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Holden Karau

@holdenkarau.com
1.5K followers 197 following 156 posts

she/her, mostly OSS big data (Spark, Dask, Ray, and friends). I ❤️☕️🛵. I don't represent my employer. Live @ twitch.tv/holdenkarau , tech.lgbt/@holden , Twitter was @holdenkarau

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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 29/09/2026
I wrote a blog post "Yet Another AI Security OSS Externality" about my experiences working with an AI labs vuln reports during the Apache Spark 3.5.9/4.0.4/4.1.3 releases: blog.holdenkarau.com/2026/09/yet-...
blog.holdenkarau.com
Yet Another AI Security OSS Externality
Yet Another Rant About AI Security OSS Externality IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE: This blog post is written in my personal capacity reflecting on the...
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 23/08/2026
The machines have hijacked humanity to make more machines. The number goes up by making more machines, so we make more machines, which further influence us to make more machines.
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 09/07/2026
Join me & Ryan Dolley talking about the future of Spark/OSS and more www.linkedin.com/events/74806... in T-1 minute :)
linkedin.com
LinkedIn Login, Sign in | LinkedIn
Login to LinkedIn to keep in touch with people you know, share ideas, and build your career.
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 23/06/2026
I'm on my way to Seattle for tomorrows Spark meetup (you should join if your in the Seattle/Bellevue area) -- luma.com/sraq4jvx and if the WiFi works I'll do a stream around 6ish from the united club patio code reviewing some Spark 3.5 house keeping as part of getting the release out :)
luma.com
Apache Spark™ Community Meetup · Luma
Apache Spark™ Community Meetup! Join us on June 23rd (Tuesday) from 5:30-8:30 PM for an Apache Spark community meetup! Location: 43/1560-Jefferson | Building…
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 17/06/2026
If the WiFi holds up today at Data AI summit I’m going to try doing a code review stream with Devin Petersohn where we walk through the new transpilation PR at 1pm pacific. If your around in person feel free to come say hi! I’ll be wearing my dragon dress with my sports coat
Holden wearing a lot of pink
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 16/05/2026
So excited for this zine from @pycon.us
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 21/04/2026
Stoked the new @frame.work 13 is going to be Ubuntu certified. #lazyholden :) “everything keeps working”
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 06/04/2026
Hey Friends! Snowflake is hiring forward deployed engineers for Snowpark with Spark experience in Menlo Park (Bay Area) and Bellevue (Seattle area). If slaying OOMs, while teaching customers how to run Spark on Snowflake, the posting is at jobs.ashbyhq.com/snowflake/97...
jobs.ashbyhq.com
Senior Forward Deployed Engineer -SnowPark
At Snowflake, we are powering the era of the agentic enterprise. To usher in this new era, we seek AI-native thinkers across every function who are energized by the opportunity to reinvent how they wo...
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Reposted by Holden Karau
Savannah Ostrowski @savannah.dev · 23/03/2026
If the Python core team started a weekly/monthly newsletter, what would y'all want out of it? What would make you excited to see the notification in your inbox? @emmatyping.dev and I were brainstorming a bit on this the other day, inspired a bit by @thisweekinrust.bsky.social.
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 23/03/2026
Don’t love how the Waymo’s drive at you while your still in the crosswalk predicting your exit time, like I know it’s what a lot of people do buut it feels like we should do better.
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 23/03/2026
I’m excited to be talking at Undercurrent this week in SF (I think it’s in the IKEA building too!) come and join me fellow data nerds (is free, but limited space so advanced reg) — current.confluent.io/data-engineers
current.confluent.io
underCurrent: Data Engineering
No sponsors. No fluff. Just data engineering. Join your fellow data practitioners and architects in San Francisco on March 26.
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 20/03/2026
Come join me for hacking on more on Spark transpilation: from UDF to catalyst :) www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYvR...
youtube.com
Spark Transpilation Continued: Now in Python
YouTube video by Holden Karau
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 06/03/2026
I have a post up about my new day job and why we’re building on Apache Spark at Snowflake (and why you should consider working in OSS too): www.linkedin.com/posts/snowfl...
linkedin.com
Building in the open isn’t for everyone, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. 🛠️ Spark PMC member and Snowflake Software Engineer Holden Karau shares why we’re keeping our design debates and… | Sno...
Building in the open isn’t for everyone, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. 🛠️ Spark PMC member and Snowflake Software Engineer Holden Karau shares why we’re keeping our design debates and develo...
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 04/03/2026
New toy! I’m going to try and set it up with Moonshine later this week :)
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 27/02/2026
SF / Bay Area Women+ in OSS (or wanting to be in OSS) join us on March 9th for a full day event of awesome OSS adventures — luma.com/qcqlia4g?tk=...
luma.com
Women+ in Open Source Day · Luma
Open source is built on collaboration—and it’s time to amplify the voices of the women+ doing this critical work. Join us on March 9th for a full-day event…
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 27/02/2026
Come join us this Sunday for fun queer motorcycle/scooter adventures!
