platform support both real-time features (like recommendations) and batch analytics (like Wrapped)?
- What role does Kafka play in Spotify’s event streaming architecture?
- How do you handle schema evolution across thousands of data producers?
Scale & Performance
- What strategies did you use to achieve 4x scale while cutting costs 40%?
- How do you manage data consistency across multiple geographic regions?
- What are the biggest bottlenecks when processing trillions of events?
Audiobooks Supply Chain
- What unique data challenges exist in audiobook delivery vs. music streaming?
- How do you handle metadata quality for millions of audiobook titles?
- What does “supply chain” mean in the context of digital content?
Engineering Culture
- How do you balance innovation with reliability at Spotify’s scale?
- What data quality practices does Spotify enforce across teams?
- How does Backstage help developers discover and manage data?