# SeekOut Developer Platform

Building the foundations for developer integrations and AI-agent applications: shared authentication, billing, and analytics that connect product usage to business decisions.

Author: Joshua Palamuttam
Published: 2026-10-05
Type: Case study
Role: Principal Software Engineer; hands-on IC and engineering manager
Period: 2026–present
Tags: developer-platform, architecture, data-platforms
Canonical page: https://www.joshuapalamuttam.com/work/seekout-developer-platform/

## The opportunity

AI agents are becoming another way people use software. The goal was to make
SeekOut's capabilities usable through developer integrations and AI-agent
applications, with the product foundations needed to support them over time.

That meant building a Developer Platform around the APIs: authentication and
authorization, billing, a self-service console, and a way to understand usage.

## My role

I architected and built the SeekOut Developer Platform. My role was primarily
hands-on individual contributor work, supported by a small team and close
collaboration with surrounding engineering and business teams to take the
work through delivery.

I was promoted to Principal Software Engineer on October 1, 2026, and continue
to manage the AI engineering team while owning architecture and writing
production code.

## Shared platform foundations

I implemented a shared authentication and authorization system for SeekOut's
API and AI products, and a billing system for consumption-based usage. Those
systems gave the platform common ways to establish access, account for usage,
and support purchasing rather than rebuilding those foundations for each
integration.

The APIs and console turn those capabilities into a platform that developers
can work with. The architecture separates public product contracts from the
provider integrations behind them and supports durable, retry-safe workflows.

## Making usage useful

I helped build out the Databricks analytics platform, giving Customer Success
and Sales usage insights by user and client. ROI reporting informed senior
leadership decisions about the product and its value.

The work connected operational data to the questions people needed to answer:
who was using the product, how they were using it, and what that activity meant
for the business.

## Bringing the company along

Alongside the implementation, I gave company talks about architecture and AI
development and introduced an engineering RFC and architecture-review process.
Cross-team collaboration and shared understanding were part of getting the
platform delivered, alongside the code and infrastructure.