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 23/02/2026
Want to get involved in open source (specifically Apache Spark)? We're running a Community Sprint in Seattle luma.com/rrfvx0ey for folks wanting to get started on Friday, March 13
luma.com
Apache Spark™ Community Sprint · Luma
Apache Spark™ Community Sprint! Join us on March 17th (Tuesday) from 12:00-7:00 PM at the Snowflake Bellevue Office for a Spark community sprint! We'll spend…
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 23/02/2026
Hacking on @apachespark times again: www.youtube.com/watch?v=i25n... come and join me for trying to get a PR over the finish line, some code reviews, and figuring out where to share the contributor sprint event :)
youtube.com
Spark PR Update Time, Sharing Seattle Event, and Code Reviews :)
YouTube video by Holden Karau
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Reposted by Holden Karau
sstrumello @sstrumello.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
And, don't forget: we now have AI tools to help us appeal! @holdenkarau.com blog.sstrumello.com/2024/09/harn...
blog.sstrumello.com
Harness AI (artificial intelligence) to Beat Health Insurance Company Claim Denials
Let's face it: U.S. commercial healthcare insurance companies are incredibly greedy and they don't fundamentally give a $#!+ about patients'...
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 16/02/2026
Love to see Moonshine’s edge voice models winning and going to play with the colab next week :)
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 13/02/2026
Love to see small models winning, less power greener, faster, and capable of running outside of the hyperscalers :)
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Reposted by Holden Karau
annkspencer @annkspencer.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
indeed. "when Holden Karau created FightHealthInsurance, she really was fighting—not just for access to easy and affordable healthcare, but also for a better world for the people around her." stackoverflow.blog/2026/02/12/h...
stackoverflow.blog
How everyone and anyone can use AI for good - Stack Overflow
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 12/02/2026
I’m excited to announce that I’ve joined Snowflake working OSS Apache Spark and I’ve written a post about what we’re doing careers.snowflake.com/us/en/blogar... :) (don’t worry I’m still working on Fight Health Insurance too thanks to coffee powered scaling)
careers.snowflake.com
Building Apache Spark™ in the Open at Snowflake
Why Holden Karau joined and what she's building at Snowflake.
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 11/02/2026
Love to see @fightpaperwork.bsky.social covered in Phoebe's Stackoverflow post on AI for good: stackoverflow.blog/2026/02/11/i... :D
stackoverflow.blog
Is anyone using AI for good? - Stack Overflow
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Reposted by Holden Karau
annkspencer @annkspencer.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
holden & fight health insurance in stack overflow blog "From that point on, I would use FightHealthInsurance as a rebuttal to the doom-and-gloom approach to AI my friends would take." 💛 stackoverflow.blog/2026/02/11/i...
stackoverflow.blog
Is anyone using AI for good? - Stack Overflow
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 11/02/2026
Super stoked to be talking with Daniel Aronovich about Spark optimization ~now (10am pacific), come join us: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
us06web.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Apache Spark Optimization: Practical Deep Dive. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
Join Holden Karau (Principal Engineer OSS Spark) and Daniel Aronovich (Co-Founder & CTO, DataFlint) for a practical, in-depth session on Spark optimization that goes beyond generic best practices. We ...
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 02/02/2026
Hey London friends have nothing to do on a Monday night? I’ll be giving a talk about some of the cool AI stuff you can do with Apache Spark, including appealing health insurance denials, and the infra behind it :) Come say hi! luma.com/e3bw395h
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 01/02/2026
The KFK bar is not associated with the Kafka project, but the queue was long when I looked last night so maybe they should be….
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 31/01/2026
Hanging at FOSDEM if you want to chat about Apache Spark or fighting health insurance with AI come find me :)
Holden next to her pink fuzzy jacket
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 30/01/2026
Stickers for the Icerberg meetup :) luma.com/yx3lhqu9
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 16/01/2026
It’s not a lot of days lately I agree with the white house but an end to pharmacy benefit manager kickbacks is long overdue.
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 12/01/2026
Need a distraction? Come and join me for hacking on @ApacheSpark today: www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1fD... / twitch.tv/holdenkarau
youtube.com
Spark PR Follow Up (splitting) and SPIP progress
YouTube video by Holden Karau
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 09/01/2026
Today in Holden and the magic smoke I’m surprised these light still worked…
LED strip burnt at connection end
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 03/01/2026
Just started reading Christina DiEdoardo’s book about Canada and Americas historic war plans for each ( amzn.to/49l14r4 ) other just as America invades another country. What a weird time to be alive. (Amazon link)
amzn.to
If Beaver Fights Eagle: Canada and the U.S. Prepare for War Against Each Other 1920-2025
Through two world wars, and in multiple lesser conflicts since around the world, the United States and Canada have usually fought side by side. But a small group of strategists on both sides, beginnin...
