Frontend Architecture at Scale with Faris Aziz

In this episode of Señors @ Scale, Faris Aziz — Staff Front-End Engineer at Small PDF, international speaker, and co-founder of ZurichJS — joins Dan to talk about scaling both frontend architecture and engineering culture.Faris shares his unconventional journey from CrossFit trainer to software engineer, and how personal projects became his gateway into tech. He opens up about the realities of working on applications serving 30 million+ users, why BFF architecture is such a powerful pattern for managing data between front-end and back-end, and the hidden pitfalls of performance when building with React and Next.js.We also dig into the human side of architecture: how observability, error management, and developer experience shape reliable systems; why ownership and accountability drive better outcomes than process checklists; and how stress can be reframed when you work in a culture of trust.And beyond code, Faris reflects on community: what it takes to co-found a thriving JavaScript meetup in Zurich, why meetups are “mini start-ups,” and how community building fuels personal and professional growth.🎯 Whether you’re a frontend engineer, engineering manager, or developer community organizer, this episode is packed with architectural insights and real-world lessons from the trenches.---Chapters00:00 Introduction to Faris Aziz and His Journey05:46 From Fitness to Coding: The Bootcamp Experience08:33 Building Personal Projects and Learning by Doing11:28 The Impact of Global Work Culture on Engineering14:24 Co-founding ZurichJS: Building Community in Tech19:57 Technical Insights: React vs. Next.js at Scale25:38 Scaling Challenges in Data Representation31:35 Understanding the BFF Architecture40:44 Authentication and Security in BFFs43:30 Comparing BFF with GraphQL and TRPC49:09 Innovative UI Approaches in Application Development51:27 A Day in the Life of a Staff Engineer52:13 Strategic Engineering at Scale55:46 Managing Stress and Engineering Culture01:01:06 Finding Balance in High-Stakes Environments01:05:37 Book Recommendations and Personal Insights---Follow & Subscribe:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/senorsatscale/📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neciudev🎙 Podcast URL: https://neciudan.dev/senors-at-scale📬 Newsletter: https://neciudan.dev/subscribe💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neciudan💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/se%C3%B1ors-scale/#frontend #nextjs #bffarchitecture #javascript #react #softwaredevelopment #engineeringculture #techevents #zurichjs #webdevelopment #señorsatscaleDon’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more engineering stories from the front lines. Have you ever built — or struggled with — frontend architecture at scale? Share your experience below 👇