2026 Systems Engineering Roadmap

James Phoenix
James Phoenix

Deep understanding of Linux, distributed systems, and Effect.ts to build production-grade agent infrastructure.


Objectives

  1. Linux internals – syscalls, file descriptors, process model, networking stack
  2. Effect.ts mastery – structured concurrency, fibers, layers, resource management
  3. Distributed systems intuition – consensus, replication, partitioning, observability
  4. Agent orchestration – Claude SDK, Temporal patterns, reliability engineering

Current Focus (Jan-Mar 2026)

Priority Topic Project Anchor
1 Effect.ts runtime model OctoSpark refactor
2 Linux fundamentals Systems deep-dive
3 Go compiler book Interpreter/compiler project

Active Tracks

Linux

  • File descriptors and syscalls
  • Process model and signals
  • Memory management
  • Networking stack (TCP/IP, sockets)
  • Container internals (namespaces, cgroups)

Effect.ts

  • Runtime and fiber model
  • Layer system and dependency injection
  • Error handling and defects
  • Retry, timeout, supervision
  • Schema and validation

Distributed Systems

  • CAP theorem and trade-offs
  • Consensus (Raft, Paxos intuition)
  • Replication strategies
  • Partitioning and sharding
  • Observability patterns

Go

  • Writing an Interpreter in Go
  • Writing a Compiler in Go
  • Build a toy scheduler

Resources

Resource Type Status
Writing an Interpreter in Go Book In Progress
Writing a Compiler in Go Book Queued
Effect.ts Docs Docs Active
OSTEP Book Reference

Milestones

Quarter Deliverable
Q1 2026 Effect.ts used in production (OctoSpark)
Q1 2026 Complete interpreter book
Q2 2026 Complete compiler book
Q2 2026 Linux debugging proficiency

Weekly Check-in Questions

  1. What concept did I learn that I can explain to someone else?
  2. What code did I write that uses this knowledge?
  3. What confused me that I need to revisit?

Related

Topics
Agent OrchestrationDistributed SystemsEffect TsLinux InternalsReliability Engineering

More Insights

Cover Image for Memory Engineering as Data Modelling

Memory Engineering as Data Modelling

Agent memory is not a feature. It is a data modelling problem with a lifecycle.

James Phoenix
James Phoenix
Cover Image for Concept Template

Concept Template

Use this template for each new concept. Copy and rename.

James Phoenix
James Phoenix