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 25/12/2025
Oof one of @fightpaperwork.bsky.social’s NV jetsons gave up the ghost (had this screen then got really really hot). Anyone got a lead on cheap RK1s?
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 25/12/2025
Going to do a mini stream working on Fight Health Insurance tonight (Christmas Eve) at 6pm :)
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 23/12/2025
X-mass Eve Eve Code Review Feedback Follow up on my @apachespark filter pushdown PR: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KRt...
youtube.com
X-Mass Eve Eve: Filter Pushdown Land CR Feedback
YouTube video by Holden Karau
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 21/12/2025
I'm going to hack on the "What's in in Spark 4.1 (since Spark 2.4)" chapter of High Performance Spark 2e today :) -- www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdz4...
youtube.com
Working on the High Performance Spark book: What's new in Spark 4.1 :D
YouTube video by Holden Karau
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 19/12/2025
Come and join me for proposing a large(ish) @ApacheSpark change and see how we run the SPIP process -- www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC2y... :D
youtube.com
Very mini stream: Starting discussion for an SPIP around transpilation
YouTube video by Holden Karau
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 18/12/2025
Come and join me for a quick pre-holiday @ApacheSpark stream: www.twitch.tv/holdenkarau hacking on filter pushdown regression.
twitch.tv
holdenkarau - Twitch
Pre-Holiday Spark PR Follow Up Stream: Updating Pushdown Logic
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 13/12/2025
I don’t know how Your Rich BFF knows when I’m on vacation but she did another great post on www.fighthealthinsurance.com today while I’m on vacation at the same hotel as last year 😝, give it a watch / share ❤️ www.instagram.com/reel/DSNbmx5...
fighthealthinsurance.com
Fight Your Health Insurance Denial -- Use AI to Generate Your Health Insurance Appeal
Fight Health Insurance is a generative AI tool to help you fight your health insurance denial. Just take a picture of your denial and it will generate an appeal for you to submit as the first part of ...
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 01/12/2025
Kicking off december with hacking on some Spark UDF acceleration adventures -- www.twitch.tv/holdenkarau :) 100% off all Holden Spark PRs today only for cyber monday :p
twitch.tv
holdenkarau - Twitch
Apache Spark Hacking Times: Starting on UDF transpilation and random
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Reposted by Holden Karau
GOTO Conferences @gotocon.com · 17/11/2025
@julianwood.com talks with @holdenkarau.com about turning a decade of Apache Spark expertise into an AI tool that fights insurance denials. fighthealthinsurance.com is live and free. The business model? Step one ✅ Step two ❓ Step three: profit 🤷
youtu.be
From Apache Spark to Fighting Health Insurance Denials • Holden Karau & Julian Wood • GOTO 2025
This interview was recorded for GOTO Unscripted. #GOTOcon #GOTOunscripted https://gotopia.tech Check out more here: https://gotopia.tech/articles/410 Holden Karau - Co-Founder at Fight Health…
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 13/11/2025
Come and join me for more hacking on @apachespark today -- www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5F_... I'm going to be working on github.com/apache/spark...
youtube.com
Spark PR adventures: Determinism Issues (maybe?)
YouTube video by Holden Karau
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Reposted by Holden Karau
Torsten Curdt @tcurdt.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
The benevolent dictator model feels tempting for #OSS - faster, fewer debates. Then a PR argument with the single person in charge reminds me: Speed isn’t health. Community is.
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 07/11/2025
Come and join me for a relaxing Friday afternoon of hacking on Apache Spark — twitch.tv/holdenkarau 👍
twitch.tv
holdenkarau - Twitch
Holden is a transgender Canadian open source developer with a focus on Apache Spark and related
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 03/11/2025
Come and join me for some not-so-spooky zombie PR adventures: bringing back some "stale"/"dead" PRs around TTLs and other fun adventures in @ApacheSpark -- www.twitch.tv/holdenkarau / www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3Qo...
twitch.tv
holdenkarau - Twitch
Zombie Apache Spark PR dev time :p
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 03/11/2025
Finishing up my slides for @smalldatasf in the @McDonalds parking lot with a Frappé. The free WiFi is so so but I needed to get out of the house :) P.S. want to hear about when not to use Spark? Check out my session this Wednesday ❤️
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 31/10/2025
Come and join me reviewing some @apache.org Spark PRs for halloween. Spooooky? www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ilF... / www.twitch.tv/holdenkarau
youtube.com
Spooky Apache Spark Code Review
YouTube video by Holden Karau
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Holden Karau @holdenkarau.com · 26/10/2025
New Orleans Spark/Data/misc Friends! I'm going to be in your city for current.confluent.io/new-orleans starting Monday-ish if you want to catch up :)
current.confluent.io
New Orleans
Current is the biggest event in data streaming. Over two days in New Orleans, developers, data practitioners, and tech executives will come together to shape the future of Apache Kafka, Apache Flink, ...
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