Raman Singh

What I work on

I'm the Lead iOS Engineer at theScore Bet, where I architect and ship features used by millions of Canadians: the live streaming infrastructure that powers in-game video, and the advanced search systems that make sense of thousands of betting markets in real time. The work demands relentless attention to performance, architecture, and the kind of testing discipline that lets you actually sleep at night.

Before theScore, I designed the Digital Rights Management infrastructure that powers digital lending for the New York Public Library and the Baker & Taylor library distribution platform. Building software for librarians, patrons, and publishers - three audiences with completely different mental models and a low tolerance for "the app crashed" - taught me a lot about what production software actually has to survive.

11+ years on Apple platforms. Strong opinions about SOLID principles, test-driven development, and the boring work of writing code other people will read.

Why Swift Rockies exists

The honest version: I'm a Canadian iOS engineer, and I was tired of having to fly south every time I wanted to attend something serious. The Canadian iOS community is real, and it's deep, but it didn't have a single-track, retreat-style conference of its own. So I started building the one I'd want to attend.

Single-track, so nobody walks out wondering if they picked the wrong room. 180 seats, so you actually meet the speakers. Round tables instead of theater seating, so the conversation continues over coffee. Two days, so people can fly in Tuesday and still be home for the weekend. At a venue your family can enjoy with you while you're in sessions.

That's not a brand exercise. It's just what I'd want.

How I think about engineering

I believe software is a deeply human craft. The architecture decisions we make today are read by the next person to touch the code, often years later, often when something is on fire. Writing code other people can read - and reason about - is the most underrated senior skill in our industry.

I've spent more than a decade mentoring interns and junior developers into senior roles. The thing I keep coming back to is that leadership in engineering isn't measured by what you ship personally - it's measured by how many people you help elevate.

I also have a parallel hobby that's bled into how I think about software: I've been collecting notes on philosophy and psychology for 11+ years. It's shaped how I think about the human side of engineering - team dynamics, code review tone, why some teams ship and others stall, why some conferences feel like community and others feel like an exhibit floor.

How I picked the speakers

Every speaker on the Swift Rockies stage is someone I personally wanted to spend two days with. Not someone an agency pitched. Not someone whose company sponsored a slot. Real practitioners I'd want to sit next to at a round table - and now you can.

That's the bar. If a session doesn't pass the "would I want my own team to hear this?" test, it isn't on the schedule.